''Betty Co-Ed'' is a 1946 American musical comedy film starring

Jean Porter Bennie Jean Porter (December 8, 1922 – January 13, 2018) was an American film and television actress. She was notable for her roles in ''The Youngest Profession'' (1943), ''Bathing Beauty'' (1944), ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' (1945), ...

, directed by

Arthur Dreifuss Arthur Dreifuss (sometimes credited as Dreyfuss; March 25, 1908 – December 31, 1993)Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. Ea ...

Plot

Vaudeville is in Joanne Leeds's blood, but when she applies for admission at prestigious Upton College, she is accepted because it is mistakenly believed she hails from a prominent family. A rivalry begins immediately with campus co-ed Gloria Campbell, who resents boyfriend Bill Brewster's interest in the new girl. Joanne is humiliated by Gloria during a college pledge party. Attending a school dance by herself, Joanne joins the singers on stage and impresses Bill and other students. Deciding to run for the title of "Betty Co-Ed", most popular girl on campus, Joanne is crossed again by Gloria, who stuffs the ballot box to make it appear Joanne has rigged the vote. Faced with expulsion, Joanne delivers a speech that causes Gloria to develop a guilty conscience and apologize.

Cast

as Joanne Leeds *

Shirley Mills Shirley Olivia Mills (April 8, 1926 – March 31, 2010) was an American actress. She played the roles of the youngest daughter in ''The Grapes of Wrath'' and the title character in '' Child Bride''. In the latter, she is shown nude in a nude sw ...

as Gloria Campbell *

Jackie Moran Jackie Moran (January 26, 1923 – September 20, 1990) was an American movie actor who, between 1936 and 1946, appeared in over thirty films, primarily in teenage roles. Early life and Hollywood career A native of Mattoon, Illinois, Jo ...

as Ted Harris *

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

as Bill Brewster

Production

The film was based on a story by Erna Lazarus which

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

bought in 1945. They assigned it to Sam Katzman, who made it for his production company, Kay Pictures, who released through Columbia. Porter was borrowed from

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

to play the lead. She wound up making a number of movies for Katzman.

References

External links

*
''Betty Co-Ed''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1940s American films 1940s English-language films 1946 films 1946 musical comedy films American black-and-white films American coming-of-age films American musical comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Arthur Dreifuss Films set in universities and colleges Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton {{musical-comedy-film-stub