Belles on Their Toes (1952)

A charming period piece following the life and loves of the younger generation of a large American family in a more innocent age, before World War 2.

When one of the girls' suitors, Al, is considered undesirable by the brothers, they try to put him off. He is taking a bath, and the bathroom door lock doesn't work. After a couple of disturbances by younger boys, Frank comes in pretending to be one of the girls, to Al's embarrassment and horror.

Later in the film, one of the daughters, Martha, is finally going out to a dance. Her parents have so far been worried about her tomboyish approach to life. Now she is going out with Bubber Beasley. During the course of the dance, he mentions how pleased he is to be there with her: he had not been looking forward to it, but to his surprise, "It's swell!".

She responds flippantly, "It's swell for me too, Bubber; why up until tonight, I've always wanted to be a boy!"

HF June 2006

This Page: Belles on Their Toes Return to Alphabetical Index Page Return to Home Page

Hazel Freeman's International Transgender Film Guide is maintained by

Hazel Freeman

and hosted at