Too Many Girls

source: Too Many Girls

Too Many Girls

This film is significant for one reason only: Lucille Ball met Desi Arnaz,they married,they created the most influential sitcom in TV history. They created the most influential television production company of the 20th century. The film? Awful. Ann Miller? Awful.Lucy is pretty good in a trite role,Desi is the only one really worth watching. The plot? Oh,there was one? Okay,seriously, I didn't find anything about this enjoyable, and I usually like big splashy 40s musicals,but this was frantic and pretty convoluted to say the least. Not my cup of tea.

My mother and father were often on the set of Too Many Girls before they got married. My father was a dancer/extra on the film, as was Van Johnson, who he was buddies with at the time. My mother, who was working in Los Angeles at the time, would go to the set just to watch. My parents often told the story of how my mother would come visit the set and would sit with Lucille Ball and chat with her on the sidelines when she was not being filmed. Once, it came time for a new scene and George Abbott yelled for everyone to get on the set. When my mother remained seated at a table he turned around and yelled at her when he said everybody, he meant everybody! My father had to step out of the chorus line and explain she was his girlfriend and just there to watch. I've not yet gotten the DVD but hope to soon.

Great dancing by Ann Miller and some fellow; Langford looked kind of puffy; Desi was cute and so was Bracken. All the cast seemed energetic and there was good ensemble choreography. Wish it was in color! The surprise was Richard Carlson who looked really hunky in those days...Lucille Ball was great from the beginning...really a beautiful woman with plenty of comic talent!

"Too Many Girls" is fluffy little musical that most likely would be getting no attention today...if it wasn't for the chance pairing of Lucille Ball with her future husband, Desi Arnaz. Apart from this, there's not much to recommend it...not the story nor the songs. When the film begins, four college football players decide to forego returning to their old schools but instead enroll in tiny Potowomanie College in New Mexico! Why? Because a pretty but spoiled young lady (Ball) is going there and her father hires them all to keep an eye on her from a distance. Why they would leave the top football schools in the country seems a bit dubious and it's all an excuse for a lot of singing and dancing and nonsense. My recommendation? If you must see it, well, it's harmless. Just don't THINK very much, as the story seldom makes any sense and overthinking this one will ruin it. Otherwise, if you skip it and watch something else, the chances are what you chose instead is better!

With obvious clumps of studio foliage, this movie must have certainly cost very little to make: however, it does have a few saving graces (Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, and Frances Langford amongst the girls; Richard Carlson, Desi Arnaz, and Eddie Bracken amongst the boys; a handful of good songs from the Rodgers and Hart show - including 'I Didn't Know What Time It Was'). Between the musical numbers it drags quite badly and seems pretty stilted - some of the script has lines like: 'we're handing our strip back'/'you mean you're going to play in the *?'; 'I'm looking for the Stunted Hag.'/'No, this is the Hunted Stag.'; 'You know, that college that doesn't give its right name - Smith.' and so on. The tale of a wayward girl going to her father's cheapo alma mater and shadowed by four Ivy League students is not that original, or done in a particularly interesting way. But, at the few moments when the music kicks in, it just about saves itself from oblivion.

Lucille Ball (as Connie) is going to college. Her wealthy father is afraid she'll get into trouble, so he hires four football players to be her bodyguards. Not a very bright man, obviously! The bodyguards are: Desi Arnaz (as Manuelito), Eddie Bracken (as Jojo), Richard Carlson (as Clint), and Hal LeRoy (as Al). Ann Miller and Frances Langford are around to dance and sing. It's a fair musical, with an "Indian" subplot (Huh?), and budget problems. You should know that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are not paired up in (on-screen, anyway) this film (Ms. Ball is partnered with Mr. Carlson). This is a routinely presented film, with a few highlights. Unfortunately Mr. Le Roy and Ms. Miller do not have a real dance off/team-up together. Mr. Arnaz steals the show from his future wife with a charming performance - look for the scene where he plays "guess the lipstick"! ***** Too Many Girls (10/8/40) George Abbott ~ Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, Desi Arnaz, Ann Miller