“VARSITY SHOW”

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 28 January 1939, Page 3

“VARSITY SHOW”

1 FULL OF DELIGHTFUL SURPRISES Most college films that have been screened to date have inclined to overboisterousness. Many of them have put a strain on the ear-drums without compensating for this by especially tuneful songs. The majority of them have had college football activities as the background for much of their action, sc that unless comedians like the Ritz Bros, or the Yacht Club Boys have been included jn a generally mediocre cast to give it a fillip, the offerings have not been much more than ordinary programme pictures, and rather boring at that. Now comes a production from the Warner Bros, studios that is much more than the average, slick, neatlyproduced musical. This is “Varsity Show,” a film that is distinctive and full of delightful surprises. It presents some splendid camera work. The direction by William Keighley calls for special mention, for it is due to him that the film has such an unusual appeal. “Varsity Show” is a narrative that provides a constant flow of refreshing humour, and some delightful acting. It piles on the fun with a fervour that occasionally ends in an uproarious climax. The film reflects a genuine spirit of youthful reaction to the things that make college life exhilarating. The music of “Varsity Show” is unusually good for a picture of this type, and is sometimes quite striking. The scene where some diners sing “Drink a Health” is particularly effective in the way certain bars of this number are repeated in faint echoes that tremble into silence. Dick Powell (sincere .and well poised in the role of the producer) graphically illustrating to the University Musical Club how to get real “pep” out of its orchestra and into its dance routines, for the annual performance, is an example of the vigour and splendid pace of the film, just as the hilarious episode of the interfering professor being infected with the mumps for the purpose of stopping him from supervising the college concert, is an example of the picture’s genuine humour. Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians supply a colourful and musically satisfying orchestra background. •