JohnHowardReid Copyright 1 September 1965 by Chrislaw-Patty Duke Productions. U.S. release: 1 September 1965. New York opening at the Astor, the Trans- Lux East and others: 15 September 1965. U.K. release: 13 December 1965. Australian release: 25 August 1966. 7,800 feet. 87 minutes. Censored to 85 minutes in Australia.SYNOPSIS: Billie Carol (Patty Duke), tomboyish teenager can do anything any boy on the athletic team of Harding High can do, only better. This embarrasses her father, Howard Carol (Jim Backus), who is running for mayor on a "male supremacy" ticket. Billie's boy friend is Mike (Warren Berlinger) who is also on the team but runs her a poor second. This gets him mad and he demands she quit so that he may shine. She refuses and they break up. At this point, a undignified photo of Billie and her father falls into the hands of Mayor Davis (Billy De Wolfe) whom Billie's father means to unseat, and he makes the most of it. A rumor gets around that Billie's older sister Jean (Susan Seaforth) is pregnant, and Davis makes the most of this, too.NOTES: "Time Out for Ginger" as presented by Shepard Traube opened on Broadway on the 26 November 1952 at the Lyceum, running a successful 248 performances. Nancy Malone, Polly Rowles, Philip Loeb and Conrad Janis starred.COMMENT: A big welcome back to Billy De Wolfe, making his first film for some time. His debates with Jim Backus are the highlight of the film. Other veterans present include Jane Greer, Charles Lane and Richard Deacon. Don Weis' direction is nondescript enough, but there are some amusing lines and, all in all, the film is an agreeable surprise.OTHER VIEWS: The association of Peter Lawford, Patty Duke and Don Weis in Chrislaw Production's "Billie", the gay, romantic Technicolor United Artists release, is a reunion of long time friends as well as a combination of top-flight Hollywood talent. Weis is producer- director of this, Miss Duke's first Hollywood starer, and Lawford is its executive producer. At Metro a few years ago, Weis directed two television pilots in which Lawford starred — "Dear Phoebe" and "The Thin Man" — and went on to direct additional episodes of each. With two Directors Guild Awards and an additional Guild award nomination to his credit, Weis' motion picture and television accomplishments lead one to believe that he hasn't had a day off since coming to Hollywood and such, indeed, is pretty nearly the case. After working as a script clerk and dialogue director for, among others Stanley Kramer, he went to M-G-M where he directed such films as "Bannerline", "A Slight Case of Larceny" and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis". — U.A. Publicity.

hillari This film has the feel of a TV movie, and it should have been shown there instead of in the theaters. Terribly dated plot, with dialogue that made me wince more than once. Patty Duke is a good actress and so was Jane Greer. It was jarring to see them in this fluffy film. If you look closely during the track and field scenes, it is obvious that Ms. Duke is not doing the stunts. Instead, it looks like an actor in a bad wig. The "beat" explanation for the title character's running prowess was typical teen B-movie silliness. The musical numbers were out of place. Honestly, would mid-1960's teenagers been belting out quasi-Broadway tunes? Would have been more believable if the songs were pop and/or rock. Someone thought that Ms. Duke's appeal to teens during that time would sell records, so they had her sing, which was a huge mistake. I admit that the scenes between Jim Backus and Greer were nice, as were some of the serious scenes between him and Ms. Duke. The script and storyline could have been better, though.

moonspinner55 Scrappy theatrical comedy filmed on a television budget, with Patty Duke putting the high school jocks to shame with her athletic abilities (seems sneaky Pat has been running track to a secret "beat" in her head!). Nothing memorable, but worth-watching for the always-good Jim Backus as Patty's politician father--who can't seem to decide where he stands on women's issues--and Patty herself is also very lively. Her short platinum 'do is a bit odd (and occasionally looks like a wig or a blonde mop-head), but she seems happier here than on her self-named TV series and does very well with her two song numbers (her voice is shaky and without focus, but extremely bright and appealing). **1/2 from ****

Steve-193 This is an excellent family film. Billie is a high school girl who joins a boys track team in a time when things like this just wasn't done. Lots of smiles and laughs. Great entertainment for everyone. Rates up there with Disney's Parent Trap. It stars Patty Duke when she was still a child star. Highly recommended.Steve Kaden