Product Description

Comedy about a struggling Hollywood scriptwriter (Dick Powell) who, one Christmas Eve, receives a very unexpected present - juvenile delinqent Debbie Reynolds.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7965 in VHS
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: NTSC, Color
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Customer Reviews

Sweet Golden Comedy
Susan Slept Here is a great comedy from the golden age of Hollywood. It involves an aged Oscar-winning writer (Dick Powell) whose main goal in life is to duplicate his past success. In passing, he mentions to some cop friends that he'd like to talk to some of the young delinquints they come into contact with to try to get story ideas. On Christmas Eve, the cops bring him just that, a seventeen year old girl (Debbie Reynolds). The writer is more put off by her presence, especially when she continually meddles with his relationship with a glamourous woman. In the end though, he agrees to marry the girl to keep her out of jail. He foresees the marriage ending in an annulment, but she has other ideas.

It is nice to see Dick Powell in a film so late in his career, but he has changed a lot from the baby-faced crooner of the early 30s. His face shows his age which helps some of the comedy, including the line where he admits he is 36 years old. Even without that singing voice and lovable smile, he's great.

Debbie Reynolds is surprisingly good as well. She shows a knack for comedy and a charm that few young actresses possess.

Great 50's Debbie Reynolds Comedy!
Susan Slept Here is my favorite movie!
Susan Landis(Debbie Reynolds) is a 17-year-old juvenile delinquent who is to be put into jail for 6 months until she is 18. They found her on Christmas Eve, and didn't want to put her into jail on Christmas, so left her with Oscar winning writer, Mark Christopher(Dick Powell). They come back the next day to take her away. The only way that she can stay out of jail is if she is supported by someone. Her mother had left her written permission to marry anytime, so Mark Christopher marries her to keep her out of jail. From there on you'll have have to watch yourself! It is worth it to buy it! A must see for Debbie Reynolds fans!!(For Dick Powell fans too)
It really should be put onto DVD, though. But great movie anyway!!!

50's Cliches, But In A Very Nice Package
No, I'd never maintain that this sometimes-forgotten 1954 classic has a plot you could easily swallow, but...who cares? The pairing of Powell and Reynolds was a stroke of genius for RKO and director Frank Tashlin (who directed many of those awful Jerry Lewis movies). Things are a bit dated here and there, and the Broadway sitcom cliches of its era often run rampant. But it's still great fun, thanks to a highly accomplished cast and many wryly funny moments. The comedic pacing and dry wit, not to mention plenty of satire about Hollywood itself, will remind you of many well-paced 30's films. But the best parts of this movie are Debbie (before she got trapped and wasted in those Tammy roles), Dick Powell, who does a slendid job in his last starring role, and a game supporting cast that seems incapable of making mistakes with this predictable but enjoyable script. If you aren't accustomed to some of the conventions of 50's movies, you'll undoubtedly howl when Powell confesses to a shocked young Debbie that he's really "middle-aged" (at age 35, no less, though Powell was actually older). A few dated lines notwithstanding, this has always been one of the most enjoyable and polished roles I ever saw from Reynolds or Powell. Don't miss the scene where Powell, a has-been film writer, is watching a late-night movie on tv and glumly lip-synching the torrid lines of a sappy dialogue his character once wrote for a really bad film. Even for the Fifties, there's a certain chic about the way this little romp was put together and performed -- a blessed relief from the often nauseating, in-your-face dumbness of many modern films.