Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

bkoganbing Previous to watching this film my frame of reference for Dobie Gillis was the television series that starred Dwayne Hickman in the early Sixties. So I was curious somewhat to see The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis from where the television series sprung.Other than Dobie you will not find a single character that came from TV show. And instead of high school the girl crazy Dobie who simply views his time at college as a romp with the opposite sex finds himself attracted to THE girl in the person of Debbie Reynolds.Life throws many roadblocks at the young couple, her parents, his teachers, but they do overcome of course. Bobby Van plays Dobie Gillis and he gets a few numbers to show off his singing and more important his dancing. Playing his best friend at the very start of his distinguished career is Bob Fosse and the two are quite the team. Fosse and Van came at the end of the musical cycle, but Fosse went on to Broadway as the most distinguished choreographer of his time. Barbara Ruick is also in the cast and she did way too few films, her best known being Carousel playing Carrie Pipperidge.The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis is a mildly entertaining film that probably is best known as it turned out, a TV Pilot.

classicsoncall As much as I wanted to capture the nostalgic feel of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" TV show, it was just not to be while watching this earlier preview featuring Bobby Van and Debbie Reynolds. The thought that came to mind was a beach picture without the beach or the one piece bathing suits on the picture's females. The film wore out it's welcome about the tenth time I heard 'Learn, learn learn, Work, work work', and that was just in the first half hour. By his own indisputable admission, Dobie (Van) is a fun seeker, who's prime directive employs the ideal 'Workers ought to work, and enjoyers ought to enjoy'. There's never any doubt in which category Master Gillis belongs.Before she joined the slackers club, Debbie Reynolds looked like she might have been the proverbial too good to be true catch for Dobie, but their romance is cinched almost from the get go. On the other hand, Lorna Ellingboe (Barbara Ruick) is more than hormonally challenged by the sight of Dobie on campus. How all these lovebirds reconcile their feelings for each other is part of the meandering script, with caper after caper usually ending in disaster.The one surprise I wasn't expecting here was the presence of legendary dance choreographer and director Bob Fosse. For most of the picture, he was Lorna's noble meatball, but when he breaks into a solo dance number, he's simply amazing. Later he tries not to show up buddy Dobie in a choreographed number that also includes the girls. Those two spots would have been the highlight of the film for me.If you tune in expecting to see characters from the TV show, be warned. There's no Maynard G. Krebs or Zelda Gilroy, no Chatsworth T. Osborne Jr. or Frank Faylen knock off portraying Dobie's grocer dad. Depending on your mood, this one could be mildly entertaining or just a complete bore. Unfortunately, it looks like I caught it on a bad day.

Peter Swanson I caught this film in the pre-dawn hours of an insomniac night recently, and found it reasonably diverting, although certainly no cinematic treasure. It does, however, contain genuine buried treasure for anyone interested in dance history, especially fans of Bob Fosse. The future Triple Crown of entertainment winner (Tony, Emmy, and Oscar in the same year) has a dance solo in this little movie which is positively searing, absolutely mind-bending in its virtuosity...and that's as seen in 2006. In its original release that sequence must have snapped the jaws of any member of the audience who'd ever taken a dance class. The man was simply fantastic, making Bobby Van, a decent hoofer himself, look like a club-footed spaz. I'd watch the storyless antics of Van's Gillis again just to see that number. By the way, I have read the original Dobie Gillis novel by Max Shulman, and it is very funny, as well as substantially earthier than any film or TV version of the story. If you see it in the library, give it a try.

bobc-5 Dobie Gillis shows up on campus having already decided to dedicate his college years to having fun and pursuing women. Pansy Hammer, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to "study, study, study" and "work, work work". Naturally it's love at first sight. It doesn't take long for the two to work out their differences, but it will take the rest of the movie for her father to be convinced!Having never realized that Dobie Gillis had been made into a movie prior to the television series, I naturally had to watch this movie if only for historical purposes. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find myself thoroughly entertained by a very good comedy quite capable of standing on its own merits. It's silly but it works, and is filled in quite nicely with several excellent song and dance routines. All of the cast is outstanding, from stars to supporting roles, but it is Bobby Van who steals the show as the happy-go-lucky Dobie Gillis.