Goodbye, My Fancy (1951)

Absolutely the worst movie.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Blistering performances.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I'm glad to see that TCM has chosen to include this film in its lineup. I have, however, noted an error in the TCM and Wikipedia summaries regarding filming location. Both cite Occidental College in Eagle Rock, Calif. as the site for outdoor scene filming. In fact, most if not all were shot on the University of Redlands campus in Redlands, Calif. I attended the U. of R. for 4 years and graduated in the outdoor Greek Theater that appears in the film. Other scenes show the U. of R.'s distinctive chapel with the San Bernardino Mountains beyond, as well as the school's administration building on Ad Hill, its quadrangle and residence halls. The movie was shot two years before I enrolled there. Perhaps Warner Bros. had originally intended to film Goodbye My Fancy on the Occidental campus (much closer to the studio) and for whatever reason had to switch at the last minute to Redlands, but the planned LA area location remained on the studio's records.

A very good Joan Crawford 1951 vehicle. As a successful Congresswoman, she returns to receive an honorary degree from her Alma Mater. There she meets up with an old flame, her former professor, now the college president, a widower with a daughter in the school. They keep hidden the secret that she was expelled from the school years before, but left so as to avoid his embarrassment with the school.You would think this is a definite comedy when Frank Lovejoy enters the story as a Life camera man sent up to the school to photograph the issue. Appears that the Lovejoy character and Agatha (Crawford) had something going when they were war correspondents. This along with Crawford uniting with Eve Arden, her co-star in 1945's "Mildred Pierce." Wise-cracking as ever, Arden plays Crawford's secretary.The picture is a good one as it soon turns into one talking about academic freedom and the right to teach what one wants taught as opposed to the stuffy college administration, represented here by Howard St. John.There is definitely a relation here to the McCarthy witch hunt which was sweeping the nation at the time.

OK so this isn't Mildred Pierce, but it's not horrible either. Typical 1950's melodrama about a congresswomen (Crawford) who ends up caught between two men and fighting fascist censorship at the same time. Tame by today's standards I'm glad to see that Joan was not scared to throw some mud in the eye of the evil McCarthy witch hunt. (in real life Joan did testify at the McCarthy hearings and basically told them to go to hell, but in a nice way only Joan could pull off). Don't write this movie off, it is now available on DVD through Movies Unlimited as is Joan's last picture for Warners "This Women Is Dangerous". If your a Joan fan these are musts for your collection.

A great movie with three of my favorite movie stars: Robert Young, Eve Arden and Joan Crawford. This movie makes no concessions whatsoever to "popular" taste. It doesn't insult one's intelligence. It makes a passionate plea for free speech. Some would surely call it communist propaganda. Joan Crawford was however absurdly miscast as a flaming liberal politician. The real Joan was, I think, conservative. She ended her life as the chair of Pepsi! But somehow she captivates. Her diction is solid, her acting measured, always dignified, and her movies are darn good (she never played the Queen of Sheba, or some other "historic" nonsense). Robert Young is impeccable too, far more impressive, intelligent, than a whole host of bigger stars, but his non-muscular persona confines him to the parlor. I can hardly believe he was an alcoholic.I thought STORM CENTER (1955) was the first free speech movie. Still, the fact remains, that STORM CENTER is more direct, powerful, dramatic and dashing. Unfortunately, the censors seems to have had the last word about THAT anti-censorship film. STORM CENTER has never been shown on TV (as far as I know) and it is not available on video. Something should be done to bring back this and other forgotten classics.