''She Loves Me Not'' is a 1934 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 o ...

directed by

Elliott Nugent Elliott Nugent (September 20, 1896 – August 9, 1980) was an American actor, playwright, writer, and film director. Biography Nugent was born in Dover, Ohio, the son of actor J.C. Nugent. He successfully made the transition from silent fil ...

and starring

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and Miriam Hopkins. Based on the novel ''She Loves Me Not'' by Edward Hope and the subsequent play by

Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...

, the film is about a cabaret dancer who witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student. Distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, the film has been remade twice as '' True to the Army'' (1942) and as '' How to Be Very, Very Popular'' in (1955), the latter starring

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

. The film is notable for containing one of the first major performances of

, and it helped launch him to future stardom. This was also the last film that Miriam Hopkins made under her contract to

, which began in the early 1930s upon her arrival in Hollywood. In 1935, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Love in Bloom", theme song of comedian

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

Cast

as Paul Lawton * Miriam Hopkins as Curly Flagg *

Kitty Carlisle Kitty Carlisle Hart (born Catherine Conn; September 3, 1910 – April 17, 2007) was an American actress, singer, and spokeswoman for the arts. She was the leading lady of the Marx Brothers movie '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935) and was a regula ...

as Midge Mercer *

Edward J. Nugent Edward James Nugent (February 7, 1904 – January 3, 1995) was an American film and stage actor. Biography Born in 1904 in New York City, Nugent appeared in more than 80 films between 1928 and 1937. He subsequently had a second acting career ...

as Buzz Jones * Henry Stephenson as Dean Mercer * Maude Turner Gordon as Mrs. Arbuthnot *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as Mugg Schnitzel * Lynne Overman as Gus McNeal * Judith Allen as Frances Arbuthnot * George Barbier as J. Thorval Jones * Henry Kolker as Charles M. Lawton *

Vince Barnett Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in more than 230 films between 1930 and 1975. Early years Barnett was born July 4, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

as Baldy O'Hara * Margaret Armstrong as Martha * Ralf Harolde as J. B. * Matt McHugh as Andy * Franklyn Cordell as Arkle

Reception

The film was one of Paramount's biggest hits of the year.

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', liked it saying, "As on the stage, this adaptation is a swift-paced piece of hilarity, with occasional romantic interludes during which Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle contribute some tuneful melodies. Some of the farcical episodes in this Paramount offering are apt to recall that famous old comedy, "Charley's Aunt", but in the present production, instead of having a varsity student in skirts, they dress up a cabaret girl in male attire after she has invaded a dormitory room." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' had a mixed reaction "...But apart from this possible captiousness Par's ‘She Loves’ holds plenty for the gate. Crosby is most of it. He looks better than ever (somehow his stature has been built up although the faintest suggestion of embonpoint doesn't quite jell with a Princeton undergrad), but he acts intelligently and sings those tunes. The songs will be no small asset to the film. There are three outstanders, two by Revel and Gordon—‘Straight from the Shoulder (Right from the Heart),’ and ‘I’m Hummin’, (I'm Singin’, I'm Whistlin’) and one by Robin and Rainger (‘Love in Bloom’) — and the latter is the smash hit of the flicker and currently Tin Pan Alley's No. 1 song, so it's easy to figure out the b.o. reaction."

Songs

* " Love in Bloom" (

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1900 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Oscar-winning song "Thanks for t ...

and

Ralph Rainger Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films. Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...

) – sung by Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle * "After All You're All I'm After" ( Edward Heyman and

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on Nov ...

) (written for the film but not used) * "Straight from the Shoulder" ( Mack Gordon and

Harry Revel Harry Revel ( Glaser; 21 December 1905 – 3 November 1958) was a British-born American composer, mostly of musical theatre, working with various lyricists, notably Mack Gordon. He is also seen as a pioneer of " space age pop". Early life and c ...

) – sung by Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle * "I'm Hummin', I'm Whistlin', I'm Singin'" (Mack Gordon and Harry Revel) – sung by Bing Crosby. * "Put a Little Rhythm in Everything You Do" (Mack Gordon and Harry Revel) – sung by Miriam Hopkins. Crosby recorded some of the songs for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

. "Love in Bloom" topped the charts of the day for six weeks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:She Loves Me Not 1934 comedy films 1934 films American black-and-white films Cross-dressing in American films Films based on American novels Films directed by Elliott Nugent Films set in universities and colleges Paramount Pictures films American comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films