''Life Begins in College'' is a 1937 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by William A. Seiter. It marked the

Ritz Brothers The Ritz Brothers were an American family comedy act who performed extensively on stage, in nightclubs and in films from 1925 to the late 1960s. A fourth brother, George, acted as their manager. Early life The four brothers were born to Austria ...

' first starring role in a feature film.

Plot

The action takes place at Lombardy College, founded "to give the Indian nations of North America access to higher education". Little Black Cloud (

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir master ...

) enrolls as "George Black". After being the subject of a hazing prank by football star Bob Hayner (

Dick Baldwin Richard G. Baldwin (January 9, 1911 – October 28, 1996) was an American film actor. He was married to the actress Cecilia Parker Cecilia Parker (April 26, 1914 – July 25, 1993) was a Canadian-born American film actress. She was best ...

), George decides he is too humiliated to stay at school. He first stops to get his ripped pants repaired and meets the

who convince him to stay. Tim O'Hara (

Fred Stone Fred Andrew Stone (August 19, 1873 – March 6, 1959) was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act in vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned h ...

), the football coach, is being pressured to resign because of his age. Janet (

Gloria Stuart Gloria Frances Stuart (born Gloria Stewart; July 4, 1910 September 26, 2010) was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose ...

), the coach's daughter, is Bob's love interest. Bob is on the committee trying to force out Coach O'Hara, but he likes the coach's daughter Janet. He tries to gain Janet's approval by helping her father, but fails at both. Janet, meanwhile, helps George escape from Inez (

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy ''I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earl ...

), a love-struck student. Then George wishes to return the favor by helping the coach. George is actually rich, but does not want anyone to know in case they only like him for his money. The Ritz Brothers offer to pretend it is their money. After spending a good deal on themselves, the brothers donate $50,000 to the college with two conditions: O'Hara must remain as coach, and they must be allowed to play for the football team. After a scuffle between them on the practice field, Bob is replaced by George as quarterback. A winning streak for Lombardy ensues, no thanks to the Ritz Brothers, who score for the other side whenever they play. Inez continues to pursue George, and Janet's feelings towards Bob soften. Bob, however, is being pursued by his former girlfriend, Cuddles (

Joan Marsh Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 – August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s. Ear ...

). It turns out that George's participation on a company football team makes him a professional and therefore ineligible for the college team. This information is used by Cuddles to blackmail Bob into dating her. When she sees Bob with Janet, she makes good on her threat of exposing George right before the "big game". Since George cannot play, Bob must take over as quarterback. Bob scores a touchdown but breaks his collarbone while the other team is still ahead. The Ritz Brothers sneak onto the field and nearly destroy Lombardy's chances with their antics. At the last second Harry Ritz scores an unlikely touchdown to win the game.

Cast

* Al Ritz as Al * Harry Ritz as Harry *

Jimmy Ritz Jimmy Ritz (born Samuel Joachim; October 4, 1904 – November 17, 1985), was an American comedian and actor. He was also the second Ritz Brother. Early life Ritz was born Samuel Joachim to parents Max (December 1871 – January 4, 1939) a ...

as Jimmy *

as Inez * Tony Martin as Band Leader *

as Janet O'Hara *

as Coach Tim O'Hara *

as George "Little Black Cloud" Black *

as Bob Hayner *

as Cuddles *

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly app ...

as Oliver Stearns, Jr. *

Maurice Cass Maurice Cass (October 12, 1884 – June 8, 1954) was a character actor on stage and in films and television shows. Born in Vilna, Russian Empire (modern day Vilnius, Lithuania) he moved to America at six years of age. When he was 17, he toure ...

as Dean Moss *Ed Thorgersen as Radio announcer * Marjorie Weaver as Miss Murphy * Robert Lowery as Sling *

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

as Gilks * J.C. Nugent as T. Edwin Cabot *

Fred Kohler Jr. Fred Kohler Jr. (July 8, 1911 – January 7, 1993) was an American actor who performed in a number of Westerns such as '' The Pecos Kid'' and ''Toll of the Desert''. He played nearly 130 film and television roles between 1929 and 1978. Kohler' ...

as Bret *

Elisha Cook Jr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film ...

as Ollie Stearns * Charles C. Wilson as Coach Burke *

Frank Sully Francis Thomas Sullivan (June 17, 1908 December 17, 1975), known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the ''Bost ...

as Acting captain *Norman Willis as Referee

Production

''Life Begins in College'' was filmed between early July to early September 1937. The several working titles were variations on ''Pigskin Parade''. The screenplay by Don Ettlinger and

Karl Tunberg Karl Tunberg (March 11, 1907 − April 3, 1992) was an American screenwriter and occasional film producer. His screenplays for ''Tall, Dark and Handsome'' (1941) and '' Ben-Hur'' (1959) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original ...

was based on a series of stories by

Darrell Ware Darrell Ware (1906–1944) was an American screenwriter and film producer. Ware and Karl Tunberg were nominees for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 14th Academy Awards for their film ''Tall, Dark, and Handsome''. Ware wrot ...

. The Ritz Brothers had been on contract at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

for over a year but this was the first picture to give them star billing, as well as the first to make them more than incidental to the plot. Lew Pollack composed and Sidney Mitchell wrote the lyrics to "Big Chief Swing It", "Our Team Is on the Warpath", "Fair Lombardy", and "Why Talk About Love?". The song "Sweet Varsity Sue" was written by Charles Tobias, Al Lewis, and Murray Mencher. Special material for the Ritz Brothers was contributed by Sam Pokrass, Sid Kuller, and Ray Golden.

Release

The film premiered in New York September 24, 1937, and was released nationally on October 1. Generally favorable reviews appeared in ''Variety'', '' Motion Picture Daily'', and ''The Film Daily''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Life Begins in College 1937 films 1930s sports comedy films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American sports comedy films American football films Films scored by Louis Silvers Films set in universities and colleges 1937 comedy films Films directed by William A. Seiter 1930s English-language films 1930s American films