atlasmb "She's Working Her Way Through College" (1952) is a musical remake of "The Male Animal" (1942). A couple of the songs are memorable and the color photography is a highlight, but overall the film achieves mixed results.Ronald Reagan plays the part of Professor Palmer, a central character whose wife considers him an underachiever. While she flirts with an ex-boyfriend, the professor soothes his jealousy with a bottle, becoming a sloppy (unconvincing) drunk.Don Fiore plays the ex-boyfriend ex-athlete, Shep, a blow-hard who still relives football plays from his college days. Fiore was also in "The Male Animal."Virginia Mayo is the burlesque dancer, Angela, who goes to college and attracts the attentions of the quarterback, Don (Gene Nelson). Although dubbing is prevalent, the dance numbers are competent. Nelson's dancing may be the best part of the film, due to its athleticism. He would later have a very successful career, performing and directing.Patrice Wymore (wife of Errol Flynn) plays Ivy, the coed who resents the attention given to Angela, with a poisonous perfection.Some of the comedy is pure corn. The speech about tolerance given by Professor Palmer could be considered inspiring or--in light of McCarthyism--hypocritical.Those who like this kind of college story might also enjoy "Tall Story" (1960), starring Jane Fonda in her first film role. Some portions remind me of this film.

daneldorado 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 -- [email protected].

Tanstaafl1969 Having read the other reviews and just seen the movie on TCM I can really recommend this movie as excellent entertainment. First and foremost the movie retains the terrific plots from the original "The Male Animal" where a university professor must fight for freedom in his class and fight the football hero for his wife.I totally disagree that this musical is in any way less than the original. The climatic speech by Ronald Reagan makes the point that if he expels the showgirl then "they" can expel others based on their religion, race, or where they were born. This freedom was what Henry Fonda's character was also protecting. Both also had excellent "fights" with the football hero and I actually prefer Reagan's because it was more intellectual and sincere.Virginia Mayo is a favorite actress of mine and even if she always had her songs dubbed in all her movies it did not deter from her dancing and acting. She was excellent in "Best Years of Our Lives", "Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N." and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"...all different types of roles but giving each character life and reality with no singing required.Gene Nelson is excellent as the senior football quarterback who dances and sings for the heart of Virginia Mayo…just like he did in "Oklahoma". He shows some good acting ability, too, in the serious scene of finding Reagan drunk when he brought Virginia Mayo home and Reagan thought they were his wife and the football hero.All together this movie is something to enjoy and feel good about when its over…something many critical acclaimed movies don't do.

JohnHowardReid Whilst Miss Mayo's singing voice is obviously dubbed, her first appearance as Hot Garters Gertie signals an exuberance and promise the movie doesn't quite fulfill. This opening production number emerges as the film's best, despite a very bland, mechanical orchestra which manages to become even more limpid as the action progresses, undermining what would otherwise have emerged as reasonably lively and diverting musical interludes. Nonetheless, the emphasis is definitely on the songs—both old and new—rather than the action and dialogue of the original stage play. The movie certainly packs in plenty of "color" and lots of legs.Ronald Reagan gives a credible account of the Henry Fonda role and even comes over convincingly in his "Male Animal" speech, even if it is allowed to run a little too long. The other players are way outclassed. Don DeFore, upgraded to the Jack Carson character, in particular proves no match at all.Credits are slick but squeaky clean. Although Gene Nelson dances up a storm, the musical orchestrations, as noted above, lack pizazz. In fact, the new songs are totally unmemorable. A pity the producer failed to use more of the old standards like "As Time Goes By" which is given a very appealing rendition here by the gifted vocalist, Bonnie Lou Williams.