HAROLD TEEN (1934)

It's graduation time at Covina High School and Harold Teen, a grad from last year who has a job at the local paper as a cub reporter (and general errand runner), has been asked to give an inspirational speech to the new grads while they're having their class picture taken. He manages to double-talk his way through the speech, but he's really there to give his girlfriend Lillums Lovewell a bottle of perfume that he spent so much on, he's missed his car payment, and the car is repossessed right there at the school. Lillums loves the perfume, but she drops the bottle and it shatters in the gutter. In scenes at the local malt shop and other places in town, we meet the rest of the characters: his short buddy Shadow, his silver-tongued rival Lilacs, a fat guy named Tiny, and Lillums' folks, who are in danger of losing their house due to the closing of the bank. Enter new bank president H.H. Snatcher and his sex kitten daughter Mimi. Harold interviews Snatcher for the paper, but gets lightheaded from smoking a cigar that Snatcher offers him. For some reason, Snatcher takes a liking to the boy, and he takes more than a liking to Lillums, which disgusts Mimi—who herself makes a play for Harold. However, Pa Lovewell thinks it might be OK if Snatcher were to marry Lillums since the banker might save their mortgage. When Mimi starts up a local Junior Set social group to put on a summer show, she gets Broadway choreographer Ed Rathburn to help out—the very Ed Rathburn from whom Harold has been taking dancing lessons by mail. This sets the stage for Lillums to break up with Harold because of Mimi, then decide she wants him after all. The stage show climaxes with a "Collegiate Wedding" scene during which all is set right.

Harold Teen was a long-running comic strip centered on the title teenager, and as anyone with a passing knowledge of 20th century pop culture will figure out, Harold is a forerunner of Archie Andrews. Lillums is Betty, Shadow is Jughead, Mimi is Veronica, Lilacs is Reggie, Snatcher is Mr. Lodge (if Lodge had designs on Betty), and both strips have a malt shop owner named Pops. This movie is an interesting novelty, combining small-town teen shenanigans with musical numbers influenced by Busby Berkeley, and the two elaborate production numbers are the high points of the film. The finale wedding number is fine, but an earlier song at the malt shop ("How Do I Know It's Sunday?") is even better. There is cute use of period teen slang: calling a pretty girl "lamb’s lettuce," referring to a friend as "palsy-walsy," and using the all-around brush off, "Aw, go peel a banana!" I also enjoyed some clever dialogue. Clumsy dancing boy to his irritated partner: "Honey, who's gonna take you home tonight?" Partner: "The undertaker if you don't stop squeezing me!" Another dancing boy: "Do you like to dance with French heels?" Girl: "I've never met any!" And the general observation, "Girls with pep give me the jitters!"

The acting is just as good as it needs to be. Hal Le Roy, as Harold (top left), was a tall, skinny Broadway dancer whose movie career never took off, but he's fine here; not too handsome, not too smart, but sweet enough to win Lillums' heart by the end. Shadow is played by Eddie Tamblyn, pictured with Le Roy, father of Russ Tamblyn (Riff in West Side Story). Familiar supporting players include Chick Chandler as Lilacs, Douglas Dumbrille as Snatcher, Guy Kibbee and Clara Blandick as the Lovewells, and an understated Hugh Herbert as Rathbrun. This is sprightly B-budget fun. A sequel might have worked, except the film ends with Harold and Lillums getting married for real: imagine the Archie comic books continuing with Archie married to Betty. Best not to go there. [DVD]