Girl O' My Dreams (1934)

A conceited college track star, used to being "big man on campus", gets a jolt when he loses an election to see who is the most popular man in the school.

Director:

Ray McCarey (as Raymond McCarey)

Writer:

George Waggner (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Mary Carlisle, Sterling Holloway, Edward J. Nugent

Cast

Cast overview:
Mary Carlisle	...	Gwen
Sterling Holloway	...	Spec Early
Edward J. Nugent	...	Larry Haines (as Eddie Nugent)
Arthur Lake	...	Bobby Barnes
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Don Cooper (as Creighton Chaney)
Tom Dugan	...	Joe Smiley
Gigi Parrish	...	Mary (as Gi-Gi Parrish)
Jeanie Roberts	...	Kittens
Crane Sisters	...	Nip and Tuck
Lee Shumway	...	Coach
Ted Dahl and His Orchestra	...	Ted Dahl Orchestra

Storyline

A conceited college track star, used to being "big man on campus", gets a jolt when he loses an election to see who is the most popular man in the school.

---

Plot Keywords:

college | 

---

Taglines:

A festival of fun, high-jinks and college capers...The Love Story of Young America! (Print Ad- Sunday Spartanburg Herald-Journal, ((Spartanburg, SC)) 13 January 1935)

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film's earliest documented telecasts took place in Los Angeles Saturday 17 December 1949 on KECA (Channel 7), in Chicago Saturday 14 January 1950 on WBKB (Channel 4), and in New York City Friday 7 April 1950 on WPIX (Channel 11).

---

Soundtracks

Thou Art My Baby
Music by Edward Ward
Lyrics by George Waggner

User Reviews

Likable.

It appears that life in college back in the 30s isn't so different as it is today. This modest little film opens with an over-the-shoulder shot of two kids poring over a dictionary, looking up the meaning of the word 'college,' which is described as something like a 'place where students learn the higher arts.' The scene then immediately changes to shots of various sporting occasions to emphasise the irony of this definition. The kids here are all interested in the opposite sex, and seem to spend more of their time on the sports field than they do in class.

The story is a slight one: Larry Haines (played by an impossibly handsome Edward Nugent) is a likable but conceited college track star who thinks the world shines out of his shorts, so his friends – Sterling Holloway and Arthur Lake in the nominal comic relief roles – decide to rig the 'Joe Senior' popularity election so that Larry will lose, hoping to bring his ego back down to earth. Their plan succeeds and Don Cooper (a young Lon Chaney, Jr., still working under the name Creighton), a dedicated shot-putter, wins the election. Trouble is, Don's head starts swelling, and the two young men end up attached to each other's girlfriends, even though they don't want to be.

This movie is entertaining enough. While it doesn't stand comparison with most higher-quality flicks being produced by the bigger studios at the time, it's head and shoulders above much of the dross being churned out by the poverty row studios back then. Monogram, together with Republic, was one of the better of these impoverished studios – although most of their stuff still wasn't very good. It's easy to see teenagers from the 30s getting a kick out of it while they waited for the main feature.

One moment that does set it apart from other films – although the significance would have been lost on all involved at the time – is that Chaney actually gets to sing a song in this one. Like the film, he's not great, but he passes muster.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love Race

Filming Locations:

University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

W.T. Lackey Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Balsley and Phillips Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1