TOY TIGER

US, 1956, 88 minutes, Colour.
Jeff Chandler, Laraine Day, Tim Hovey, Cecil Kellaway, Richard Haydn, David Janssen.
Directed by Jerry Hopper.

Toy Tiger is a remake in Cinemascope and colour by Universal Studios of its Deanna Durbin hit Mad About Music. Deanna Durbin in that film pretended to have a famous adventurer father and chose visiting Herbert Marshall to pretend.

This time round, the film is a vehicle for Tim Hovey (Private War of Major Benson) with Jeff Chandler as the chosen father and Laraine Day as his mother. David Janssen appears in an early role as Chandler's assistant. There is an enjoyable duo performance by Richard Haydn and Cecil Kellaway as brothers running a special school. Incidentally, the alleged father's adventures take him to Australia and the librarian produces books describing Australia and its kangaroos and kookaburras. Direction is by Jerry Hopper, director of many comedies and action features at Universal during the 1950s.

1. Enjoyable family drama? Marriage, children, school? Child needing a father?

2. Cinemascope, colour, the gloss of the city, the school and the adventure outdoors? Musical score?

3. The title, its focus, Timmy and hisisense of adventure?

4. The focus on Timmy, his dead father, his busy mother, in school, his boasting, make-believe about his father, the adventures, getting tusks etc. from his mother, the letters? The boys and their taunting? His aoing to the library, buying the stamps? Getting information from the librarian? His needing a father, choosing Rick at the station, following him, inviting him, the lunch, Rick's playing along, the bond between the two? Rick's return, Timmy's telling him about being adult and free? His mother's arrival, the adventures in the wild, the happy reconciliation and his gaining a father?

5.. Gwen and her business, tough, dress and wearing hats, brisk? Her demands on Rick? His wanting to resign? Her.refusal? Going to see rimmy, shock at finding Rick? Trapped out in the wild? Her laughing at herself? The reconciliation?

6. Jeff Chandler and his style as Rick, commercial artist, wanting to paint? Attitude towards Gwen? Going to see Mike, Mike's persuasion about freedom? Support from Larry? The encounter with Timmy, his tiredness, going to the dinner, playing along, telling the boys all the adventure stories, his inventiveness? The return, deciding to resign, influenced by Timmy? His coming back, their weekends together, his painting? The encounter with Gwen, clash, in love, happy ending?

7. The two brothers and their eccentricity, running.the school, the comic styles, with the boys, with Timmy, with Rick, mixing up names?

8. The librarian and her eagerness about Australia? The artist and his philosophy of freedom? Larry as Rick's support, wary about hearing of the child?

9. Popular ingredients? Sentiment? America in the '50s? Success, achievement, family, marriage and love?