Cinema Sunday: Too Many Girls

Sometime I encounter a movie completely at random and find myself compelled to see where exactly it's going to go. One such film was a 1940 musical comedy I had never heard of before was Too Many Girls.  

What got my attention was the leading lady of the movie:  Lucille Ball. 

Ball became an icon from her work in television starting with the classic I Love Lucy. But before the days of playing Lucy Ricardo, Lucille Ball was busy making movies. While she scored enough roles to stay gainfully employed as a movie actress but true stardom eluded her. 

Which is a bit of a shame because Lucille Ball was a wonderful talent with a beautiful singing voice. 

Another thing that got my attention while watching the movie was another familiar face with a distinctive voice: Desi Arnaz. 

It was while shooting Too Many Girls that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz first began dating and would eventually marry. The first building blocks of I Love Lucy were put in place during this movie.  

So what the hell is Too Many Girls about anyway?

Lucille Ball is Connie Casey, a flibberbegibbit heiress who announces her attention to settle down, apply herself and go to college. She choose to attend Pottawatomie College in Stop Gap, New Mexico, her father's alma mater. 

Pottawatomie College is a bit of a sad sack of a university in the middle of nowhere. No telling what kind of trouble a young girl like Connie might get herself into so her dad hires four Ivy League football players to follow Connie as her bodyguards. They are supposed to follow her secretly but Connie is able to spot one of them in a crowd. 

When the guys are not guarding Connie's body, they wind up putting their football skills to use for Pottawatomie College's really terrible football team. Which then becomes a national sensation as a really good football team with four Ivy League football players on the team. 

And Connie has ulterior motives for going to Pottawatomie College. Seems her latest beau is British playwright Beverly Waverly who has opted to live in the American southwest. 

Meanwhile, Clint, one of her "secret" bodyguards, has fallen in love with Connie which is in violation of his bodyguard contract with Connie's father.  

Stuff and shenanigans ensue and while I wasn't paying attention, Connie falls in love with Clint, there's a big game that Pottawatomie College wins, a big song and dance number and ta da! The movie is over.

Too Many Girls was directed by George Abbott who also directed the hit Broadway musical on which it was based.  

One of the changes from stage to screen involved the girls of Pottawatomie College wearing beanies. In the movie, wearing a beanie meant a girl had never been kissed; on stage, wearing a beanie meant a girl was still a virgin.  

Too Many Girls is a lightweight confection with almost no substance to it. There's not a lot for Lucille Ball to work with since Connie is pretty much a cipher, virtually a background player in her own starring vehicle. 

Too Many Girls is of significance only for it's role in bringing together TV's first power couple.