Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

weezeralfalfa The screenplay is rather like a poor man's precursor to MGM's "Babes on Broadway", that would be released a few years later. That's not to say this film is bad. Universal also filmed their version of a school group trying to take their annual musical play to Broadway, in "Mr. Big", starring Don O'Connor. It's about time to put on the annual varsity Show at Winfield College. But stodgy old Professor Biddle, as the producer, resists suggestions that the show be modernized. At the suggestion of the 2 janitors, the student leaders go to NYC to see alumnus Chuck Daly(Dick Powell), who has been producing Broadway shows. At first, he's not interested, as he has an offer from Hollywood. Eventually, he gives in, hoping that his Hollywood offer will still be intact a few weeks later. However, the faculty refuse to let him take over from Prof. Biddle as the producer/director. Now, his Hollywood offer has been withdrawn, and he's broke, so he and his manager, Mr. Williams(Ted Healy), head back to their home base in NYC, telling the kids they're going to Hollywood. The kids eventually figure out this deception, so pack up and head for NYC, where they take over a theater apparently owned or rented by Mr. Williams. They refuse to leave until their show is seen, but Mr. Williams insists they need to fork over $4500. before. He calls the police to force them out, but the police are transfixed by the first part of their show and settle down in seats to watch the rest. More police are called, with the same result. Finally, the national guard is called. As they storm in, Fred Waring has his orchestra play "Pack Up Your Troubles......", which helps calm them down, as they too become interested in the progressing play. The show continues to completion, with a major musical production at the end, ending with an embrace between Daly(Powell), and co-ed Babs( Rosemary Lane).The screenplay is energized throughout with the natural enthusiasm of a mass of college-aged(actually mostly older)adults.... Ted Healy(Mr. Williams), provides some laughs periodically, especially relating to the defense of his theater against the horde of thespians who have taken it over....Walter Catlett is also amusing as the stodgy Pro. Biddle. He reminds me of a cross between Ed Wynn and silent film comedy star Harold Lloyd. ...Mabel Todd, in her first Hollywood film, plays a goofy dumb blond, who takes a liking to Mr. Williams. She would return to play a similar character in "Hollywood Hotel" and "Gold Diggers of 1937", also released in 1937. Some find her attempts at humor more irritating than funny. She had a relatively brief Hollywood career, never rising above a supporting player.Most of the new songs were composed by the team of Richard Whiting and Johnny Mercer. They were well dispersed throughout the screen play. None would now be considered "keepers", although most were pleasantly serviceable. Half a dozen songs are listed at this site that apparently were included in a 120 min, version, rather than the 80 min. version I saw. Probably, it was decided 120 min. was too long. We have the African American team of Ford Lee and John Sublett in a piano and tap dance performance, the first to "You've Got Something There", later to "Love is On the Air Tonight" Singers included sisters Priscilla and Rosemary Lane, who performed separately, in this, their Hollywood debut. Rosemary would again serve as the leading lady in the subsequent "Hollywood Hotel", and "Gold Diggers of 1937", also released in 1937. The visually rather spectacular finale musical production includes a variety of songs, both reprisals of new songs, and traditional college football fight songs. The marching around, while making various patterns, is classic Busby Berkeley choreography. Quite lengthy, but not quite in the same league as some of Busby's most interesting dance productions. The dancers began as a triangle, moving forward. They would end the show as a triangle moving backwards, away from the audience.Presently available as part of the Busby Berkeley Collection.

Jimmy L. Mindless fluff, but a lot of fun all the way through. Busby Berkeley sure knew a thing or two about troop formations. This 1930s Warner Bros. musical/comedy features a fresh cast, including Priscilla Lane, Sterling Holloway, Johnnie "Scat" Davis, Mabel Todd, and Rosemary Lane as college kids. Dick Powell is an alumnus enlisted to help stage the school show, with Ted Healy along for the ride. Lots of 1930s-era college silliness, with freshman caps, fraternity pins, sorority houses, school pride and all that. Berkeley choreographs the rah-rah finale, while the "plot" is never entirely resolved. Priscilla Lane is very cute as an enthusiastic coed and older sister Rosemary Lane is very pretty as the romantic lead.

MartinHafer I wonder what happened with the missing 40 minutes from "Varsity Show". IMDb lists its original running time as 120 minutes but the Turner DVD is only 80--meaning a third of the film is missing. Perhaps this is just a mistake and the film was always 80 minutes but I wonder if the studio thought 120 minutes made the film incredibly sluggish and they decided to re-edit it--though cutting out THAT much seems very unlikely. Can anyone shed any light on this for me? Dick Powell as well as Fred Waring and his orchestra star in this light-hearted college musical. Apparently the folks at Winfield College are going to put on another VERY boring show--thanks to the very dull Professor Biddle who insists they do it his way. The students want to breath energy into the program and invite Mr. Daly (Powell) to 'spice it up'. But the faculty is adamant--so what are these co-eds to do? Why SING of course! And, in the end, instead of Mr. Daly saving the college show, the students (much like in "Babes on Broadway") put on a show to save the career of swell 'ol Mr. Daly.Overall, this is pure escapist fun. While the songs aren't particularly memorable, they are enjoyable. And the final BIG production number (choreographed by Busby Berkeley) is also quite amazing--and better than most of his efforts. While I am not a huge fan of this sort of film, for what this is, it's amazingly well done. Proof that it wasn't just MGM that could make a nice musical, as Warner had a long string of big production number musicals in the 30s. Worth seeing.By the way, I liked Dick Powell's line "Get back to your rooms and crack a book...". That's because in practically every college film of the 30s and 40s, you almost NEVER see these folks studying or attending classes! Seeing them in the next scene actually studying was a shocker! Although, not surprisingly, the studying session didn't last very long!

dougdoepke No need to repeat details exhaustively provided by other reviewers. I caught the 80-minute truncated version on TCM and it's a shame despite the lively cast and Berkeley's big production number. Comparing the playlist with what's on screen, most of the musical numbers that survived the edit appear condensed into the closing medley of songs—hardly a fair representation. And what's left intact is musically pleasant but hardly memorable. Generally, the same can be said of the truncated movie as a whole.(In passing—note the rebellious college students impatient with the stodgy musical tastes of their elders. Seems like musical rebellion among the young extends further back than the 1950's and Elvis. More obscurely-- note how the kids at one juncture perform a brief sit-down strike to make their point. The year is 1937, the same period as the historic General Motors Sitdown Strike of 1936-37. Looks to me like a topical reference even in a movie piece of fluff.)