Good News (1947)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Lew Brown (play) and
Laurence Schwab (play) ...

Release Date:

26 December 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | Sport

Plot:

At fictitious Tait University in the Roaring 20's, co-ed and school librarian Connie Lane (June Allyson)...

Plot Keywords:

Librarian | Football | Love | Record Player | Nostalgic

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

June Allyson	...	Connie Lane
Peter Lawford	...	Tommy Marlowe
Patricia Marshall	...	Pat McClellan
Joan McCracken	...	Babe Doolittle
Ray McDonald	...	Bobby Turner
Mel Tormé	...	Danny (as Mel Torme)
Robert E. Strickland	...	Peter Van Dyne III (as Robert Strickland)
Donald MacBride	...	Coach Johnson
Tom Dugan	...	Pooch
Clinton Sundberg	...	Professor Burton Kennyon
Loren Tindall	...	Beef
Connie Gilchrist	...	Cora the cook
Morris Ankrum	...	Dean Griswold
Georgia Lee	...	Flo
Jane Green	...	Mrs. Drexel

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #12519)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, director Busby Berkeley, and producer Arthur Freed were planning to remake this as a follow-up to Babes in Arms (1939). But when Louis B. Mayer suggested instead to Freed to capitalize on the swing music craze, they switched gears into the production of Strike Up the Band (1940).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Not one of the "College Girls" is either dressed or coiffed in anything that resembles 1920s styles. The costumers used contemporary clothing (1947 that is) for virtually all scenes.

Quotes:

Pooch: And another thing... the boys don't understand a thing you're saying. They're waiting for the signals, you give them the signals - but they're in French!
[Tommy rattles off a some French vocabulary words]
Tommy Marlowe: Guess I can't help it, Poochy. Language comes easy to me. I've only been in class five days and already I speak like a native. I don't know of what country, but, ah, like a native.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Precious Images (1986)

Soundtrack:

Just Imagine

Football & prom season

Football is in the fall, at least nowadays it is. Prom is in the spring. So is graduation, at small colleges (I think).

This movie had football, prom, and graduation, all in the spring. Then, to top it all off, Tommy said he was getting a degree in French LOL. Tommy came off as such a dunce, and I never really picked up on what his major was, anyway.

I expected the women's hairstyles to be short bobs of the 1920s, and more Charleston dancing. These two points became lost when I decided to let myself get lost in the escapism and pure entertainment.

All in all, I still like this movie, very much. I really like the singing of June and Peter, and feel that they had very nice voices. Hope they were not dubbed. At any rate, they were honest and heartfelt vocal renderings.

June Allyson passed away several days ago (today is July 16, 2006), at age 88. In 'Good News', which I saw today for the third time, I figured I would melt in tears when she & Peter Lawford did the scene of 'The French Lesson'. That happened a little when I saw June in 'Little Women', shown 2 hours or so earlier, where Jo meets Laurie (June & Peter) late in the movie (I just saw the last part of it). I knew that I would be watching them again in 'Good News' a little later, because today was the June Allyson special presentation on TCM (7 of her movies).

I do like the 'Varsity Drag' in 'Good News', and wish June had danced more in this movie. I did enjoy how she and Peter led all the other dancers in the huge finale, each leading their group in a large tight triangle. It was so neat.

RIP June and Peter. We love you so. I am still melting in tears.

12/10