jacobs-greenwood Directed by Don Weis, this Max Shulman screenplay and story was made into a cute, light early 1950's Musical comedy by pairing Debbie Reynolds with Bobby Van, and Barbara Ruick with Bob Fosse, as college kids on the campus of Grainbelt University (obviously a Midwestern locale).The most memorable musical number is the oft-repeated "All I Do Is Dream of You" (the whole day through), which Reynolds had just performed, jumping out of a cake for Gene Kelly, the previous year in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Reynolds's character alternately appears to pronounce Gillis's name as either Dobie or Dopey, which seems more appropriate. Followed by a TV series with Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver before he became TV's Gilligan.Pansy Hammer (Reynolds) enters college with the university's motto "work, work, work, learn, learn, learn" drummed into her head by her protective father (Hanley Stafford). That is until she meets Dobie Gillis (Van), who's come to college to have fun. Not so slowly as surely, he convinces her to adopt his carefree way.Ruick plays another girl, instantly stuck on Dobie, who's pursued and eventually learns to love Gillis's roommate Charlie Trask (Fosse). Hans Conried plays an amusingly arrogant English professor; Charles Lane plays a chemistry teacher. The young couple gets in real trouble after they start skipping classes to be together and Pansy, for the umpteenth time, blows up the chemistry lab when they're trying to makeup their work.After this last incident, against the protests of his wife (Lurene Tuttle, actress Ruick's real mother) and daughter, Pansy's father decides to separate the two lovebirds by sending his daughter to a college in New York, where she'll live with her Aunt (Almira Sessions). Charles Halton appears, uncredited, as the Dean of Grainbelt University. So, Dobie and his two friends try to figure out a way for him to make a trip to see Pansy in New York.After a failed book buying scheme (Percy Helton appears, uncredited, in the campus bookstore), brought about by Gillis's own plagiarism, Dobie finally ends up convincing the near defunct campus magazine manager (Archer MacDonald) out of $1,000 so that he can go to New York to hire a big-named band for a dance to save it. Since he spends almost half the money wining and dining Pansy in the Big Apple, he can only afford to hire "Happy Stella" Kowalski (Kathleen Freeman) and her German quintet.But this is a musical comedy, with some dancing by Van et al, so naturally everything will work out in the end ... after all, human nature means everyone rushes to see a train wreck (and will pay for the privilege), right?

dougdoepke What a pleasant surprise for a hardened old cynic like me. Ordinarily I would avoid a title like The Affairs of Dobie Gillis as if it were the plague. But the sheer bounce and charm of Weis's direction along with Van and Reynolds proved completely beguiling. Sure it's dated. The innocence and idealized portrayal of college-age youth belong to a bygone era. Still, Van's easy way with a song and a smile continues to captivate, while even Reynolds' manages an energized side that doesn't annoy (the sight of her pony-tailed wholesomeness crouched demonically over a boiling witch's brew is hilarious). Surely these two were made for each other in some malt-shop heaven. There are so many nice touches, including: Hans Conreid's arrogant professor (his tight-lipped barbs at Dobie are priceless), Kathleen Freeman's gap- toothed Polish band (I'm sorry we didn't hear more), and the utterly delightful song and dance numbers (a whole lot simpler and more spontaneous than MGM's over-produced foot- stompers of the day). Clearly, the studio dribbled out a bare-bones budget to give their younger talent a chance, and the youngsters responded in spades. I'm only sorry that Van didn't get the career his talent deserved-- watching him and Fosse was a treat. All in all, this is a much better movie than it had any right to be, and a fine piece of unexpected pleasure for viewers of any age.

bkoganbing Previous to watching this film my frame of reference for Dobie Gillis was the television series that starred Dwayne Hickman in the early Sixties. So I was curious somewhat to see The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis from where the television series sprung.Other than Dobie you will not find a single character that came from TV show. And instead of high school the girl crazy Dobie who simply views his time at college as a romp with the opposite sex finds himself attracted to THE girl in the person of Debbie Reynolds.Life throws many roadblocks at the young couple, her parents, his teachers, but they do overcome of course. Bobby Van plays Dobie Gillis and he gets a few numbers to show off his singing and more important his dancing. Playing his best friend at the very start of his distinguished career is Bob Fosse and the two are quite the team. Fosse and Van came at the end of the musical cycle, but Fosse went on to Broadway as the most distinguished choreographer of his time. Barbara Ruick is also in the cast and she did way too few films, her best known being Carousel playing Carrie Pipperidge.The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis is a mildly entertaining film that probably is best known as it turned out, a TV Pilot.

David (Handlinghandel) t's strange that this was spun off into a television series. (I have ever seen the TV show.) It's a peculiar movie: It's an MGM musical in black and white. It's mildly amusing but no more. The only performer who went on to stardom is Debbie Reynolds.Almira Sessions was a very odd choice for the New York City aunt of a Grainbelt U. student. She looks like a crony of Ma Kettle.I can't comment on the many -- well, undertones. Possibly the most intriguing aspect of the whole thing is Bob Fosse's dancing, which must have seemed astonishing in 1953. We have seen it now in his own work and in those that have been influenced by him. But the rest of the movie seems -- if not unappealing, and it's not -- quaint and dated.