Hold That Co-ed

Hold That Co-ed (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Political and sports satire about a Governor (John Barrymore) running for a seat on the Senate who comes up with a scheme to get more votes. He decides to pump money into a low class college and turn their football program into one of the best in the nation. This film is rather hit and miss but Barrymore is right on the target with his maniac-style performance. He's certainly over the top but he doesn't go too far out there and he manages to bring several laughs to the rather standard screenplay. A special note must also go towards his wickedly funny looking hair cut. The supporting cast includes George Murphy, Joan Davis, Jack Haley and Donald Meek. The satire works just fine but there are a couple really horrid moments in the film including a couple musical sequences, which just stop the film dead in its tracks. One of these sequences is perhaps the worst musical number I've seen in any film. Another problem is the final football game, which uses wind as a major factor but this comes off very unhappy and ends the film on a rather sour note. George Marshall directs.