What's up with 15-year-old Ann Miller being married to 31-year-old Dub Taylor??! I guess they didn't have child abuse statutes in those days or maybe it didn't matter in that totally crazy household! It was also pretty unconventionaly in 1938 for older-woman Jean Arthur to be dating younger-man Jimmy Stewart.
shareIt'sjust a movie for goodness sakes!!
shareI thought that was strange too. But from what I've heard, young actresses made themselves out to be older to get roles. She might have said she was 18 or 19, which would have worked. Still young, but not that young for 1938.
shareAnn wanted to get into movies, so she had a fake birth certificate printed up saying she was 18...even so, you'll note that she looks NOTHING of 15 which probably made it all the easier for her to get into movies. When I see her in the movie, I keep thinking she looks to be near 30.
shareAn actress, not an actual person. Aside from possible child labour law questions, I see no abuse at all. I mean, the character isn't portraying a 15 year old girl, is she?
shareNo, I reckon she must be at least 18...after all, she and Ed are out of high school, and while that's not saying much providing how long some people stayed in school at the time, there weren't any children in the Sycamore family at the time the movie took place.
shareChild abuse? Please find a brain of your own, rent one if you have to. It was acting, she was portraying a character, and it was as freaking wholesome a role and movie as it gets. She wasn't exactly unique for this, either. Look up the names "Joan Leslie" for her era, "Mariel Hemingway" for several decades later or even Scarlett Johansson for just a few years ago.
It's acting for God's sake. It maybe wasn't so ideal, but certainly not freaking child abuse either.
It was also pretty unconventionaly in 1938 for older-woman Jean Arthur to be dating younger-man Jimmy Stewart.
This is true, for one thing, Ann told everybody she was 18 so she could be in the movies, second, she plays a woman 29 years of age...so any way you look at it, there's no 'child' to the situation except for the one nobody knew existed, herself at her true age.
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