James Stewart, Glynis Johns, Ed Wynn, and child actor Bill Mumy star in this story of a young boy with a fascination for Brigitte Bardot. But his parents don't know as of yet. Father James Stewart keeps trying to make him excel at playing an instrument or painting, only to find he's mediocre at them. Then he and wife Glynis find out he's a math genius and while mother is proud of him, father doesn't know what to make of him and this eccentricity. Everyone thinks Ed Wynn is crazy because he keeps talking to the screen (or us, the viewer.) Who are you talking to, they ask? Then, it comes out that little Bill likes Brigitte and father is very pleased his son is a red-blooded healthy boy. When news of the boy's math skills becomes public knowledge, John Williams wants to capitalize on it, but teacher James Stewart wants nothing to do with it, until he suddenly quits his job at the school. The rest of the movie centers on if the boy can visit Ms. Bardot in France and on betting on horse races with the boy's skill and brains. For as much as I can remember a lot of the film and it was very pleasant and undemanding, it still felt a little too empty. I can't explain it, but to say it really wasn't that captivating or that interesting to me. Considering the cast, I just expected a lot better.
Review of Dear Brigitte
Dear Brigitte
(1965)
Stewart and Company Try Their Best in Fair Material
5 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers