Entertainer Debbie Reynolds embodied the cheerful bounce and youthful innocence of the post World War II era, buoying the genre’s good-natured hokum with her sincere charm and energy. One of a long line of girls-next-door like Doris Day and June Allyson, Reynolds was never as sultry as Day could be, and was more of a showbiz cheerleader and less of a tomboy than either. In her most successful films like “Tammy and the Bachelor” (1957) and “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952), she was often cast as a sincere young adult in the throes of puppy love – never the virgin chased by rogues like Day or the
