Too Many Girls (1940)

64% of users liked it
(258 ratings)

Now immortalized as the film on which Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met, Too Many Girls is a faithful adaptation of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart-George Abbott Broadway musical hit. The light-as-a-feather plotline finds four football players hired to escort dizzy heiress Connie Casey (Lucille Ball)… More Now immortalized as the film on which Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met, Too Many Girls is a faithful adaptation of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart-George Abbott Broadway musical hit. The light-as-a-feather plotline finds four football players hired to escort dizzy heiress Connie Casey (Lucille Ball) when she goes off to attend a southwestern college. The girls far outnumber the boys on campus, which is sheer ambrosia for the four "protectors": Clint Kelly (Richard Carlson), Jojo Jordan (Eddie Bracken), Cuban exchange student Manuelito (Desi Arnaz) and Al Terwilliger (Hal LeRoy). The order of billing should indicate who ends up romancing the icy Connie, but the other boys don't go home empty-handed either, not with such cuties as Pepe (Ann Miller) and Eileen (Frances Langford) around. As was customary in collegiate musicals of the era, the whole thing ends with the Big Football Game, with the four heroes emerging triumphant. It doesn't take a microscope to spot a young Van Johnson among the chorus boys, especially since he shows up on-screen even before the opening credits! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: George Abbott
Written By: John Twist, George Marion Jr.
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 8, 1940 Wide
On DVD: May 2, 2006

Critic Reviews

Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Forgettable but splashy '40s musical noted for starring Lucille Ball.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Where Lucille Ball and Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz first met.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
In between the songs, the movie's story line is pretty feeble.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
About the best I can say about this 1940 musical is that it features a few decent songs by Rodgers and Hart....

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Cast

            Lucille Ball as Connie Casey

            Ann Miller as Pepe

            Eddie Bracken as Jojo Jordan

            Frances Langford as Eileen Eilers

            Desi Arnaz as Manuelito

            Hal Le Roy as Al Terwilliger

            Libby Bennett as Tallulah Lou

            Harry Shannon as Mr. Casey

            Douglas Walton as Beverly Waverly

            Chester Clute as Lister

            Ivy Scott as Mrs. Tewksbury

            Byron Shores as Sheriff Andaluz

            Pamela Blake as Student

            Chief John Big Tree as Chief

            Iron Eyes Cody as Indian

            Pedro de Cordoba as Mr. Casey

            Van Johnson as Bit Part

            Midge Mallin as Tiny Person

            Jay Silverheels as Indian

            Grady Sutton as Football coach

            Richard Carlson as Clint Kelly

            Mildred Law as Co-ed

            Averell Harris as Detective

            Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as Coed

            Amarilla Morris
            
            Homer Dickenson as Butler
See full cast

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