Herman Wouk's novel Marjorie Morningstar was one of the biggest selling novels of the middle 20th century, and still sells enough in the 21st century to justify remaining in print. As a movie, however, it was a dubious proposition, owing to the fact that both its story and its characters are so steeped in -- and conflicted about -- the Jewish religion. The basic problem in adapting the book to the screen in 1957 was its Jewishness. Hollywood, as a movie mecca founded largely by businessmen who were Jewish, was notoriously reticent about utilizing plots focusing too closely on Jewish subject matter, or even allowing films to dwell too closely on identifiably Jewish characters. In a sense, this was simply good business, as well as a lingering reaction to the anti-Semitism that many of the moguls had experienced in the past -- the business feared calling attention to itself as an industry founded by Jews, and the moguls feared calling attention to their own Jewishness. Additionally, it was questionable whether movie audiences in 1958 would respond to the plot's intense questions about the Jewish faith and its role in modern life, in sufficient numbers to justify the making of a multimillion-dollar production. The solution came from the sheer size of the book -- as there was no hope of transposing all of Wouk's 565-page novel to the screen anyway, the producers made sure to tone down and excise most of its focus on religion and shifted the story's focus in the screenplay to Marjorie's attempts at balancing her romantic life and career aspirations. Natalie Wood, who was cast after dozens of other actresses had tried for the part, was very good as the naïve, vulnerable Marjorie. She not only looked right (although one suspects that Susan Kohner could have done just as good a job), but the timing of the production was perfect to get the most from her work -- Marjorie Morningstar's shooting coincided with Wood's engagement and first marriage to Robert Wagner, and, perhaps with this going on in her personal life, she ended up being excellent in her romantic scenes. The casting of the part of Noel Airman (aka Ehrman), her unfortunate choice of a man to be attracted to, was far more problematic. The part itself is a difficult one, as the character is a kind of semi-talented cad, tragic in his way but hardly a hero; for years there was a rumor (denied by the author) that Wouk had based the character of Noel Airman on Robert Paul Smith, a classmate of his from college who is best remembered as the co-author of The Tender Trap. The part was actually written with Danny Kaye -- then one of the biggest stars in Hollywood -- in mind, but Kaye turned it down, possibly thinking that some details in the character's background were too close to his own. Instead, the producers cast against type by getting Gene Kelly for the role -- he is good in the early part of the movie, and in all of the romantic scenes (and it is easier to visualize Kelly than Kaye as a Catskills-based Romeo, charming young would-be actresses in a series of summer romances); but he fails utterly in his penultimate scene, in which he berates the men who are proposing to finance his show, for their questioning of his work. The rest of the cast, however, is ideal -- Carolyn Jones is superb as Marjorie's more worldly friend Marsha; Everett Sloane and Claire Trevor shine as her parents, with Trevor deserving of at least an Oscar nomination for her work as Marjorie's bitchy, quietly manipulative mother, Rose; Martin Milner is also good, in one of a group of solid big-screen roles from this period, as Marjorie's largely unrequited lover, Wally; and Ed Wynn cast to perfection as her loving, aging uncle Samson. The film makes a few errors, such as the extended toreador sequence for Wynn's character, which runs too long and isn't necessary to the plot, but overall Marjorie Morningstar came out as well as could be expected, given the tenor of the times in which it was made and Kelly's limitations in his role. The score, written by Max Steiner, and the songs by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, were also enjoyable and memorable. The movie has only suffered since its original release due to the fact that, although it was made by and at Warner Bros. (and benefited from the work of that studio's top production staff, including Harry Stradling's cinematography and Ray Heindorf's conducting), was owned by producer Milton Sperling, and has not been treated as well in the hands of the various distributors into whose hands it has fallen as one would wish. Recent editions on videotape, laserdisc, and DVD show lots of flaws in the master materials that are not evident in films from the same era that Warner still owns. Even so, seen today, beyond the interesting story and late '50s period detail, the location shooting in New York City and upstate is delightful to watch today, and sharp-eyed viewers will also spot such subsequently familiar faces as Ed "Kookie" Byrnes, Shelley Fabares, and Alan Reed in small roles.