The Impossible Years (1968)

A professor of psychology (David Niven) is an expert on the problems of the adolescent except in his own household where he must deal with a rebellious teenage daughter (Cristina Ferrrare). Based on the Broadway play by Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx and directed by Michael Gordon (PILLOW TALK). Suddenly in the 1960s, there were a rash of generation gap comedies as fathers coped with their teen daughter's budding sexuality. There was TAKE HER SHE'S MINE as James Stewart fretted over daughter Sandra Dee, I'LL TAKE SWEDEN with Bob Hope agonizing over daughter Tuesday Weld and here it's David Niven dealing with daughter Cristina Ferrare. They're products of their time and none of them are very good but this entry is particularly trite. At least the other two had appealing actresses (Dee and Weld) as the daughters but here the untalented Cristina Ferrare is a cipher. It's particularly egregious to see the talented Lola Albright wasted in the mother role. The movie ends with a high speed chase, clearly a sign of desperation. But audiences lapped stuff like this up. The Broadway play ran for almost two years and the movie was a hit for MGM. With Chad Everett, Ozzie Nelson, Darleen Carr, Michael McGreevey and Norma Varden.