
Well, I can accurately report that this movie is certainly zany in that 1960s kind of way. I'm talking cartoon zany. Right out of the gate, we open on a scientist's lab with all kinds of flashing lights (AND a robot!) as the groovy "Sexpot Goes to College" theme song blares on the soundtrack. This film also features a monkey with sunglasses and Mamie Van Doren firing two pistols into a crowd of students. Oh and it's got John Carradine! Oh and let me just take a moment to say that there is almost nothing cuter in the known universe than 1960s Tuesday Weld. Soooo adorable!
One strange thing though I thought I'd mention - there's some totally bizarre out-of-left-field nudity towards the end of the film. A lengthy striptease scene with multiple girls, a robot and a monkey. Pretty racey(and WTF) for 1960!
This is one of those 'freewheelin' Vitaphone movies that has some comedy and a darker side too. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. & Frank McHugh are two out of work ex-army pilots so strapped for cash that they have to share a single pair of pants. When Fairbanks brings home a stray(girl-Bette Davis), McHugh is initially not amused, bu soon they become chums(with Fairbanks and Davis getting particularly chummy). Eventually they find themselves caught up in a smuggling ring and other shady dealings.
This is one of my favorite Frank McHugh performances. He's quite funny here and a fantastic second banana to Fairbanks Jr. He should have been given this much stuff to do and fun dialogue to deliver in every film.
Watch for a very young Walter Brennan slinging hash in a diner in an early scene.
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