She Loves Me Not (1934 film)

She Loves Me Not is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Bing Crosby and Miriam Hopkins.[1] Based on the novel She Loves Me Not by Edward Hope and the subsequent play by Howard Lindsay, the film is about a cabaret dancer who witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film has been remade twice as True to the Army (1942) and as How to Be Very, Very Popular in (1955), the latter starring Betty Grable.

She Loves Me Not
Theatrical release poster
Directed byElliott Nugent
Screenplay byBenjamin Glazer
Based on
She Loves Me Not
by
Produced byBenjamin Glazer
Starring
CinematographyCharles Lang
Edited byHugh Bennett
Music byTom Satterfield
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • August 31, 1934 (1934-08-31) (USA)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film is notable as one of Crosby's earliest starring vehicles. It was also the last film that Miriam Hopkins made under her contract to Paramount Pictures.

In 1935, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Love in Bloom", the theme song of comedian Jack Benny.[2]

Cast

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Production

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Ida Lupino and Charles Ruggles were reported to have joined the cast in early 1934, but neither appeared in the film.[5]

Before filming commenced, Paramount announced plans to retitle the film College Rhythm but preserved the original title because of the notoriety of the novel and stage production.[6][7] An unrelated film titled College Rhythm was also released by Paramount in 1934.

Reception

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The film was one of Paramount's biggest hits of the year.[8]

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Mordaunt Hall wrote: "As on the stage, this adaptation is a swift-paced piece of hilarity, with occasional romantic interludes during which Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle contribute some tuneful melodies. Some of the farcical episodes in this Paramount offering are apt to recall that famous old comedy, 'Charley's Aunt,' but in the present production, instead of having a varsity student in skirts, they dress up a cabaret girl in male attire after she has invaded a dormitory room."[9]

A review in The Buffalo News found the film to be "a gaily diverting bit of humorous fantasy" and "clean and unceasingly funny."[10]

Songs

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  • "Love in Bloom" (Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger) – sung by Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle
  • "After All You're All I'm After" (Edward Heyman and Arthur Schwartz) (written for the film but not used)
  • "Straight from the Shoulder" (Mack Gordon and Harry Revel) – sung by Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle
  • "I'm Hummin', I'm Whistlin', I'm Singin'" (Mack Gordon and Harry Revel) – sung by Bing Crosby
  • "Put a Little Rhythm in Everything You Do" (Mack Gordon and Harry Revel)[11] – sung by Miriam Hopkins

Crosby recorded some of the songs for Brunswick Records.[12] "Love in Bloom" topped the music chart for six weeks.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "She Loves Me Not". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "Awards for She Loves Me Not". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Hall, Mordaunt (September 8, 1934). "Movie Review of She Loves Me Not". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Fred (1986). Road to Hollywood. Gateshead, UK: John Joyce. p. 62.
  5. ^ Schallert, Edwin (1934-02-28). "Dorothy Dell, Dubbed Screen 'Find,' Awarded Leading Feminine Role in 'Great Magoo'". Los Angeles Times. p. 7.
  6. ^ Arthur, Art (1934-01-09). "Reverting to Type". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 23.
  7. ^ Arthur, Art (1934-03-02). "Reverting to Type". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 25.
  8. ^ DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL.HOLLYWOOD (Dec 30, 1934). "THE YEAR IN HOLLYWOOD: 1934 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era". New York Times. p. X5.
  9. ^ Hall, Mordaunt (1934-06-08). "The Screen". The New York Times. p. 18.
  10. ^ Gooding, E. H. (1934-08-13). "She Loves Me Not Is Feast of Fun". The Buffalo News. p. 4.
  11. ^ Burton, Jack. The Blue Book of Hollywood Musicals. Century House, 1953.
  12. ^ Baker, Richard. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 105. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
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