Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

dougdoepke Communist and later blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo gets a script assignment on sorority houses—the possibilities are intriguing and endless. After all, what better hothouse of class elitism is there than making sure your daughter or son meets just the right people and marries only within the proper social circles. Certainly, no Van der Bilt wants their offspring marrying a campus nobody, so why not manage their young lives through something like elitist clubs, otherwise known as sororities and fraternities. The topic seems perfect grist for an avowed enemy of class privilege, such as Trumbo is presumed to be.But then the movie is a programmer, and the early Trumbo is a relative unknown, so conventional values do prevail. Nonetheless, dad Fisher delivers the main message at movie's end. Grief in the world, Dad observes, is caused by "cliques" banding together, whether sororities, clubs or nations, and then coming into conflict. And though Dad doesn't say so, cliques would presumably include the bogeyman of Marxist theory, economic class. Thus, as Trumbo's mouthpiece, Dad manages to come up with a social version of a classless society, which sounds more like choosing your own friends and not letting that go to your head than anything like common ownership of the means of production. It's also in keeping with the general spirit of the times, which exalts the virtues of the common man, especially salt-of- the-earth types like dad Fisher.The movie itself is entertaining enough for a studio programmer, managing some gritty dramatics (the pushy aunt ruining Merle's pledge chances; the suicide attempt) and, of course, the expected sappy romance. But it's really Anne Shirley who shines and holds things together. Her friendliness comes across as so natural and unforced that you can't help but root for her. She's perfect as the unspoiled small town girl. Nonetheless, the movie remains very much a product of Hollywood and its time. In passing—for a more revealing look at college sororities backed by of an A-budget, catch up with TCF's Take Care of My Little Girl (1952). In my little book, it's a real sleeper, despite the gloss.

Neil Doyle ANNE SHIRLEY and JAMES ELLISON are the romantic leads in this trifle directed by John Farrow about a nice young girl who learns her lessons at college the hard way--by attempting to fit into the sorority scene when she comes from a humble background and is not a girl of wealth as the other girls are falsely told.Shirley and Ellison make a pleasant twosome but their roles are one-dimensional after they meet in the usual Hollywood "by accident" way. He's the campus hero who helps her learn the ins and outs of campus life. Anne Shirley made this film the same year that she tested for Melanie in GWTW and her sweetness appears natural here. But, as usual, her roles seldom became more demanding than requiring a sweet presence, limiting her opportunities as an actress.Surprisingly, Dalton Trumbo wrote the script and Nicholas Musuraca was behind the camera but it's just an RKO trifle easily forgotten.

postmanwhoalwaysringstwice Before the college film degraded into the gross-out comedy and the slasher flick there was the little seen charmer "Sorority House". It revolves around Alice, a young woman whose main desire in life is to attend college. Her financially struggling father ensures this happens and with this we enter the world of the film, which takes place in a particularly non-descript campus somewhere in the Midwest.This uber-innocent romantic comedy flows along with a very brief running time of sixty-four minutes. It deals mainly with Alice's humble interest in seeing her hopeful roommate at the boarding house garner interest of one of the local sororities, but as fate (read a fraternity member) would have it Alice is instead selected due to a technicality. Alice starts to be overcome by all of the elitism that comes from being involved with the young woman of Gamma House, and in a key scene she chooses the clique over her real family.Given some mild female empowerment moments, it's not a surprise Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay, since a year later he'd write the script for "Kitty Foyle", the Ginger Rogers vehicle that can be seen as a fair attempt a work of minor pre-feminism. Here the intention seems almost to expose sororities as merely a choice for a young woman, and not the only way to pave a future, as is mentioned again and again from several characters. There does seem to be some underlying criticism of the elitism and focus on money, which makes it seem pretty edgy for its time.The best moments were spent with Barbara Read's character, Dotty, the young woman who stands on her own two feet and laughs in the face of the sorority that turned her away. It has a certain charm and wit that makes it a nice view, but the running time and underdeveloped character make it seem little more than a trifle. Oh, and the brief suicide attempt seemed way out of place here!

aimless-46 "Revenge of the Nerds" would copy the basic storyline from 1939's "Sorority House"; which has more angst and less humor. Anne Shirley plays Alice Fisher-the daughter of a small grocer who at the last minute gets to go to little Talbot College. On the train she learns that joining a sorority is an essential thing at the school. Unfortunately her late admission means that none of the sororities know about Alice and initially she is not even rushed. Arriving at the train station she asks about sororities but is told by a snooty girl that they are by invitation only. There is an immediate credibility problem here-if you have seen any Anne Shirley movies you know that any sorority in the world would be clamoring to have her join. But the situation regains its lost credibility when Alice's plain Jane roommate Dotty (Barbara Read) calls her a date getter and tells her that the sororities will want her once they see her because she will attract men. You need looks and money to get into these organizations at Talbot and sometimes even that is not enough. Those who don't make it are called "dreeps".Almost all the coeds are Hollywood starlets so a date getter seems irrelevant. Even Dotty has the starlet look, as do three nerd girls in the next room. They try to detune these girls by putting them in glasses and braiding their hair. Marge Champion and Veronica Lake have small parts as average coeds, which should make you wish that you had been the BMOC at Talbot. The actual BMOC is Bill Loomis (James Ellison), he wears a letter sweater and is actually a very nice guy. The Alice-Bill romance is the best part of the film and has a lot of Norman Rockwell charm.Doris Jordan plays Neva Simpson, the nasty queen bee of Gamma-the best sorority. She blackballs poor Merle (Pamela Blake) who is Alice's other roommate. Merle is devastated and suicidal. Shirley was a wonderful actress, not just extremely beautiful but able to project an effortless likability. The film's best scene is her realization that in trying to impress the sorority girls she has hurt her father (J.M. Kerrigan). Beautiful nonverbal acting, which looks even better showcased in "Sorority House", where the other actresses are just not on her talent level."Sorority House" is a little sappy and takes most of its shots at the low hanging fruit of the 1930's sorority system, but Shirley, Ellison, and Kerrigan turn it into a very enjoyable production. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.