Spring Madness

This is an amusing comedy with a simple plot. After the Easter break, college men and women of the Northeast return to school. On the train back to Boston, the men of Harvard and Dartmouth, in particular, express their rivalry. And the women of the Northeast College for Women interact with the men and talk about their plans for the upcoming shindig, the Spring Dance.

The five women who are housemates at NCW are played by Maureen O'Sullivan (Alex), Ruth Hussey (Kate), Ann Morriss (Frances), Joyce Compton (Sally), Julie Bishop (Mady) and Marjorie Gateson (Miss Ritchie).

The action follows two Harvard seniors, Sam (Lew Ayres) and his buddy, known as The Lippencott (Burgess Meredith). They have plans to visit Russia for two years, working and studying. They want to avoid the usual post-graduation path---a conventional job and, probably, marriage. The crux of the conflict in this rom-com is that Sam and Alex met during the break and strong feelings are undeniable. As Alex has stars in her eyes, Sam is finalizing plans to vamoose.

Yes, the story is simple, but the execution is so much fun. The dialogue is steeped in the lingo of the day. The cast is charming. And it is always fun to watch the upcoming stars of the era. For instance, this is the last of five films released in 1938 starring Maureen O'Sullivan, and it is after her third appearance in a Tarzan film.

In addition to Miss O'Sullivan's usual charms, I especially enjoyed Miss Hussey. And when it comes to fun, Miss Compton has "plent". Sally is a prodigious flirt and can wrap any man, it seems, around her little finger.

Ayres and Meredith are, likewise, great together. The men try to remain true to their pact to travel to Russia, but the women develop a three-pronged strategy to assist Alex's plans.

My favorite scene is where the girls goad the police into giving the boys a ticket. And the big dance scene is quite fab and tres cray.

Sam Thatcher (Lew Ayres) and his best friend "The Lippencott" (Burgess Meredith) are graduating in two months and intend to go to Russia to learn about the Soviet system. Sam is reluctant to tell his girlfriend Alexandra Benson (Maureen O'Sullivan) about leaving for two years.

There is some fast talking comedy and some old style romancing. It's date and I'm not really connecting with these people. The comedy keeps trying and I keep not laughing at it. The ladies are all gorgeous and I fear having to date any of them. The two guys are 30 instead of being in the early 20's. These are the days when the Soviets are still believed to be good for the people. Most importantly, I struggle to find this funny. By the halfway point, I stopped caring and the second half is a real grind.

Spring Madness is adapted from a flop Phillip Barry play Spring Dance that only ran for 24 performances in 1936. As this was a flop and not a hit like The Philadelphia Story MGM let it's B picture unit handle it. So we see no big stars like Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Katharine Hepburn in it.

A good B picture cast like Maureen O'Sullivan, Ruth Hussey, Julie Bishop, and Ann Morriss head the cast which is set at a girl's ivy league college. They do fine.

But I think the reason this play flopped because the leading male character played by Lew Ayres is really a fathead. He and his sidekick Burgess Meredith want to take a slow boat to Vladivostok and live and study in Russia.

By 1938 only the most hardened Stalinist would want to go there. When the play was running on Broadway the purge trials were getting started. When the film was released they were in high gear. Very few believed the babble defense the Daily Worker had of them.

There are some funny scenes and Burgess Meredith steals all scenes he's in with some outrageous overacting. On Broadway his part was played by a young Jose Ferrer.

The film has a few good laughs many with Burgess Meredith.

30-year-old Lew Ayres and 31-year-old Burgess Meredith are planning a two-year trip to Russia. I suppose I should mention they are about to graduate. Ayres is going to miss the Spring Dance with steady girlfriend Maureen O'Sullivan, but says she'll realize he's gone when he doesn't show up. The girls at the local lady's college -- who range in age from 19 to 33 -- plot how to get him to stay in the US and marry Miss O'Sullivan.

People staying in college well past four years aside (or maybe they didn't matriculate very young), it's a sweet, frothy little comedy from a play by Yale graduate Philip Barry. Under the direction of S. Sylvan Simon, it's played for laughs, and succeeds in raising a good smile or two, concerned, as it is, with people who should be adults by this point, but haven't had the necessity of doing so. Looking back, 1938 seems a little late for this sort of tomfoolery, but unlike the college shows of the 1920s, there are one or two scenes in an actual classroom. With Ruth Hussey, Ann Morriss, Joyce Compton, Julie Bishop, and Sterling Holloway.

This one starts out rather silly. The premise is that a college girl is in love with a college boy who wants to go to Russia for two years. She doesn't want to force herself on him but her friends will do anything to get them together. At first the whole thing looks and feels ludicrous. The stereotypes of the black porters today are insulting. The women - Maureen O'Sullivan, Ruth Hussey, Ann Morriss, Joyce Compton, and Julie Bishop (here credited as Jacqueline Wells) - are all gorgeous of course, more like models than college girls. Lew Ayres plays the would-be wanderer and Burgess Meredith his friend in tow. Everybody is a bit too old for the parts but as the film progresses somehow this becomes irrelevant as the comedic elements begin to overshadow the shortcomings. The first to look out for is the gym scene where O'Sullivan coyly agrees with everything Ayres says while he tries to convince her (and himself) of the nobility of his plans. O'Sullivan floats around the gym in her trademark elfin way and you wonder how this poor man can resist her. Joyce Compton, as the ditsy blonde, has several moments such as her overt manipulation of the police chief. Also throughout the film Hussey's presence is elemental. She, perhaps more than O'Sullivan, contributes to its enjoyment. Her strong, wise-cracking portrayal makes you forget this is a terribly outdated sexist story and you begin to enjoy it for what it is: silly fun! One last scene to point out. The look on Ayres' face when he sees his car has been taken apart is priceless. Of course don't bother to ask how that was done with bare hands and in about ten minutes. That would spoil the magic.