5. Too Many Girls
Too Many Girls was a very enjoyable musical. For me, it is notable as Van Johnson's debut film. In fact, you could make it into a fun drinking game -- drink whenever you spot V-Jo on screen! He's chorus boy #41, and does appear quite frequently, but the fun would be spotting him doing a cartwheel and dancing.
But I digress from the actual point of the review, which sadly, is not to wax nostalgic about V-Jo. Movie number five of Summer Under the Stars features Lucille Ball. Too Many Girls is based off the stage version of the same musical, which appeared on Broadway in 1939. The film version features the same male leads as the stage -- Desi Arnaz as Manuelito, a rising football star deciding between Princeton and Harvard, Richard Carlson as Clint Kelly, a football star from Princeton, and Eddie Bracken as Jojo Jordan, the star quarterback (!) from Harvard.
The plot is thin -- Lucy plays Connie, a girl who has been kicked out of Switzerland and has decided to go to Pottawatomie University in Stopgap, New Mexico. Her father, who is wealthier than Henry Ford, decides to send some bodyguards with her and drafts Clint to go to New Mexico with Connie. The three other boys decide to go with, and they all end up in New Mexico. Of course, Connie's father makes them sign a anti-romance clause - no hands off policy.
The college is unlike any I've ever seen, and the sorority girls wear beanies to indicate that they don't neck. (Apparently in the stage version, it meant that they were virgins, but that was too racy to be on screen!) There are lots of song and dance numbers, but the filming seems kind of stagy -- almost as though they were filming the stage version! The dialogue feels like the period, but it's pretty funny. I love Eddie Bracken's character, and imagining him as the quarterback is worth watching the film for. Desi does a big drum number, much like Babalu, during a big bonfire after they win the big game.
Too Many Girls isn't the best musical I've ever seen, but it's definitely not the worst either. At eight-five minutes, it is worth watching -- especially if you play the "Spot Van Johnson" drinking game!
But I digress from the actual point of the review, which sadly, is not to wax nostalgic about V-Jo. Movie number five of Summer Under the Stars features Lucille Ball. Too Many Girls is based off the stage version of the same musical, which appeared on Broadway in 1939. The film version features the same male leads as the stage -- Desi Arnaz as Manuelito, a rising football star deciding between Princeton and Harvard, Richard Carlson as Clint Kelly, a football star from Princeton, and Eddie Bracken as Jojo Jordan, the star quarterback (!) from Harvard.
The plot is thin -- Lucy plays Connie, a girl who has been kicked out of Switzerland and has decided to go to Pottawatomie University in Stopgap, New Mexico. Her father, who is wealthier than Henry Ford, decides to send some bodyguards with her and drafts Clint to go to New Mexico with Connie. The three other boys decide to go with, and they all end up in New Mexico. Of course, Connie's father makes them sign a anti-romance clause - no hands off policy.
The college is unlike any I've ever seen, and the sorority girls wear beanies to indicate that they don't neck. (Apparently in the stage version, it meant that they were virgins, but that was too racy to be on screen!) There are lots of song and dance numbers, but the filming seems kind of stagy -- almost as though they were filming the stage version! The dialogue feels like the period, but it's pretty funny. I love Eddie Bracken's character, and imagining him as the quarterback is worth watching the film for. Desi does a big drum number, much like Babalu, during a big bonfire after they win the big game.
Too Many Girls isn't the best musical I've ever seen, but it's definitely not the worst either. At eight-five minutes, it is worth watching -- especially if you play the "Spot Van Johnson" drinking game!
posted by Rebecca at 8:00 PM
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