Young and Willing

Young and Willing is a 1943 American comedy film made by Paramount Pictures (as Cinema Guild Productions) and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Edward H. Griffith from a screenplay by Virginia Van Upp based on the play Out of the Frying Pan by Francis Swann.

The film stars William Holden, Susan Hayward, Eddie Bracken, Robert Benchley, Florence MacMichael, Martha O'Driscoll, Barbara Britton, James Brown and Mabel Paige.

The story is based around young struggling actors (three males and three females) cohabiting an apartment to make ends meet. This scenario is pretty daring considering the conservative and censorious attitudes of that period. The landlady provides a play to the actors which turns out to be left behind long ago by a former destitute tenant (Robert Benchley) but now a successful theater producer and playwright who has recently taken a room in his old haunts to recharge his creativity and try to rewrite his first play which the landlady had kept when he was evicted. The young actors attempt to sell his own play to him. Complications are made by Cousin Muriel (Florence MacMichael) visiting and discovering the sinful cohabitation and tattling to her folks who charge over to investigate and drag the daughters home. Silliness and mayhem ensues propelled by Muriel's actions highlighted by her unique little girl tattletale voice.

The play on which the film is based opened at the Windsor Theatre, New York City on the February 11, 1941 with Alfred Drake, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Mabel Paige.