Summaries

Synopsis

In 1946, Margie (Jeanne Crain) is a housewife reminiscing about her high school days with her own teenage daughter, who has just discovered her mother's old photo album in the attic. In a flashback to the 1920s, Margie is a high-spirited girl living with her dominant but good-hearted Grandmother McSweeney (Esther Dale). Her mother has died and her father (Hobart Cavanaugh), the local mortician, lives apart from Margie and her grandmother, only visiting on Wednesday due to his busy work schedule, and sometimes not even staying long enough to see his daughter. The youngest girl in her class, Margie does very well at her schoolwork, but she is not socially adept and wears old-fashioned clothing, including bloomers that frequently fall down. By contrast, her pretty and fashionable neighbor Marybelle Tenor (Barbara Lawrence) wears short skirts and lipstick and dates the popular but dimwitted captain of the football team, Johnny Green (Conrad Janis). Margie secretly has a crush on Johnny, but he regards her as a "pain in the neck." When Margie meets the handsome new French teacher at her high school, Professor Ralph Fontayne (Glenn Langan), she becomes even more smitten with him, and he seems to take an interest in her as well. Meanwhile, Margie's bumbling classmate Roy Hornsdale (Alan Young) is in love with her, and constantly attempts to court her despite her disinterest in him.Margie participates in a school debate and is excited that both her father and Mr. Fontayne attend. Margie's father is impressed with her debating skills and proud of her. Afterwards, at the skating rink, Margie gets a chance to skate with Johnny but while they are skating, her bloomers fall down. Mr. Fontayne, who is looking on, saves her from public embarrassment by hiding them and tactfully returning them to her later.

When the big senior dance approaches, Margie plans to attend with Roy, but at the last minute Roy catches a cold and is forced to cancel, leaving Margie without an escort. Margie is too embarrassed to go alone or tell Marybelle, who is going with Johnny, that she doesn't have a date, and instead gives Marybelle the impression that Mr. Fontayne is taking her to the dance. Margie's grandmother meanwhile secretly arranges for her father to cancel a business meeting and take his daughter to the dance, but tells Margie only that a man "much older than 15" called to take her to the dance and withholds the man's identity to surprise Margie. When Mr. Fontayne comes to the house with a corsage, Margie thinks he is her date and is thrilled that her fantasy came true, until she sees by the florist's card that the corsage was intended for Mr. Fontayne's actual date, the school librarian Miss Palmer (Lynn Bari). Mr. Fontayne only stopped by to drop off Margie's French composition and compliment her on her good work, although he privately confesses to her grandmother that he would rather be taking Margie to the dance instead of Miss Palmer. Margie is at first devastated, but when her actual surprise date - her father - arrives to escort her to the dance, she is happy again. At the dance, Mr. Fontayne dances with Margie and tells her he would rather dance with her than anyone else, and she even attracts the attention of Johnny. Returning to the 1940s, it turns out Margie married Mr. Fontayne, who is now the principal at the same high school.