By Violet LeVoit
Sweetheart of the Campus
Brief Synopsis
A college dean tries to keep a nightclub from opening too close to his campus.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Edward Dmytryk
Director
Ruby Keeler
Betty Blake
Ozzie Nelson
Ozzie Norton
Harriet Hilliard
Harriet Hale
Gordon Oliver
Terry Jones
Don Beddoe
Sheriff Denby
Film Details
Also Known As
Betty Co-Ed
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Drama
Release Date
Jun
26,
1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 10m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,019ft
Synopsis
Bandleader Ozzie Norton and his featured dancer Betty Blake are about to open at a nightclub adjacent to the all- male campus of Lambert College when Mrs. Minnie Lambert Sparr, the college's puritanical chairman of the board, insists that the club be closed because a state law forbids the operation of a nightclub within five miles of the campus. Harriet Hale, the daughter of Dr. Hale, a professor at Lambert, accuses Mrs. Sparr of deliberately trying to sabotage the school, because under the terms of her late brother's will, the land on which the college sits will revert to her if enrollment drops below a certain number of students. After Ozzie and the band lead a march to protest Mrs. Sparr's actions, they are arrested by Sheriff Denby. When Harriet visits Betty and the band in jail and proposes that they all enter the college to boost enrollment, the band's publicist, Terry Jones, recognizes a great publicity slant and builds a campaign around the fact that Betty is the only co-ed on campus. After preempting the college television station, the band performs a number featuring Harriet singing. When Harriet and the band decide to turn an abandoned gym into a nightclub named the "College Club," Mrs. Sparr protests, but Harriet defends the legality of the club, describing it as a commissary with music. The musical notoriety of the school attracts an entire football team and a bevy of man-hungry co-eds. To prevent the school from attaining its necessary enrollment, Mrs. Sparr teams with Dr. Bailey to institute a series of examinations designed to fail all the students. Mrs. Sparr's plan succeeds, and Betty is the only student to pass because she has flattered Dr. Bailey. When Ozzie declares his love for Harriet and proposes to make her his featured singer, Betty becomes jealous and decides to leave for Broadway. Before she departs, Terry tells Betty that he has fallen in love with her. Betty becomes a smash on Broadway, and as Mrs. Sparr eagerly awaits the end of the term so that she can take over Lambert College, Betty marches in, leading a new flock of students she has recruited from her admirers. After Betty announces her intention to stay on campus, Terry kisses her.
Director
Edward Dmytryk
Director
Cast
Ruby Keeler
Betty Blake
Ozzie Nelson
Ozzie Norton
Harriet Hilliard
Harriet Hale
Gordon Oliver
Terry Jones
Don Beddoe
Sheriff Denby
Charles Judels
Victor Demond
Kathleen Howard
Mrs. Minnie [Lambert] Sparr
Byron Foulger
Dr. Bailey
George Lessey
Dr. Hale
Frank Gaby
Dr. Grimsby
Leo Watson
Tom Tom
The Four Spirits Of Rhythm
Harry Tyler
Louie
Chester Conklin
Vagrant
Harry C. Bradley
Judge
Lee Shumway
Deputy sheriff
Tommy Seidel
Student
Alan Hale Jr.
Football player
Fred Kohler
Football player
Crew
Robert D. Andrews
Screenwriter
Robert D. Andrews
Story
Lionel Banks
Art Director
Eddie Cherkose
Composer
Louis Da Pron
Dance Director
Jack Fier
Producer
Seymour Friedman
Assistant Director
Frank Goodwin
Sound Recording
Edmund Hartmann
Screenwriter
Jacques Krakeur
Composer
William Lyon
Film Editor
Paul Mertz
Music adv
Charles Newman
Composer
Robert Peterson
Art Director
Franz F. Planer
Director of Photography
Jacques Press
Composer
Walter G. Samuels
Composer
M. W. Stoloff
Music Director
Film Details
Also Known As
Betty Co-Ed
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Drama
Release Date
Jun
26,
1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 10m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,019ft
Articles
Sweetheart of the Campus -
Before the days of the juvenile delinquent, the "college movie", with plenty of attendant singing and jitterbugging, was the big studio's strategy for attracting teens to the theater. But for veterans like Ruby Keeler, the genre wasn't an exact fit. Having rejected several scripts from Warners (and laying low after a "mental cruelty" divorce from Al Jolson), the studio that made her famous with 42nd Street (1933) let her go. Keeler was quickly snatched up by RKO, amidst rumors that she'd be partnered with Astaire, but the result was instead this party yarn about a bandleader (Ozzie Nelson) and his featured dancer (Keeler) who run into opposition from a prim university matron (Kathleen Howard) when they try to open a nightclub within 5 miles of campus. This light teen musical is an early film by Edward Dmytryk, later famed for tough guy yarns like Murder, My Sweet (1944) and The Caine Mutiny (1954). Look for Harriett Hilliard as a professor's daughter -- she and husband Nelson would later become television's Ozzie and Harriet.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Sweetheart of the Campus -
Before the days of the juvenile delinquent, the "college movie", with plenty of attendant singing and jitterbugging, was the big studio's strategy for attracting teens to the theater. But for veterans like Ruby Keeler, the genre wasn't an exact fit. Having rejected several scripts from Warners (and laying low after a "mental cruelty" divorce from Al Jolson), the studio that made her famous with 42nd Street (1933) let her go. Keeler was quickly snatched up by RKO, amidst rumors that she'd be partnered with Astaire, but the result was instead this party yarn about a bandleader (Ozzie Nelson) and his featured dancer (Keeler) who run into opposition from a prim university matron (Kathleen Howard) when they try to open a nightclub within 5 miles of campus. This light teen musical is an early film by Edward Dmytryk, later famed for tough guy yarns like Murder, My Sweet (1944) and The Caine Mutiny (1954). Look for Harriett Hilliard as a professor's daughter -- she and husband Nelson would later become television's Ozzie and Harriet.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Betty Co-Ed. Sweetheart of the Campus marked the first time that Ozzie Nelson and his wife Harriet Hilliard appeared together onscreen. This picture also marked Ruby Keeler's return to the screen after a three-year absence. Although a Hollywood Reporter news item notes that Tim Ryan was to be featured in the cast, he does not appear in the viewed print.
