Boy meiner Träume

"Let's put on a show!" nonsense from MGM wastes some marvelous color film stock on witless, leering boy-girl hijinks unredeemed by the presence of co-star Connie Francis and the numerous music acts who pop up against their better judgment. Remake of the Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musical "Girl Crazy" from 1943 (itself a remake of the 1932 version) concerns two college kids helping out a bankrupt Reno rancher and his busty daughter, who delivers the mail. When the two guys first meet Francis, wearing work clothes and a low-setting hat, they actually think she's a he (perhaps they flunked anatomy?). Later, when Francis looks into Harve Presnell's heavily made-up eyes and fake eyebrows and feigns a swoon, one can barely suppress a laugh. Presnell, Golden Globe winner as Most Promising Actor this same year for his performance in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", must be the oldest college student in cinema history; with a copper-colored toupee and ascots around his neck, he looks like one of the college's faculty members. Francis has a pleasant singing voice--and she isn't a terrible actress--but the non-existent script and Alvin Ganzer's hopeless, leaden direction defeats her. Thank goodness grinning-like-mad Liberace is on hand to save this from the barrel's bottom. * from ****