These Glamour Girls (1939)

A drunken college student invites a dance hostess to the big college dance and then forgets he asked her. When she shows up at school, he tries to get rid of her, but she won't leave. ... See full summary »

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Jane Hall (from the story by: Cosmopolitan Magazine), Jane Hall (screen play),

Stars:

Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Tom Brown

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lew Ayres	...	Philip S. Griswold
Lana Turner	...	Jane Thomas
Tom Brown	...	Homer Ten Eyck
Richard Carlson	...	Joe
Jane Bryan	...	Carol Christy
Anita Louise	...	Daphne Graves
Marsha Hunt	...	Betty Ainsbridge
Ann Rutherford	...	Mary Rose Wilston
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Ann
Owen Davis Jr.	...	Greg Smith
Ernest Truex	...	Alumnus
Sumner Getchell	...	'Blimpy'
Peter Lind Hayes	...	Skel (as Peter Hayes)
Don Castle	...	Jack
Tom Collins	...	Tommy Torgler

Storyline

A drunken college student invites a dance hostess to the big college dance and then forgets he asked her. When she shows up at school, he tries to get rid of her, but she won't leave. Instead she stays and shows up both him and his classmates snooty dates.

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Plot Keywords:

college student | campus | party | stockbroker | drunkenness | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dansande flammor

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Loveliness"
(1939)
Music by Edward Ward
Lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest
Played during the opening credits
Sung by Dale Fellows (uncredited) at the social
Hummed by Lana Turner (uncredited)
Played as background music often

User Reviews

Lightweight but Revealing

It may be lightweight fare, but the movie's still a revealing glimpse of the upper 1% of the 1930's. There's heartache aplenty when rich boy (Ayers) dates taxi dancer (Turner) from lower 99% and then stands her up in front of his snooty social circle. She's humiliated, to say the least, and we feel for her. Rich boy, Phil, has a lot to learn about life and people, and the remainder shows him trying to get things straight.

It's an MGM production so the glossy upper crust is spread on convincingly, from the high fashion clothes to the glittering ballrooms to the carefree attitudes. At the same time, the girls don't disappoint in the glamour department just as the title promises. We also get a cross-section of personality types from bitchy Daphne to misfit Betty to nice girl Carol. So it's lots of eye candy with some clumsy humor thrown in (the drunken Harvard man). But then, the movie turns dark near the end, and we see the downside of all the glitter (the stockbroker dad; an onrushing train). Notice, however, how biology ultimately triumphs over class.

The competition may be heavy but Turner shines as the working girl with stars in her eyes. But I especially like a rather obscure Jane Bryan (Carol) who projects an effortless inner radiance. Too bad that she left the business so soon. All in all, the film's a diverting peek into class mores of the time, a topic I expect still resonates with today's 99%.