You Can't Ration Love
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Lester Fuller
Betty Rhodes
Johnnie Johnston
Marjorie Weaver
Johnnie "scat" Davis
Marie Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At Adams College, student Marian Douglas has master-minded a plan to "ration" dates in response to the school's wartime shortage of men. Female students are restricted to a certain number of dates per man, and must buy "date" coupons, whose cost depends on how high the man is rated. Co-ed Betty Hammond becomes frustrated when she uses up her coupons to date Pete, a handsome student who rates thirty points, and Marian takes over all of Pete's time. Because Pete's grades are slipping, he is pulled from the varsity musical show, and Marian is assigned to tutor him. When bookworm Johnny "Two Point" Simpson auditions for the show, the women laugh him off the stage because of his prudish rendition of an outdated song. Betty, however, is inspired to make Johnny over so that his rating will increase and Pete might again become available. After Johnny accepts Betty's apology regarding the audition, the two start dating. Betty orders a new haircut and wardrobe for Johnny, then administers dancing, kissing and romance lessons. The "new" Johnny falls in love with Betty, but Betty continues with her plan to date Pete, even though she has fallen for Johnny. Betty's roommate, Bubbles Keenan, spreads the news about Johnny's transformation, and as a result, an all-female audience screams when their new heartthrob takes the stage at the varsity show rehearsal. A brawl erupts among the women after Johnny finishes his song, and when Dean Pettigrew is nearly stripped naked by the man-hungry mob, the faculty cancels the "man-ration" and decides instead to open a canteen for women. When Johnny then learns about Betty's ruse and refuses to take her calls, she becomes the laughingstock of the campus. Hoping to end Marian's new monopoly on Johnny, Betty drops subtle hints that lead Marian to believe that she and Johnny were secretly married and that she is now pregnant. Marian becomes immediately sympathetic to Betty, and arranges with the other co-eds to snub Johnny. Johnny is mystified until Bubbles' boyfriend Kewpie explains the rumors. Johnny furiously denies everything and leaves college to enlist in the Army. On the opening night of the canteen, Marian hears about Johnny's denial and sends one group of students to retrieve Johnny from the train station, and another to retrieve a justice of the peace. When Betty's lie is revealed, a mob of women descend on Johnny, and he and the judge escape to a back room with Betty, Bubbles and Kewpie. Johnny and Betty immediately marry after clearing up their misunderstanding.
Director
Lester Fuller
Cast
Betty Rhodes
Johnnie Johnston
Marjorie Weaver
Johnnie "scat" Davis
Marie Wilson
Bill Edwards
Roland Dupree
Christine Forsyth
D'artega
Sarah Edwards
George Meader
Jean Wallace
Walter Pietila
Bonnadene Wolfe
Ramon Schaller
Ray Spiker
Armand Tanny
John Vernon Schaller
Will Wright
Harry Allen
Walter Baldwin
George Carleton
Fernanda Eliscu
Bobby Barber
Allen Ray
Isabel Randolph
Sheldon Jett
Norman Nesbitt
Danny Desmond
Lee Murray
Jack E. Swift
Shelley Mitchell
Maeve Murray
Carmelle Bergstrom
Sam Ash
Charles Marsh
Crew
Count Basie
Muriel Roy Bolton
Phil Boutelje
Val Burton
Jimmy Dorsey
Hans Dreier
Josephine Earl
Hal Fimberg
Michel Kraike
Lester Lee
Frank Loesser
Walter Macewen
Carl Mahr
Joel Moss
John Robert Murphy
Tom Neff
Tommy Neff
Leo Robin
Jerry Seelen
Steve Seymour
Jule Styne
Irvin Talbot
William Thayer
Stuart Thompson
Walter Tyler
Wally Westmore
Richard A. Whiting
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Hollywood Reporter news items report the following about the production: The film's story was inspired by wartime events that took place at the University of California at Berkeley, in which female students rationed dates with men. Paramount considered Dona Drake, Jimmy Lydon, Elliott Reid, Barbara Britton, Julie Gibson, Noel Neill and Yvonne De Carlo for the cast. Actress Mabel Paige was replaced by Sarah Edwards due to schedule conflicts. This film marked Broadway stage director Lester Fuller's feature film debut. The horse and buggy scene was shot in Sepulveda, CA.
