The Under-Pup

6/22/2022

Now, as a man who really doesn't much like children in films unless it's "Oliver!" (1968), I guess I was asking for trouble when I started to watch this. The opening scene features cinema debutante, the 13 year old Gloria Jean ("Pip-Emma"), giving us the equivalent of an audio postcard of Charles Previn's recent holiday in Switzerland. Yep, a good old fashioned yodel! Luckily, I couldn't be bothered fetching the remote control so decided to persevere and, actually, it's not entirely awful. The young girl wins an essay competition with a first prize of a summer camp experience in a facility frequented by wealthier girls. She arrives and is shunned by her hosts - except one of the teachers, and what follows is a depiction of just how cruel young children can be to one another. Our spunky her