From the Actor
Although steeped in talent, director Ray McCarey failed to make it big like his brother Leo McCarey. Like many other famous Hollywood personalities, Ray began his career at Hollywood as a prop boy, but soon graduated to directing Laurel and Hardy comedies. He later moved to Columbia pictures where he directed another series of sidesplitting comedies involving the Three Stooges. McCarey’s versatility as a director is evidenced by the wide spectrum of films he directed - comedies, musicals and westerns. This 1934 vintage Hollywood movie, that is preserved on DVD by a2zcds.com, is an excellent example of McCarey’s skills.
THE PLOT: Life on the college campus is thrown out of gear when, quite unexpectedly, track star Don Cooper (Lon Chaney Jr.) defeats the charismatic and overconfident Larry Haynes (Edward Nugent) in the student elections. The fallout of this result is that both Don and Larry ignore their sweethearts Gwen (Mary Carlisle) and Mary (Gigi Parrish) . When both the boys end up second best at the inter-collegiate athletics meet, it is up to the girls to spur them into action and help their college win the championship. With just one point separating them from the nearest rivals, the boys need all the encouragement Gwen and Mary can generate.
Product Description
Normally one associates muscleman Lon Chaney Jr. with horror or crime classics, but it is a delightful change to see him in The Girl of My Dreams as an innocent sophomore, who is finding out that there is more to life than being able to hurl a 16 pound brass ball further than any other competitor. Set on a college campus, this movie has traces of a musical, a sprinkling of action, a few rings of romance and a huge slice of comedy all thrown together in an enjoyable manner by director Ray McCarey. Although the cast seems to be a little over the hill for their roles, laudable performances by one and all more than cover up for minor flaws. The music is great and it is amusing to see Lon flex his vocal muscles for a change.
Predictably the movie ends on a suspense-filled note and equally predictably on a victorious note for the home team, but not before entertaining you sufficiently with some convincing athletic feats.
All in all this is an entertaining movie, with a bit of something for everybody and is the kind of movie you would like to witness with the family when its raining on a Sunday morning. Witness this hilarious college-life drama - which if nothing else - promises to evoke nostalgia.
