A lesson to filmmakers - in the late 50s there were a number of popular hit melodrama films which produced teen stars... but the adult characters were prominent as well - Imitation of Life, Peyton Place, this. This one has a great set up: millionaire Richard Egan holidays at the island where he used to life guard when a poor teen, and rekindles a romance with Dorothy McGuire, despite the fact both are married. But it's okay because his wife is a bitch (Constance Ford) and her husband a pathetic drunken failure (Arthur Kennedy). Adding to their complications is the fact their kids fall in love: Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue.
This lays it on with a trowel and is gloriously crappy but it at least goes for it. There is some pretty scenery, a catch theme song, colour photography, and intense melodrama, with everyone obsessed by sex, particularly Ford (who has her daughter inspected for virginity after she's stuck out on a yacht with Donahue). It's not hard to see why the kids went for it - the poor things, with hormones throbbing and being misunderstood, and parents who are either neglectful (Kennedy), damaging (Ford) or loving but full of guilt (Egan, McGuire) and premarital sex leading to pregnancy but with the possibility of true love following.
Ford and Kennedy camp it up something chronic - Kennedy practically twirls his moustache. Dee and Donahue play in a totally appropriate manner; Dee is very good, depicting sexual confusion and lust, and having an effective hysteria scene. Donahue is stiff and awkward but has a good intense look and deep speaking voice; he's also got this scene where he makes some dim pronouncement in class about not wanting to follow orders and everyone claps. But he and Dee are an ideal team - it's a shame they didn't work with together more often. They have genuine chemistry.
Egan and McGuire offer sensible support - after act one, when their characters jump into bed (50s Hollywood style) pretty much straight away, they drop out of the action, which then concentrates on the kids. Egan does have some awful dialogue talking about the naturalness of sex and Dee's delightful figure. Good, junky fun.
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