Old Man Rhythm

Any RKO movie with ERIC BLORE and ERIC RHODES in the supporting cast can't be all bad. This is a strictly second-rate little college musical with a trivial plot and a bevy of harmless tunes typical of the swing mood that was on the horizon. Vivacious BETTY GRABLE has one of her early campus sweetheart roles (sings a little, dances a little), and if you look hard enough you can spot LUCILLE BALL among the extras, the girl who would go on to buy the studio one day.

GEORGE BARBIER is the senior who wants to be a freshman (he wants to keep an eye on his son, BUDDY ROGERS) whom he thinks is failing subjects because his mind is on girls. Rogers is a blank in a colorless role. The female lead (unknown today) is pretty brunette BARBARA KENT. Silly nonsense with Barbier becoming a freshman subjected to student pranks with more attention on random song numbers than a plot.

The songs are strictly a blend of the type popular at the time but have the benefit of lyrics by Johnny Mercer which helps a lot and its surprising to see that the B&W photography is by Nick Musuraca who did all those great film noirs later at RKO.

Summing up: Harmless fun that passes the time quickly in 75 minutes.