''Hold That Co-ed'' is a

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

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

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

, starring

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

and

Marjorie Weaver Marjorie Weaver (March 2, 1913 – October 1, 1994) was an American film actress of the 1930s through the early 1950s. Early life, entrance into acting Weaver was born in Crossville, Tennessee to John Thomas Weaver and his wife, Ellen (née Mar ...

Plot summary

Former star quarterback Rusty Stevens believes he is being hired to be prosperous Clayton University's new football coach, but finds it is actually rundown State College in the same town that is giving him that job. Gov. Gabby Harrigan, who is running for the U.S. Senate, has slashed State's budget so much that the school only owns one football. Rusty leads a student protest at the state capitol that ends up in a brawl. The governor's opponent in the Senate campaign, Major Breckenridge, capitalizes politically on Harrigan's unpopularity at the college. Harrigan's bright secretary Marjorie Blake persuades the governor to retaliate by raising funds for State and proposing to build it a 100,000-seat stadium (to be named after him). She also recruits new players for State including a couple of tough wrestlers, promising them government jobs and $500 a game. State begins winning game after game. As a publicity stunt, State even ends up with college football's first woman, co-ed Lizzie Olsen becoming the team's kicker. Harrigan publicly dares mighty Clayton to a game, challenging his adversary by vowing to quit the Senate race if State loses the game. Breckenridge has no choice but to accept. All is well until Rusty reveals the unethical payment to players. A depleted State squad is overmatched during the game, but with the score 7-6 in Clayton's favor, on the last play of the game Lizzie snatches a batted-down pass in mid-air and crosses the goal line for a game-winning touchdown for State.

Cast

as Governor Gabby Harrigan *

as Rusty Stevens *

as Marjorie Blake *

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 ...

as Lizzie Olsen *

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

as Wilbur Peters * George Barbier as Major Hubert Breckenridge *

Ruth Terry Ruth Mae Terry (born Ruth Mae McMahon, October 21, 1920 – March 11, 2016) was an American singer and actress in film and television from the 1930s to the 1960s. She claimed her stage name came from Walter Winchell, who combined the names ...

as Edie *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...

as Dean Fletcher *

Johnny Downs John Morey Downs (October 10, 1913 – June 6, 1994) was an American child actor, singer, and dancer. He began his career as a child actor, most notably playing Johnny in the ''Our Gang'' short series from 1923 to 1926. He remained active ...

as Dink *

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, ba ...

as Slapsy *

Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams Guinn is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Bill Guinn or Lew Meehan (1890–1951), American film actor *Colin Guinn, contestant in ''The Amazing Race'', a U.S. TV series *Dominick Guinn, (born 1975), A ...

as Mike Wurgeski (as Guinn Williams) *

William 'Billy' Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

as Sylvester (as Bill Benedict) *

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 Steve Wurgeski *

Charles C. Wilson Charles Cahill Wilson (July 29, 1894 – January 7, 1948) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in numerous films during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the late 1920s to late 1940s. Biography Born in New York City in 1894, the ...

as Coach Burke *

Glenn Morris Glenn Edgar Morris (June 18, 1912 – January 31, 1974) was a U.S. track and field athlete. He won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon in 1936, setting new world and Olympic records. He attended Colorado A&M — now known as Colorado State U ...

as Spencer

References

External links

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newspaper advert for the film
1938 films 1938 musical comedy films 1930s romantic musical films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American football films American musical comedy films American romantic musical films Films directed by George Marshall Films scored by Arthur Lange Films set in universities and colleges Publicity stunts in fiction 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{sport-film-stub