Main Cast: George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Edward Everett Horton
Release Year: 1938
Country: US
Run Time: 86 minutes
Plot
It's hard to go wrong with such stars as Bob Hope, Burns & Allen, Martha Raye and Edward Everett Horton, and College Swing doesn't-go wrong, that is. The film begins in 1738, when a pact is drawn up between the Alden family and a highly respected Colonial college: If any female member of the family can pass her college exams within a 200-year period, ownership of the institution will be turned over to her. Comes 1938, and the last of the Alden girls, giddy Gracie Alden (Gracie Allen, of course) hires glib-tongued tutor Bud Brady (Bob Hope) to help her pass her exams. She also tries to win over no-nonsense professor Hubert Dash (Edward Everett Horton), who has no intention of handing his college over to a blithering idiot like Gracie. Once she has inherited the place, however, Gracie turns it into a jumpin'-jivin' joint, complete with jitterbugging students, swing bands and remote radio broadcasts. Though George Burns' role is nearly nonexistent, he does get to indulge in his patented cross-talk with Allen. Others contributing to the fun are Ben Blue, Jerry Colonna, Betty Grable, and Grable's then-husband Jackie Coogan. Highlights include Allen's spirited Irish jig and her endearing song duet with Edward Everett Horton. College Swing is the sort of high-powered, all-star entertainment that is virtually impossible to reproduce today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Hans Dreier - Art Director, Ernst Fegte - Art Director, LeRoy J. Prinz - Choreography, Edith Head - Costume Designer, Raoul Walsh - Director, LeRoy Stone - Editor, Boris Morros - Musical Direction/Supervision, Hoagy Carmichael - Songwriter, Burton Lane - Songwriter, Frank Loesser - Songwriter, Manning Sherwin - Songwriter, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Victor Milner - Cinematographer, Lewis E. Gensler - Producer, Howard Wilson - Sound/Sound Designer, Harold Lewis - Sound/Sound Designer, Walter de Leon - Screenwriter, Francis Martin - Screenwriter, Ted Lesser - Short Story Author
It's 1738, and Gracie Alden (Gracie Allen) of the powerful Alden family fails to graduate from the college founded by her grandfather for the ninth year in a row, so he leaves it in his will to the first female of the family to graduate within 200 years. At the deadline, in 1938, another Gracie Alden, the last girl of the line, is having trouble with her studies, so she hires fast-talking Bud Brady (Bob Hope) to help her. Her efforts are opposed by woman-hating professor Hubert Dash (Edward Everett Horton) and his secretary George Jones (George Burns), who don't want to see their beloved college fall into the hands of an empty-headed nit-wit like Gracie.
When by hook and by crook Gracie manages to pass her exam and becomes the owner of the college, she does away with entrance exams, hires a bunch of incompetent but kooky teachers, and turns the place into a jumpin' jitterbugging joint complete with swing bands and remote radio broadcasts.[1][2]
"How'ja Like to Love Me?" - by Burton Lane (music) and Frank Loesser (words), performed by Martha Raye and Bob Hope
"What Did Romeo Say To Juliet?" - by Burton Lane (music) and Frank Loesser (words), performed by John Payne and Florence George
"What a Rumba Does to Romance" - by Manning Sherwin (music) and Frank Loesser (lyrics), performed by Martha Raye with Ben Blue, danced by Betty Grable and Jackie Coogan, George Burns and Gracie Allen, The Slate Brothers, and unidentified extras
"You're a Natural" - by Manning Sherwin (music) and Frank Loesser (lyrics), performed by Gracie Allen
"Irish Washerwoman" - traditional Irish jig, danced by Gracie Allen
