Two girls on the lam hide out in a college fraternity.Two girls on the lam hide out in a college fraternity.Two girls on the lam hide out in a college fraternity.
Mike Lally
- 2nd Police Detective
- (as Michael Lally)
Featured reviews
Stormy Tornado (Betty Grable) and Curly Flag (Sheree North) are a team of "interpretative dancers" (not "belly dancers" as incorrectly identified by a previous user comment) who witness the murder of Miss Cherry Blossom Wang and are the run from her killer. They pool their money to get on a bus and wind up in College City, still dressed in their stage costumes. They wind up in an all-boys college dorm and the film ensues with a series of not very funny events because of their situation, their lack of dress and Curly being accidentally hypnotized. This is one of Sheree North's first "big" roles (she was offered the part that Marilyn Monroe turned down, and at the time was viewed by Fox as their new "blonde" to replace their unwilling star Marilyn Monroe, who wanted more substantial roles). She delivers a very wooden performance. Betty Grable, on the other hand, made this her last film for Fox. While she delivers a typical sassy performance, she can not float the rest of the cast which is struggling with a really poorly written script. Orson Bean couldn't act his way out of a bag in this film. Tommy Noonan (Eddie) and Robert Cummings (Wedgewood) also deliver a zinger or two, but the film is really uneventful. A film only for die-hard fans of Grable or North.
Betty grable, and what appears to be a marilyn monroe knockoff, sheree north. Two beautiful women, at a college graduation, hiding out from a mob boss. It's all pretty silly. The awesome charles coburn is doctor tweed, and fred clark is in here as marshall. Alice pearce (from bewitched!) is in here as miss sylvester. Bob cummings is the college student who doesn't seem to really belong there. The girls kind of hide out with the college students, some silly sub-plots. The story lines are way over the top, but it's good to see grable and clark in their roles. Sadly, alice pearce will die so young at 48 from cancer. Apparently, the real m. Monroe refused to take part in this film, and this was also the last film role for grable; she, monroe, and fred clark had just made how to marry a millionaire. It's fun, but goofy. So goofy, they hardly ever show this one. One of the films where north allegedly filled in for a marilyn monroe.
This film is sadly embarrassing for many reasons, perhaps the most glaring, initially, is its complete disrespect and misuse of Betty Grable whose scenes really are few and far between. Both Grable and the terrific Sheree North are wearing raincoats for most of the film, the latter only coming to life (she is hypnotized for most of the 'epic') during one sex-sational dance number. Grable's legs are seen once or twice, but there is no song, no number for her to do...YET, amidst the rubble, Grable's growing craft as a comedienne are visible momentarily. The culprits in this disaster are the inept writers and, of all people, director Nunnally Johnson (didn't he know any better?). The dialog is a blithering mess... and the plot meanders across a landmine of sloppy character developments and plot machinations. Robert Cummings and Tommy Noonan are pretty awful in dreadfully written parts. Orson Bean and Alice Pearce occasionally show a bit of humor. Sheree North, a fine dancer and, later in her career, one of the most under-appreciated and excellent actresses ('No Down Payment' as an example) can merely show her adorable self. The plot plods along with no sense, and has an ending that is disgracefully sloppy for a professional unit. (Whatever plot came from Howard Lindsay's play is missing). Had Johnson tried an out-and-out farce, it might have been a little funny, because the cast understands comedy. But this entire 'romp' thumps down to a disastrous level. Pity the talented two blonde stars. One merit - you can see, briefly, the lovely Charlotte Austin who went on to a very slight film career.
The film starts off as if I was seeing "Some Like it Hot" years before. Two strip-tease dancers witness the shooting death of a Chinese stripper on stage and are pursued by police and the killer alike. Sounds funny and promising but the film soon falls into a trap of utter stupidity.
Bette Grable (too old for the part) and Sheree North are the two fleeing strippers who wind up in a college dormitory and cause mayhem there. North is accidentally hypnotized by Tommy Noonan and spends much of the picture in a hypnotic state. How fortunate for her.
There are two really good performances here by Charles Coburn, as the college dean, more interested in the college getting money than actually providing education and Alice Pearce, as a wacky housemother in the school.
Fred Clark, as the millionaire father, who doesn't know that his son, Orson Bean, has been expelled is given the part of the guy getting hit over the head as he is confused with the killer. Rhys Williams gets the same treatment as North's father.
Bette Grable plays Stormy Tornado. Stormy? This storm blew out to sea. Big-time.
Bette Grable (too old for the part) and Sheree North are the two fleeing strippers who wind up in a college dormitory and cause mayhem there. North is accidentally hypnotized by Tommy Noonan and spends much of the picture in a hypnotic state. How fortunate for her.
There are two really good performances here by Charles Coburn, as the college dean, more interested in the college getting money than actually providing education and Alice Pearce, as a wacky housemother in the school.
Fred Clark, as the millionaire father, who doesn't know that his son, Orson Bean, has been expelled is given the part of the guy getting hit over the head as he is confused with the killer. Rhys Williams gets the same treatment as North's father.
Bette Grable plays Stormy Tornado. Stormy? This storm blew out to sea. Big-time.
Unpleasant comedy about two belly dances on the run from gangsters. Orson Bean carries the movie on his back. However much Orson brings the movie up Sheree North drags it back down again. A real stinker. Do yourself a favour and avoid this movie at all costs.
Did you know
- TriviaFinal film of Betty Grable. Her first screen appearance in Let's Go Places (1930) had been released less than a month after Grable had turned 13 years old. This film marked the end of her 25-year movie career, although she did make a few appearances on television after this.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood Uncensored (1987)
- SoundtracksHow to Be Very, Very Popular
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Sung by off-screen vocalists during the opening credits
Played occasionally in the score
- How long is How to Be Very, Very Popular?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,565,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 29m(89 min)
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1
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