How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955)

2 girls on the lam hide out in a college fraternity.

Director:

Nunnally Johnson

Writers:

Edward Hope (novel), Nunnally Johnson,

Stars:

Betty Grable, Sheree North, Robert Cummings

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Betty Grable	...	Stormy Tornado
Sheree North	...	Curly Flagg
Robert Cummings	...	Fillmore 'Wedge' Wedgewood
Charles Coburn	...	Dr. Tweed
Tommy Noonan	...	Eddie Jones
Orson Bean	...	Toby Marshall
Fred Clark	...	B.J. Marshall
Charlotte Austin	...	Midge
Alice Pearce	...	Miss 'Syl' Sylvester
Rhys Williams	...	Cedric Flagg
Andrew Tombes	...	Police Sgt. Moon
Noel Toy	...	Cherry Blossom Wang
Emory Parnell	...	Chief of Police
Harry Carter	...	Bus Driver
Jesslyn Fax	...	Music Teacher

Storyline

Song-and-dance girls Curly and Stormy Tornado hide out with the guys at Bristol College when they know they can identify the killer of a fellow performer at their San Francisco cabaret. But they rather stand out in their stage costumes and soon all sorts of trouble is heading their way. The fact that Curly has been hypnotised doesn't help.

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Plot Keywords:

college | commencement speech | stripper | repetition in title | graduation | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1956 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Como Usar as Curvas

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, 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:

89 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The part of Curly was adapted by Nunnally Johnson for Marilyn Monroe, who was placed on suspension by Twentieth Century-Fox for refusing the assignment. During the next year, Miss Monroe would live in Manhattan, studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. When Marilyn and Fox came to terms, she returned to Hollywood to star as fame-obsessed Cherie in Bus Stop.

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Quotes

Stormy: You're still a pupil?
Wedgewood: That's right.
Stormy: Well what kind of a for-crying-out-loud kind of school could you be in?
Wedgewood: This one, Bristol College.
Stormy: This is a college?
Wedgewood: Well, of course, what did you think it was?
Stormy: I think you better let me outta here. I had all the college boys I want on Saturday nights thank you... tanked up on the two dollar gin.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999)

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Soundtracks

"The Whiffenpoof Song"
(uncredited)
Music by Tod B. Galloway
Lyrics by Meade Minnigerode and George S. Pomeroy
Sung by the girls before commencement

User Reviews

"Somebody shot the stripper!" ... "What's a-matter? She wouldn't take it off?"

Anemic comedy--a non-musical remake of 1934's "She Loves Me Not"--written by producer-director Nunally Johnson, who based his screenplay on the first version, which was adapted from both Ed Hope's book and Howard Lindsay's play, which was itself reworked in 1942 as "True to the Army" (!). With such a lopsided pedigree, it isn't any wonder why the finished results are so tepid. Betty Grable and Sheree North are "hoochie koochie" dancers in San Francisco who take it on the lam after witnessing a shooting at their dive in Chinatown; seeking refuge in a college fraternity house, North is inadvertently hypnotized by an amateur psychology major. Terrible acting, ugly decor, poor cinematography, and moldy attempts at 'modern' humor set aside, one can hardly keep from laughing when chorine Grable is described as a dancer in her twenties. This project was a hand-me-down from Grable's "How to Marry a Millionaire" co-star Marilyn Monroe after she bowed out; sadly, it was Betty Grable's final film. Shrill, desperate, and unrelievedly dull. * from ****