She's Working Her Way Through College

This film may be seen as a rather slight offering in the musical genre of the early 50's; however, it's been a favorite film of mine since I first saw it years ago. Virginia Mayo sparkles as Angela, a sincere girl who wants to attend college, but has to work in burlesque as "Hot Garters Gertie" to earn the money. Ronald Reagan is her professor, and thankfully, the film is less concerned with his career woes (being passed over for promotions at the college, a rivalry with the football coach, etc.) than it is with the college kids and the musical numbers. Gene Nelson is handsome and an excellent dancer, and Patrice Wymore has the right degree of archness as "Poison Ivy". The musical numbers are a lot of fun, especially "With Plenty of Money and You" (Virginia, clad in gold fringe, pulls out the stops for her burlesque number), "I'll Still Be Loving You" (Virginia and Gene sing the cute romantic number in class), and the title song. It's a film I can enjoy watching again and again.