For the Love of Fanny

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Glenn Tryon was a comic who made quite a few comedy shorts in the late 20s and early 1930s. However, he never really caught on well with the public and soon he reinvented himself as a successful screenwriter and producer.

Of all his comedies I've seen, "For the Love of Fanny" is perhaps his best...and it holds up well today. It stars Tryon as Jimmy and Helen Mann as Fanny.

When the story begins, all the eligible young ladies are talking and it seems all of them are dating fraternity men. However, Jimmy isn't in a fraternity and silly Fanny insists he must if he's to marry her. So, he goes through the initiation with one...only to learn its president is his rival for the hand of Fanny. As a result, the guy makes Jimmy do some pretty goofy things...such as serenading a couple cops with a love song as well as repeatedly telling Fanny "I love a brunette"...even though she's a blonde. What is the result? See the film.

The story is cute and it ends very well. While not a rollicking comedy, it's enjoyable and seems to suit Tryon quite nicely.

Glen Tryon loves pretty Helen Mann. She's agreeable, but insists that he pin her with his fraternity pin. He's going through a hazing where he has to do some strange things, as determined by the fraternity president, who also wants Helen Mann.

It's more bizarre than funny, but it certainly has its moments. It's most notable for Charley Grapewin, who plays Miss Mann's father. Grapewin had begun appearing in movies in 1900, then after a couple went back to the stage. He reentered films in 1929, and became a starring character actor in films like THE WIZARD OF OZ and THE GRAPES OF WRATH. And this one.