She's Working Her Way Through College

I've seen Virginia Mayo in a handful of films, including WHITE HEAT (1949), CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (1951), and THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). She was always a beauty, but I was blown away by her in this film. She's incredibly gorgeous in Technicolor and she shows off her dancing skills in this starring role. (Her singing was dubbed.) While the movie on the whole is only so-so, Mayo sure is wonderful to look at.

Another interesting reason to see this film is to glimpse Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, in his acting days. Reagan had made dozens of other pictures before this one, but this was my first experience seeing him in a movie. (I was first turned on to this film when a clip was featured in the 1985 Cold War comedy SPIES LIKE US, made during the Reagan presidency.)

In this film, Reagan plays a college professor who struggles to make ends meet. Mayo is a dancer who enrolls at the college to better herself. Mayo's popularity among the boys makes one co-ed jealous enough to dig up some dirt on her. Meanwhile, the scholarly Reagan feels as though he's losing his wife to her old flame, an ex-football star who's back in town for the big game.

SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE (1952) is a musical adaptation of an earlier comedy THE MALE ANIMAL (1942), starring Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland. The story has been tweaked a little, but the inspiration is still pretty clear for those familiar with the original.

Aside from the musical numbers, the big difference is that Ronald Reagan's professor character is in hot water for staging a musical starring an ex-burlesque dancer, while Henry Fonda's professor was in trouble for reading a controversial (communist) letter in his literary lecture series. Some people have noted that SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE is mindless fluff that wipes away the socio-political message of the original story. Well, it is and it does. But the movie is what it is, and that's fine.

I saw THE MALE ANIMAL first (caught it on TCM), and I must say that overall I think I prefer this remake. It doesn't hit the viewer over the head with a message, it's just a lighthearted campus tale. As I said before, Virginia Mayo is stunningly beautiful in a role that was more or less created for this musical version. (Her character's namesake from the earlier film is a different part entirely.) And while Ronald Reagan isn't a top-shelf thespian, I think I prefer his take on the professor character to Henry Fonda's pathetic wimp. I love Olivia de Havilland in most of her films, but her portrayal in the original version made her seem rather unlikeable as a wife all-too-glad to see her ex come into town. (Mind you that I'm trying to recall THE MALE ANIMAL from memory.) One thing I do favor from the earlier film is Jack Carson's performance as the big shot, ex-jock (the role played by Don DeFore in this movie). I think Carson pulled off the "Statue of Liberty play" routine best.

I wasn't a big fan of THE MALE ANIMAL (it had its moments and is an interesting find for film buffs), and on its own merits I'm not a huge fan of SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE. The film's not bad, but it's nothing special. The songs aren't all that memorable and the story isn't anything earth-shattering. (I can't believe a college would want a student expelled for a past life working in a burlesque hall. This is America, darn it.) Of course musicals aren't always my thing. It's a pleasant movie. A likable movie. A neat movie to check out if you get the chance.

One final thought: I was very impressed by Gene Nelson's solo number toward the end of the film. The song ("Am I in Love?") is meh, but Nelson's dance in the gymnasium shows that he is not only a dancer, but a tremendous athlete. The routine involves all sorts of gymnastic feats that Nelson clearly performs himself. The guy had skills.

I thought this movie was good. I was on vacation and I was staying one night in Zurich, and this just happened to be on TV. I couldn't stop watching it. It was really good, I never knew Ronald Reagan was such a good actor, I just thought of him as a president, nothing else, go figure.

Anyway, if ever you are bored and looking for an amusing movie, this one will do you good. Even though it takes place in the early 1950s it is still really good. I didn't see the very beginning of the movie though, but everything I saw I liked, so thats that.

This film may be seen as a rather slight offering in the musical genre of the early 50's; however, it's been a favorite film of mine since I first saw it years ago. Virginia Mayo sparkles as Angela, a sincere girl who wants to attend college, but has to work in burlesque as "Hot Garters Gertie" to earn the money. Ronald Reagan is her professor, and thankfully, the film is less concerned with his career woes (being passed over for promotions at the college, a rivalry with the football coach, etc.) than it is with the college kids and the musical numbers. Gene Nelson is handsome and an excellent dancer, and Patrice Wymore has the right degree of archness as "Poison Ivy". The musical numbers are a lot of fun, especially "With Plenty of Money and You" (Virginia, clad in gold fringe, pulls out the stops for her burlesque number), "I'll Still Be Loving You" (Virginia and Gene sing the cute romantic number in class), and the title song. It's a film I can enjoy watching again and again.

Whilst Miss Mayo's singing voice is obviously dubbed, her first appearance as Hot Garters Gertie signals an exuberance and promise the movie doesn't quite fulfill. This opening production number emerges as the film's best, despite a very bland, mechanical orchestra which manages to become even more limpid as the action progresses, undermining what would otherwise have emerged as reasonably lively and diverting musical interludes. Nonetheless, the emphasis is definitely on the songs—both old and new—rather than the action and dialogue of the original stage play. The movie certainly packs in plenty of "color" and lots of legs.

Ronald Reagan gives a credible account of the Henry Fonda role and even comes over convincingly in his "Male Animal" speech, even if it is allowed to run a little too long. The other players are way outclassed. Don DeFore, upgraded to the Jack Carson character, in particular proves no match at all.

Credits are slick but squeaky clean. Although Gene Nelson dances up a storm, the musical orchestrations, as noted above, lack pizazz. In fact, the new songs are totally unmemorable. A pity the producer failed to use more of the old standards like "As Time Goes By" which is given a very appealing rendition here by the gifted vocalist, Bonnie Lou Williams.

I'm not much of a fan of Hollywood musicals (especially the bloated 50s variety--you can keep Kiss Me Kate, thank you) but there is something riveting about this film that is rather hard to explain. The script is sharply written and the songs are reasonably good, but the capper for me are the production numbers. Watching Gene Nelson bound around a gymnasium is a truly thrilling experience. If you think this is merely another one of President Ronnie's bad films, think again. With its candy cane Technicolor, snappy dialogue, and big productions, it's almost a pre-rock The Girl Can't Help It--and that can only be a good thing!