The Affairs of Dobie Gillis

Trailer—The Affairs of Dobie Gillis

Pansy Hammer (Debbie Reynolds) goes to college intending to do nothing but work and learn. Dobie Gillis (Bobby Van) goes to the same Grainbelt University with plans to indulge his hedonistic impulses. They are unsuitable for dating, but Dobie is willing to lie to keep Miss Hammer interested. The rest of the plot is uninspiring, existing only string together musical performances and attempts at comedy. Debby and Bobby croon a few tunes and there is some dancing. A young Bob Fosse plays Dobie's new best friend, Charlie Trask, and it is fun to watch him in such an early role. But if you really want to appreciate his dancing talents, check out "Kiss Me Kate", released in the same year. This film runs 73 minutes and didn't get MGM's color treatment, perhaps because a decision maker read the script and realized it didn't deserve more than black and white.

t's strange that this was spun off into a television series. (I have ever seen the TV show.) It's a peculiar movie: It's an MGM musical in black and white. It's mildly amusing but no more. The only performer who went on to stardom is Debbie Reynolds. Almira Sessions was a very odd choice for the New York City aunt of a Grainbelt U. student. She looks like a crony of Ma Kettle. I can't comment on the many -- well, undertones. Possibly the most intriguing aspect of the whole thing is Bob Fosse's dancing, which must have seemed astonishing in 1953. We have seen it now in his own work and in those that have been influenced by him. But the rest of the movie seems -- if not unappealing, and it's not -- quaint and dated.

In an effort to meet young women, bubbly Bobby Van (as Dobie Gillis) goes to college. There, he immediately begins to date cute Debbie Reynolds (as Pansy Hammer), while blond boyfriend Bob Fosse (as Charlie Trask) goes after well-developed Barbara Ruick (as Lorna Ellingboe). This "Dobie Gillis" bears only a little resemblance to the one played, in the later TV series, by Dwayne Hickman (who unexpectedly became a teen spokesperson for the "Beat Generation"). The opening theme sounds more like "The Donna Reed Show" than "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (which is nice). Several TV sitcom regulars give it some life, but not much. Dancing is the highlight, with Mr. Fosse especially outstanding. ***** The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (8/14/53) Don Weis ~ Bobby Van, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Fosse, Barbara Ruick

This comedy/musical is a rather silly but quite entertaining college romance. The dialogue and situations is extremely dated, having come out in the early '50s, but if you enjoy films from that period you'll probably like this one. Some of the situations made me laugh out loud which is more than I can say for many films of today. The characters from this film were later used in the television series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Dobie Gillis shows up on campus having already decided to dedicate his college years to having fun and pursuing women. Pansy Hammer, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to "study, study, study" and "work, work work". Naturally it's love at first sight. It doesn't take long for the two to work out their differences, but it will take the rest of the movie for her father to be convinced! Having never realized that Dobie Gillis had been made into a movie prior to the television series, I naturally had to watch this movie if only for historical purposes. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find myself thoroughly entertained by a very good comedy quite capable of standing on its own merits. It's silly but it works, and is filled in quite nicely with several excellent song and dance routines. All of the cast is outstanding, from stars to supporting roles, but it is Bobby Van who steals the show as the happy-go-lucky Dobie Gillis.