Campus Rhythm

Shown on Turner Classic Movies. So half the cast is thirty, playing college students, and the rest of the cast wasn't much younger. There are more musical numbers here than there is plot.... the typical college campus antics. A whole lot of singing in this shortie. Gale Storm is Joan Abbott, who is sick of her job, and for SOME reason, has to change her name and go back to college. Not quite sure why she needed to change her name... were people not allowed to quit their job in the 1940's ? They send "uncle willie" to track her down and bring her back, and we watch HIM while he watches HER exercise in the gymnasium... a little creepy. Then there's the voice gag, where Candy Candido's voice (that's a guy, not a chick) keeps going high and low, even multiple times in the same sentence. Might have been fun the first time, but the repetition gets annoying, especially when he signs "Me, Myself, and I".

Directed by Arthur Dreifuss, who also directed Riot on the Sunset Strip, which is SO much more interesting, and is based on actual events in Los Angeles. Watch that one instead.

It's a Monogram musical with 6 songs in 63 minutes. I am almost at a loss at what else to tell you. Here I go.....teen singer Gale Storm has had enough of being 'The Crunchy Wunchy Thrush' which in those days meant 'radio show sponsor's singer' as opposed to today which means 'see your chemist for the right ointment'. Gale skips on her renewal and hotfoots it to minor rural college under an assumed name: Sally something. Upon arrival she is corralled into some fraternity house by 'Buzz" played like Jungle Jim on holiday by look-alike Robert Lowery (BATMAN from the serial of 1943)..... and accosted by "Scoop" the campus newspaper dude. The only highlight are the songs by delightful vocal funnyman Johnny Candy Candido who is so hilarious and effervescent... as he is in every film he appeared in the 30s/40s..eg: ROBERTA and SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT. Gale Storm is as usual her 'older pert Shirley Temple' teen self... but the film is basically dull, simple and forgettable. Even the other three songs make no sense and are un memorable.. as opposed to forgettable. Some contrived farce scenes at the radio station with exasperated squabbling replacing wit are slightly amusing only for their energy and obvious placement in the trailer. I wish I could say more positive things but CAMPUS RHYTHM but I would be out of sync with myself.

Lively, attractive cast lift this ultra-cheapo to pretty good entertainment. Professional songbird Dorothy (Storm) tires of her radio program, taking off to college to enjoy the social life, instead. There she meets an engaging cast of characters, including the slightly befuddled Scoop (Downs), rubber-face Babs (Pearson), handsome Buzz (Lowery), and what-voice-comes-next Harold (Candido). While waiting in the wings is the catty Cynthia (Drake). Together, they're a sprightly mix.

I'd forgotten what an engaging performer Gale Storm is, so it was nostalgic to renew the acquaintance. And where did novelty act Candido come from. His voice range is truly astonishing. No, there's nothing special about this Monogram production. Looks like they spent about 50-bucks on the sets, while the few exteriors appear to have been shot on studio grounds. Still, I would say they got more than their money's worth.

Gale Storm became famous in two hit television series of the 1950's, "My Little Margie," and "the Gale Storm Show" Except for Lucille Ball, she probably did more 1/2 hour episodes (294 total) on national television than anybody other actress. Before hitting it big on television in the Summer of 1952, she had been a star in some thirty movies starting at age 18 in 1940. She seems to have been under contract to Monogram, one of the poorest film studios in the early 40's, but did work her way up to doing some movies for majors like Columbia and Universal in the late 40's.

In the mid 50's, during the time of her television triumphs, she also had a half dozen or so hit records.

I was born in the 50's and I was one of her television fans, although I got to watch her series mainly in reruns in the mornings in the early 1960's.

This was the first movie I have seen her in and she is just as delightful as she is in her television series. The only difference is that she is ten years younger. Surprisingly, she plays a singer in this movie. It is strange that she didn't have a record contract until the 1950's, her voice is sweet and natural. With all the talent scouts in Hollywood, you would have thought that one would recognize her singing talents.

Being a Monogram picture, its technical quality is not much above a 1950's television sit-com. However, it is pleasant enough and does provide lots of amusing moments.

The plot is Gale Storm as a radio singer signed to Crunchy-Wunchy breakfast cereal. She wants to break away and go to college. One has to imagine that she really wanted to break her contract with Monogram Pictures. She escapes to a college, but Crunchy-Wunchy starts a national campaign to find her.

Storm was born about two months before Judy Garland in 1922. I couldn't help thinking of her as a low-rent Judy Garland here. They're both cute, talented and energetic.

Ge Ge Person and Candy Candido provide some nice comic relief.

I caught "Campus Rhythm" on Netflix, on a whim. I'd like my 63 minutes back, please. First, the plot is as old and tired as vaudeville; "trite" doesn't begin to cover it. Second, the actors all appear to be in their 30s or older, despite them supposedly being college students. The men are, almost invariably, creepy leches, and the audience is somehow supposed to find them charming. Everything is shot on sound stages or back-lots, which sucks any energy or life out of the film. Finally, the music, which is leaned-on heavily, is just dismal with some of the most cringe-worthy lyrics I've ever heard. There were a variety of composers involved but none of them were worthy of polishing Cole Porter's shoes. All that's left of the film is some okay visuals and a bad aftertaste.