In one of the most bizarre opening musical numbers in film history, the curtain rises on a rather lavish set where a group of "chorus girls" are performing a huge musical number. It isn't until one of the people in the audience opens their program and we see that the "leading lady" is a guy! We know this because there is a picture of him as an athlete followed by a picture of "him" as "her". The musical #, "I'm a Chap with a Chip on My Shoulder", isn't one that will go down in musical history, but the site of these pre-World War II college men in drag is an absolute hoot. Of course, the comedy may seem forced to some people, but it's intentional camp that turns out to be fun.
Johnny Downs is the "Victor/Victoria" of the plot line, a man who pretends to be a woman on stage who then goes to college to pretend to be a real woman who is suddenly a man again to take over the direction of the all girl's school's musical show, which stars the lovely Frances Langford. As usual, Ms. Langford is lovely, singing beautifully and giving her all, but she seems too old to be a co-ed. Maybe it's because she's the strict college dean's niece. Esther Dale is the dean and gives her usual tough performance. Downs is funny in a scene where, in drag, he must get back his male clothes from the laundress (Lillian Randolph). The scene is actually a bit offensive with her reaction to the disappearing clothes as she reports them to Ms. Dale.
This is one of those films that can be called "so bad it's good" because the cast seems to be having such a good time making it. The musical numbers seem like something out of a Busby Berkley # at Warner Brothers (using less than good songs), and fortunately the running time is well under an hour to make it unoffensive. The comedy is no different than anything that Olsen and Johnson did in "Hellzapoppin'" and would later be the type of go-for-the-gut laughs used in such later spoofs as "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun". It's the type of film to take for the era that released it and simply enjoy for the silliness it intends to offer. On that level it works.
Johnny Downs is the "Victor/Victoria" of the plot line, a man who pretends to be a woman on stage who then goes to college to pretend to be a real woman who is suddenly a man again to take over the direction of the all girl's school's musical show, which stars the lovely Frances Langford. As usual, Ms. Langford is lovely, singing beautifully and giving her all, but she seems too old to be a co-ed. Maybe it's because she's the strict college dean's niece. Esther Dale is the dean and gives her usual tough performance. Downs is funny in a scene where, in drag, he must get back his male clothes from the laundress (Lillian Randolph). The scene is actually a bit offensive with her reaction to the disappearing clothes as she reports them to Ms. Dale.
This is one of those films that can be called "so bad it's good" because the cast seems to be having such a good time making it. The musical numbers seem like something out of a Busby Berkley # at Warner Brothers (using less than good songs), and fortunately the running time is well under an hour to make it unoffensive. The comedy is no different than anything that Olsen and Johnson did in "Hellzapoppin'" and would later be the type of go-for-the-gut laughs used in such later spoofs as "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun". It's the type of film to take for the era that released it and simply enjoy for the silliness it intends to offer. On that level it works.