Varsity Show (1937)

Winfield College is putting on their annual production, but this year their director is really bringing them down. Instead of a fun, modern show, he is forcing them to perform in a play with no laughs and outdated music. A group of kids decide to enlist the help of a former student who has made it big on the Great White Way. Chuck Daly (Dick Powell) has fallen on hard times, and his partner (Ted Healy) forces him to accept the $1000 offered him to fix the college musical. Once there, he realizes usurping the faculty will be much harder than he expected. But that suits him just fine; there is a pretty girl (Rosemary Lane) occupying his time.

Powell and Lane do not have great chemistry together so the love story is quite thin. The plot leaves something to be desired as well, but it isn’t the story that makes this film enjoyable; it’s the music. The romantic melody "You’ve Got Something There" is staged simply, but with the lovely lyrics, this is appropriate. "We’re Working Our Way Through College" is done simply as well, although the moving camera makes it seem more complex than it actually is. The song is peppy and funny, the perfect college song. "Have You Got Any Castles, Baby" is a very dancable tune which was made into a Merry Melodies short included on this disk. The real showstopper of the film, though, is the grand finale which features several different school songs the formations of the college letters. This number is simultaneously impressive and timeless.

1937, B&W, 80 minutes