GET YOURSELF A COLLEGE GIRL (1964)

At Wyndham College for Girls, Terry Taylor has a secret: she is an up-and-coming singer and songwriter under the name Joanie Harper. Her first song, "Help Stamp Out Men," was described by one listener as "the Kinsey Report set to music." Her new one, "Get Yourself a College Girl,"which she performs at a winter break party at the college, includes lyrics like, "She's at home with Freud--Siggy Freud!" Her fellow students know her secret, but she's afraid that she'll get in trouble if the administration finds out. However, when her song publisher, Gary Underwood, calls the school trying to contact her about doing some PR, the dean is notified, and soon the board is ready to expel her. The dean actually seems to be on Terry's side, but the board decides to take the Christmas break to consider the matter. Terry, with her friends Lynne and Sue Ann, takes off for a ski resort vacation, with a friendly teacher along as a chaperone. Senator Morrison, a board member, is against Terry, but because he's got an election coming up, he tags along in secret to get a feel for the youth vote. And guess who else shows up? Gary, the song publisher, who wants Terry to pose provocatively for an ad. Hilarity ensues, more or less.

Like many youth movies from the early 60s, this film's main appeal isn't really the plot or the actors, but the musical acts that perform throughout; in this case, we see Eric Burdon and the Animals (looking pretty uncomfortable, with Burdon notably lackadaisical about his lip-syncing), The Dave Clark Five (seeming a little more natural), and The Standells performing mostly second-tier material. The Jimmy Smith Trio, a jazz combo, gets some exposure, and most interestingly, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto do their big hit "The Girl from Ipanema," with Astrud staring starkly at the camera with snow falling behind her. It feels almost avant-garde in the middle of a bland 60s rock-pop movie. Music aside, the movie is certainly watchable. Former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley acquits herself well as Terry, even if her singing is only so-so. Chad Everett (Gary, pictured with Mobley) is handsome, Joan O'Brien (the teacher) and Chris Noel (Sue Ann) are lovely and charming, and Willard Waterman (the senator) does the befuddled square nicely. Nancy Sinatra plays the other friend, Lynne, a newlywed; she meets her husband (the very handsome Paul Todd) at the resort and they spend the whole week having sex in their room, so anytime we see her, she's disheveled and dreamy-eyed. A group called the Rhythm Masters do a cute novelty tap dance. Fabrizio Mioni plays a romantic interest role for Sue Ann, and James Millhollin is the somewhat swishy assistant to the senator, who is never quite as funny as the movie wants him to be. It was filmed on studio sets rather than on location, which could have been a drawback, but the artifice of the backgrounds actually plays into the overall pop teen fantasy feel. I had more fun with this than I expected. [TCM]