It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) – Musical #240

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Sidney Miller

Starring:
Mary Ann Mobley, Joan O’Brien, Nancy Sinatra, Chris Noel, Chad Everett, Willard Waterman, Fabrizio Mioni, James Millhollin, Paul Todd, Donnie Brooks, Hortense Petra, Dorothy Neumann, Percy Kelton (uncredited)
Musical acts as Themselves: The Standells, The Dave Clark Five, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Roberta Linn, The Bellboys, the Animals, The Rhythm Masters, Freddie Bell, Jimmy Smith Trio

Plot:
Theresa Taylor (Mobley) is a student at a strict girl’s college and has been secretly writing and selling music on the side to pay her way through school. Her tantalizing, sexual songs get Theresa in hot water with the deans and college board right before the Christmas holidays. Rather than expel her, they move the day of judgement after the holidays, and ask her to avoid trouble (and men). Unfortunately, Gary Underwood (Everett) has followed her to Sun Valley, Idaho, for the winter holidays with the goal of getting a pin up painting of Theresa.

Trivia:
• First feature film of Mary Ann Mobley, the former Miss America.
• Working titles were “Go-Go Set” and “Watusi Set.” The film was released as “The Swingin’ Set” in the UK.
• Joan O’Brien’s last feature film.
• Scenes filmed at Sun Valley, Idaho.

Highlights:
• The dancing at parties and in the dance class

Notable Songs:
• “Get Yourself a College Girl” performed by Mary Ann Mobley
• “The Girl From Ipanema” performed by Astrud Gilberto with Stan Getz & the Stan Getz Quartet
• “Whenever You’re Around” performed by the Dave Clark Five
• “The Swingin’ Set” performed by Donnie Brooks
• “Blue Feeling” performed by the Animals
• “Bony Moronie” performed by The Standells
• “Comin’ Home, Johnny” performed by Jimmy Smith and the Jimmy Smith Trio
• “The Swim” performed by The Standells
• “Thinking of You Baby” performed by The Dave Clark Five

My review:
I couldn’t help but smile throughout the entirety of GET YOURSELF A COLLEGE GIRL (1964). With youthful actors, energetic 1960s-style dancing, vibrant MetroColor, top notch musical performances and a Christmas setting, how could I not love this movie?

In truth, GET YOURSELF A COLLEGE GIRL is light on plot. Set at a strict girls’ college with Puritan-like rules, senior student Theresa (Mary Ann Mobley) has been secretly making her tuition money by writing sexy songs. When a song publisher Gary Underwood (Chad Everett) calls the school for Theresa and gets her in hot water with the board of trustees and deans. Right before Christmas vacations, she’s called ahead of the board with expulsion threatened. The president of the college tries to defend Theresa by recommending that the discussion be tabled after the holiday.

Theresa and her friends, Sue Ann (Chris Noel) and Lynne (Nancy Sinatra) travel to ski in Sun Valley, Idaho, with their teacher Miss Endicott (Joan O’Brien) as a chaperone. They are followed by Sen. Hubert Morrison (Waterman), who’s family founded the college and realizes the expulsion will hurt his re-election changes; Gary Underwood, and French artist, Armand (Fabrizio Mioni), who wants to paint a sexy photo of Theresa.

While Theresa, Sue Ann and Miss Endicott are trying to stay above reproach, Gary and Armand are trying to become romantically involved with the college girls. Gary is shocked that despite Theresa’s hot lyrics, he gets a cold reception … at first.

It is sort of a feminist little story: the men at the college because the song is about sex from the women’s point of view. And one lyric says “we (college girls) can do most anything most any man can do” which angers the board of trustees. When Chad Everett’s character tries to woo Mary Ann Mobley’s character to bed, she asks, “But why should men decide when it happens?”

The film is all set to music by popular bands of the day, including Dave Clark Five and the Animals. Seriously, the music is so good you have to control yourself from jumping off the couch and dancing the youths in the film. I love 1960s dancing and I love watching it and often want to join in. It’s also interesting to see Astrud Gilberto performing her hit “Girl from Ipanema” in her only feature film. Though the Dave Clark Five and the Animals don’t sing their top hits, their performances are still excellent. Though I had to laugh. Who on Earth can get those type of bands to perform at a college Christmas party! The only miss music-wise for me was “Talkin’ About Love” with Freddie Bell and Roberta Linn.

For our leading stars, Mary Ann Mobley, Chris Noel, Nancy Sinatra and Chad Everett are just painfully gorgeous and youthful. Mobley especially is stunning in her first feature film after being crowned Miss America in 1959.

In a random bit of casting, The Great Gildersleeve himself is in this film: Willard Waterman plays the senator and he even attempts to dance the Watusi. Admittedly, the ending is sort of weird, because the Sun Valley setting is switched back to the college and to votes to re-elect the senator. I almost feel like the movie should have just ended at Sun Valley.

As an aside, some of the skiing footage when skiers are going downhill with torches looked to be borrowed from an earlier MGM film, DUCHESS OF IDAHO.

It’s true that GET YOURSELF A COLLEGE GIRL isn’t an Academy Award-winning message film, but it’s ridiculous and lots of fun. I can’t find a single thing to dislike about this movie. It’s such a good time.

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