"That Hagan Girl" is a strange film. During much of the film, locals all assume that Ronald Reagan was the father of an illegitimate teen (Shirley Temple). However, out of the blue, near the end of the film, the two run off together and are married! If it weren't for the VERY unsettling ending (in which older Reagan inexplicably runs off with pubescent Shirley Temple), this would have been a much better film. But the icky ending--who thought THAT would be entertaining to anyone but a pedophile?! This was just what everybody wanted(?)--America's sweetheart (who STILL looked about 15) running away with a man about age 40. Who was the brainless imbecile who ordered this? So, why am I giving the film a 5? Two reasons: there were certainly many worse films from the 1940s (this one isn't even close to being BAD in that sense) and because I think it was unfairly placed in the book The 50 Worst Movies. I love the book, but feel that this movie just didn't sink to the level of awfulness needed to merit inclusion.
Review of That Hagen Girl
