Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

chauge-73253 "The Youngest Profession" is a cute but implausible story of celebrity-obsessed teenager Joan Lyons and her fellow autograph-hound classmates who spend their afternoons and evenings chasing down celebrities who happen to be in New York at the time. The main plot, however, involves the suspected infidelity between her father and her secretary and the lengths Joan goes to prevent a broken home. There are a few celebrity cameos with each of them on their best behavior, including Lana Turner, Greer Garson, Robert Taylor and Walter Pidgeon. It's hard to believe that in real life if they knew some teenage girls were manipulating circumstances and lying to others in order to see them that they would be so accommodating, but that's showbiz, I guess. The rest of the proceedings are mainly a farce involving the family drama misunderstandings that are entertaining enough, if a bit overacted. But overall the movie is good family fun.

MajRusKitt This 1940's romp through the delights of movie star worship in the era when "stars were stars" is simply fantastic! It is effervescent and sweet, Virginia Weidler and that petite dynamo, Jean Porter, are engaging as the best friends who set out to "save" Edward Arnold from himself after the misconceived meddling of Agnes Moorehead sets their imaginations reeling. Cameos by major luminaries of the day, an hilarious send-up of a Sandow-like character by John Carroll, and a double-take worthy of Jack Benny himself by the dashing William Powell, make this picture a favorite of mine. Did Edward Arnold ever give a bad performance??!! Pure gold.

bkoganbing Five of MGM's biggest stars did some box office cameo duty appearing as themselves in this B picture about the trials and travails of autograph pursuing. I do remember pursuing a few of them in my youth so I can somewhat sympathize with what these young girls headed by Virginia Weidler are going through. I can also understand some of the problems they cause the celebrities as well.The landings in North Africa and Salerno should have been as well organized as what Virginia Weidler and her fan club when they're on the prowl for celebrity signatures. Weidler and her pursuits are bedeviling her parents, Edward Arnold and Marta Linden, and they've got additional problems with their son Scotty Beckett who fancies himself an inventor and a governess in Agnes Moorehead who's outlived her usefulness and won't take the hint to retire.Weidler's imagination is set on fire by what she sees in the movies and already she's imagining trouble in her parent's marriage and switches from movie star hunting to Lucy Ricardo like machinations to keep her parents from a breakup that's all in her head.Lana Turner, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Taylor, and William Powell all make brief appearances as the hunted. Personally there's no way in God's green earth that Greer Garson would have indulged Weidler and her friend Ann Ayars. Only Pidgeon showed the slightest traces of impatience with the young ladies, maybe more than a trace.The Youngest Profession is a cute film, a nostalgic look at the Forties, but not too much more than that.

dougdoepke MGM programmer for the younger set. Viewers interested in teens and trends of the time (1943) might take a look. Weidler makes a spunky teenager with a dyspeptic father, a dutiful mother, a mischievous little brother and a mob of friends as star-struck as she is. Their New York lives revolve around collecting autographs from celebrities who, surprise, also happen to be major MGM movie-stars. Complications arise when conniving housekeeper Agnes Moorehead (who else?) creates a marital mix-up.Though dated, there are enough laughs and human interest to keep you entertained. The kids are delightfully amusing with an innocent charm seemingly a galaxy away from today's teen movies. John Caroll scores as the cranky Russian muscle man back when Hollywood Russians were an amusing hot commodity, along with Jean Porter as Weidler's wide-eyed best buddy. In passing, note the brief references to how the kids were helping to win the war, with their saving stamps, etc. A rather sad sidelight are the later lives of Weidler who died young after a failed adult career, and Beckett (the younger brother) whose biography reads regrettably like a police blotter before also dying young. Nonetheless, MGM turned out some major stars (Garson, Taylor, Pidgeon, et al.) for good humored cameos. All in all, an entertaining little artifact.