A tour de force for Hayley Mills, the most gifted juvenile actress of her generation. She makes the contrived material about adolescent escapades in a Catholic girls' boarding school look believable. It's a rarity for a Hollywood comedy to show a teenage girl who is intelligent and sensitive, and director Ida Lupino should be applauded for it.

Mills is ably assisted in her antics by her comrade-in-arms played by June Harding, who shows how to put the awkwardness in adolescence. They also have a truly touching scene together near the end.

The movie is also notable for the best latter-career work of high-strung movie star Rosalind Russell, who gives a restrained performance for a change as the Mother Superior. She uses quite a few arched eyebrows, however.

Watch for a rare cameo by the great Burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee, who plays a dotty instructor of dance and ladylike comportment.