La collégienne en folie

Imbibition Technicolor, the most perfect method of adding color to film, was at its glorious apotheosis when the Warner Bros. musical "She's Working Her Way Through College," came along in 1952. Let the words of one of the men who worked on the process, Don Berry, inform us:

"The results were striking. No other color process – notably the cheap processes of Eastman Kodak – could even come remotely close to achieving the vibrant, saturated look of IB (imbibition) Technicolor."

With musical films, especially, looking for a prism through which to display their charms, the wedding of Technicolor and "She's Working Her Way Through College" was a match made in cinematic heaven.

Elsewhere, you may read that this musical was an inferior version of the Warner Bros. 1942 drama (in black and white), "The Male Animal." The names of James Thurber and Elliott Nugent, writers of the 1942 movie, do appear in the credits of "She's Working…" but the musical uses only a few of the former film's lines. . . and it has a great foundation, hummable tunes, and that wonderful Technicolor going for it.

Briefly: "She's Working Her Way Through College" starring Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, and Gene Nelson, is a delight from the first scene on. Reagan plays John Palmer, a college professor who's doing dramatic research; and at one of the theaters he visits, he sees a rousing and colorful production number starring a burlesque queen (played winningly by the beautiful Ms. Mayo). Reagan doesn't remember her at first, but she remembers him as her high school teacher. They meet in her dressing room and she learns that her former teacher is now a professor at a small college, Midwest State. Ms. Mayo decides to quit the theater and enroll in his college.

Once at Midwest State, Ms. Mayo receives a lot of wolf whistles from the male students, but responds only with smiles. She meets Don Weston (Gene Nelson), who is quarterback of the football team, but is also a terrific singer and dancer. Together they co-write a musical play for the school to present at one of the better theaters in town, and give their classmates a sneak performance right in their classroom. Professor Palmer has no objections, and is in fact drawn into the performance. The Mayo-Nelson routine is a winner, to the song "I'll be Loving You" by Sammy Cahn and Vernon Duke.

In all, the production of "She's Working Her Way Through College" is a delight. And those who criticize it as an inferior "The Male Animal" need to look again. The two films are ages apart… and "The Male Animal," whatever its virtues, lacks the effervescent and vivid hues afforded by the Technicolor palette.

By Dan Navarro -- daneldorado93@yahoo.com.

This film may be seen as a rather slight offering in the musical genre of the early 50's; however, it's been a favorite film of mine since I first saw it years ago. Virginia Mayo sparkles as Angela, a sincere girl who wants to attend college, but has to work in burlesque as "Hot Garters Gertie" to earn the money. Ronald Reagan is her professor, and thankfully, the film is less concerned with his career woes (being passed over for promotions at the college, a rivalry with the football coach, etc.) than it is with the college kids and the musical numbers. Gene Nelson is handsome and an excellent dancer, and Patrice Wymore has the right degree of archness as "Poison Ivy". The musical numbers are a lot of fun, especially "With Plenty of Money and You" (Virginia, clad in gold fringe, pulls out the stops for her burlesque number), "I'll Still Be Loving You" (Virginia and Gene sing the cute romantic number in class), and the title song. It's a film I can enjoy watching again and again.

Bright, fun Technicolor musical comedy starring the ravishing Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan. It's a loose reworking of The Male Animal. Mayo plays a burlesque dancer and aspiring writer who enrolls in the college where her former high school teacher (Reagan) is now a professor. As you might expect, she isn't welcome with open arms by the conservative college administration. Ronnie's in her corner though and fights for her right to an education. This is really Virginia Mayo's show the whole way. Aside from looking gorgeous she does a fantastic job playing the level-headed dancer who wants to make something more of herself. Opening burlesque number is a treat her fans will love. Virginia Mayo is one of two actresses that readily spring to mind when I think of the beauty of Technicolor; the other being Esther Williams.

The college campus set was pretty. The grass was so green it looked like AstroTurf! Reagan's house was also pretty. I love Technicolor. One odd thing is that in an upstairs bedroom there is a picture of an old rival of Ronnie's on the wall. This seems to be there just to start a conversation between Ronnie and his wife (Phyllis Thaxter) over this guy. Just seemed odd. Why would there be a picture of the guy on the wall? Reagan hates him and he used to be an old beau of his wife's. This part of the story is the film's biggest drawback as Reagan's wife seems very tempted to throw him over for this jerk. Kind of a somber part of an otherwise upbeat movie. It also leads to the worst acting in the film: Ronnie's drunk scene. Cringeworthy. Anyway, it's a nice film with some songs and humor. The songs are nothing special but pleasant. See it for Virginia Mayo and the glorious Technicolor.

This is a color musical remake of Warners' classic "The Male Animal". In this version, Henry Fonda is replaced by everyone's favorite future President, Ronald Reagan. Reagan is again cast as a college professor, after his brilliant performance in "Bedtime for Bonzo". Musical-comedy was certainly not Reagan's strong point, but he is not embarrassing at all in this splashy color remake. And Bonzo is nowhere in sight. The "I'll Be Loving You" number, written by expert songwriters Vernon Duke and Sammy Cahn, is a standout. I find it hilarious that Virginia Mayo's singing is dubbed by Bonnie Lou Williams, Gene Nelson's singing is done by Hal Derwin, but the Pres sings his one line in the number for himself. I believe it is Reagan's only performance in a full production musical number. Thank goodness he was not asked to dance! Mayo and Nelson do that very well on their own. It is surprising that none of the Duke-Cahn songs from this film became standards. Their songs in this film, as well as Warner's "April in Paris" are first rate.

when I was young my girlfriend and I would go to the movies everyday to see this movie and stay to see it twice. As you know in 1952 the movie only played for three days.

We simply enjoyed the plot which told the story of Angela who had to work hard to get to college. The fact that she met up with "Professor" was a treat. We loved the clothes she wore, the dances, the Gene Nelson creativity and watching the girl get her due for trying to expose her. Why can't they make movies like this today. I suppose the producers and directors have all passed away and the young ones today just can't sit still long enough to enjoy the simple ways of life in the 1950's the best of times.