Susan Slept Here [Blu-ray]

Director: Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin

Overview

Susan Slept Here is the only feature film in Hollywood history ever to be narrated by an Academy Award. After introducing itself, the Oscar statuette invites us into the apartment home of its owner, screenwriter Mark Christopher Dick Powell. Knowing that Mark is working on a script about juvenile deliquency, policeman Sam Hanlon Herb Vigran deposits teenaged troublemaker Susan Landis Debbie Reynolds on Mark's doorstep. Somewhat terrified by Susan's erratic behavior, Mark vows to keep their relationship platonic, but his fiancee Isabella Anne Francis suspects the worst. Director Frank Tashlin aims his satiric barbs at psychiatry, conspicuous consumption and Hollywood itself. The spirited supporting cast includes Glenda Farrell, Alvy Moore, Horace McMahon and Les Tremayne.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/19/2016
UPC:	0888574353490
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	23,087

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dick Powell	Mark
Debbie Reynolds	Susan
Anne Francis	Isabella
Glenda Farrell	Maude
Alvy Moore	Virgil
Horace MacMahon	Maizel
Herb Vigran	Hanlon
Les Tremayne	Harvey
Mara Lane	Marilyn
Maidie Norman	Georgette
Rita Johnson	Dr. Rawley
Ellen Corby	Waitress
Benny Rubin	Janitor
Barbara Darrow	Legal Secretary
Sue Carlton	Cashier
Oliver Blake	Motel Manager
Horace McMahon	Maizel
Louella Parsons	Telephone Voice
Jack Benny	Guest
Red Skelton	Oswald
Billy Halop	Waiter
Richard Myers	Composer
Leigh Harline	Composer
Jack Lawrence	Composer

Technical Credits

Steve Fisher

Alex Gottlieb

Frank Tashlin	Director
Steve Fisher	Screenwriter
Alex Gottlieb	Screenwriter
Harriet Parsons	Producer
John O. Aalberg	Sound/Sound Designer
Clem Portman	Sound/Sound Designer
Frank McWhorter	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Dick Powell's last feature film, Susan Slept Here is moderately enjoyable, although modern audiences may feel some discomfort over the May-December romance that forms the core of the plot. There's nothing wrong with using an older man-younger woman relationship as the basis of a comedy, of course, but it has to be handled either more tactfully or more audaciously than it is here. Director Frank Tashlin is somewhat off his form here; although there are moments that are marked with his trademark abandon, too much of the film feels restrained. Part of this is due to Powell, playing a straight man part and not investing much effort into it. Tashlin is also hemmed in by the screenplay, which is not inventive enough. However, he is enormously helped by Debbie Reynolds, whose performance is so perky and energetic that the screen has a hard time holding her. Anne Francis is also an asset, bringing depth to what could have been a cardboard cutout character, and Glenda Farrell brings expert timing and comic delivery to her role. Susan is not really a good movie, but it's also too silly and sweet to dislike.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler