A wonderful movie with not so obvious depth. It is a bit odd, in a way, because Peter Sellers' presence indicates a certain type of picture--and in some ways it is. But what resonates most for me in this picture is the story of the friendship of the two girls, wonderfully played by the young actresses. Val is really a heartbreaking character and Tippy Walker's performance is really quite remarkable.



I saw this movie for the first time on TCM relatively recently and I might love it even more if I had seen it when it first came out. It is very similar in some ways to another movie of the same era that I did see, as a youngster, when it did come out: "The Trouble with Angels".



The core of both movies is the deep friendship between two girls who are in many ways disimilar but have a sort of loneliness that draws them to each other. One of each of these pairs is effected and respond (but in different ways) by what can only be described as parental neglect--and they are both very bright and creative. In both movies, the more serious story is interspersed by blatently comedic scenes (Peter Sellers in this one, the girls' pranks in TTWA).



The adult characters are well drawn (also in both movies) and their actions deeply affect the girls. In both movies, there is sophistication in the stories of the adults (the parents in this one, Mother Superior in TTW) that will be above younger viewers although it won't prevent them from enjoying the movie--but it makes the films more enjoyable for adults!



In both movies, the broad comedy is, at least for me, the least successful element of the films while the human stories are deeply effecting. I don't want to sound too serious, but these films are more than just cute comedies.