Hold That Girl (1938)
"Hold That Co-ed" (original title)

While running for governor a politician aids a needy college by plotting to assure victory for their football team. Though to be a parody of Huey Long and his machine.

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Karl Tunberg (screenplay), Don Ettlinger (screenplay),

Stars:

John Barrymore, George Murphy, Marjorie Weaver

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Barrymore	...	Governor Gabby Harrigan
George Murphy	...	Rusty Stevens
Marjorie Weaver	...	Marjorie Blake
Joan Davis	...	Lizzie Olsen
Jack Haley	...	Wilbur Peters
George Barbier	...	Major Hubert Breckenridge
Ruth Terry	...	Edie
Donald Meek	...	Dean Fletcher
Johnny Downs	...	Dink
Paul Hurst	...	Slapsy
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Mike Wurgeski (as Guinn Williams)
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Sylvester (as Bill Benedict)
Frank Sully	...	Steve Wurgeski
Charles C. Wilson	...	Coach Burke
Glenn Morris	...	Spencer

Storyline

While running for governor a politician aids a needy college by plotting to assure victory for their football team. Though to be a parody of Huey Long and his machine.

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Plot Keywords:

football | college | governor | kicking | football coach | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agarre Esta Normalista

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several people are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Russell Hicks (President), Ruth Warren (Mother), Forbes Murray (Otis), Harry Hayden (Spokesman) and Clem Bevans (Judkins). A modern source states that John Barrymore's wife, Elaine Barrie was to be in the film, but her scenes were cut.

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Goofs

Donald Meek is credited onscreen as "Dean Fletcher," but he is called Dean Thatcher throughout the film.

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Connections

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Harrigan"
(1907) (uncredited)
Written by George M. Cohan
Performed by students and reprised by them three times

User Reviews

Fun

Hold That Co-ed (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Political and sports satire about a Governor (John Barrymore) running for a seat on the Senate who comes up with a scheme to get more votes. He decides to pump money into a low class college and turn their football program into one of the best in the nation. This film is rather hit and miss but Barrymore is right on the target with his maniac-style performance. He's certainly over the top but he doesn't go too far out there and he manages to bring several laughs to the rather standard screenplay. A special note must also go towards his wickedly funny looking hair cut. The supporting cast includes George Murphy, Joan Davis, Jack Haley and Donald Meek. The satire works just fine but there are a couple really horrid moments in the film including a couple musical sequences, which just stop the film dead in its tracks. One of these sequences is perhaps the worst musical number I've seen in any film. Another problem is the final football game, which uses wind as a major factor but this comes off very unhappy and ends the film on a rather sour note. George Marshall directs.