Dates and Nuts

The 1930s saw a huge number of college comedies...which is odd since the nation was in the midst of the Great Depression and many folks were out of work and only a tiny proportion of folks could afford college. One of these films is "Dates and Nuts"....a short comedy featuring Tim Herbert Jr. And Pat Rooney Jr..

Herman (Tim Herbert) wants to impress the fraternities but when his date (a young June Allyson) is delayed, he concocts an insane plan. He has his buddy, Pat (Pat Rooney) pose as his date and, oddly, Pat turns out to be kind of pretty and VERY popular at the dance. Unfortunately, Pat is also caught gambling and is sent to 'her' dorm room to await punishment. Much of the rest of the film consists of Pat trying to escape AND Wilma (Herman's actual girlfriend) showing up at the college. Can these two scemers manage to escape punishment and can Herman STILL impress the frats? And, can they also avoid paddling by the annoying upperclassmen?

This film surprised me. I'd seen another Herbert and Rooney short and thought it was terribly unfunny...so I expected little here. However, "Dates and Nuts" was cute and worth seeing...and one of the better college shorts of the day.

Here is another late short from the dance-comedy team of Herman Timberg Jr. (and he IS billed as that here, not as Tim Herbert) and Pat Rooney Jr. This plot seems much like the shorts of Educational Pictures' other dance-comedy team from this time, Tom Patricola and Buster West, with the boys at a college, waiting for the big dance. Timberg's date is delayed, so Rooney cross-dresses and passes as his date. Like the Patricola and West shorts, this features scenes shot in very small sections of sets, often six or eight feed wide, with tight photography where if one of the actors stepped away a bit we'd see a blank studio wall. With loud and brash performances, though, one doesn't really notice this very often. Rooney handles the drag sections well (does EVERY comedy team have to do one of these cross-dressing bits?), and the slapstick is fast and furious. Timberg's girlfriend, when she does eventually appear, is played by the young June Allyson, who got her start in shorts. Another Educational short with Allyson from this period that is in circulation is DIME A DANCE with Imogene Coca. Even at this early period, Ms. Allyson had her distinctive voice and radiated charm. It's no surprise she eventually worked her way up to features and starring roles. I acquired some Timberg and Rooney shorts many years ago (see my reviews of LOVE AND ONIONS and THAT'S THE SPIRIT) and watched them once but my mind must have been elsewhere as I didn't find them particularly interesting. Watching them again, I'm really impressed with the team's skills. Not only are they fine dancers, but they do novelty songs well, they have great comic timing, and they have impressive physical comedy skills. It's a shame that their "big break," their own series of comedy shorts, came in the waning days of Educational Pictures and they were unable to follow up on this work. Herman Timberg Jr. (as Tim Herbert) continued to act and perform, but evidently Rooney left show business a few years after. I'd like to see all of their shorts (they made 10 between 1936-38). If you have a friend who collects old comedy shorts, ask him/her to show you something by Timberg and Rooney.

Pat Rooney Jr. And Tim Herbert -- still credited under his birht name of Herman Timberg Jr. -- are college freshman. Herbert wants to join a fraternity, but he needs to show up at the dance with his date, and his girlfriend's car has broken down. So Rooney dresses in drag.

There's some good dancing here, not only Herbert doing a nice tap routine, but a well choreographed group of students jitterbugging. There are signs of education going on, what with about a third of the girls carrying books, but they're wearing glasses, so they are hideous, especially compared to Timberg's girl friend, a very young, platinum blonde June Allyson.