''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' is a

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

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 ...

written, produced and directed by

Nunnally Johnson Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...

. The film starred

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 ...

in her final film role and

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley C ...

in her first leading role. Johnson later said "I don't much like to think of ''How To Be Very, Very Popular'' because it brought fame and fortune to nobody. It was just a lousy mistake on everybody's part. "Johnson p 359

Plot

Stormy Tornado and Curly Flagg are two showgirls from a San Francisco cabaret who witness the murder of one of their fellow performers and can identify the killer. Not wanting to get mixed up in a murder rap, the girls flee the scene and hide out at Bristol College, disguising themselves as boys. However the need for attention makes the girls want to stand out in their stage costumes and then the trouble begins. The ladies hide in the room of Fillmore Wedgewood, who proudly calls himself "the world's oldest student", and is always looking for ways to forestall graduation and facing "the real world" outside. College President Dr. Tweed tries to coax a sizeable donation from wealthy alumni B.J.Marshall. This proves difficult when Marshall is continually caught in the crossfire of the comical events that follow.

Cast

as Stormy Tornado *

as Curly Flagg *

Bob Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

as Fillmore "Wedge" Wedgewood *

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), ''The More the Me ...

as Dr. Tweed *

Tommy Noonan Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best ...

as Eddie Jones *

Orson Bean Orson Bean (born Dallas Frederick Burrows; July 22, 1928 – February 7, 2020) was an American film, television, and stage actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was a game show and talk show host and a "mainstay of Los Angeles’ small ...

as Toby Marshall *

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to becom ...

as B.J. Marshall *Charlotte Austin as Midge *

Alice Pearce Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She was brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of '' On the Town'' (1949). Pearce played comedic supporting roles in s ...

as Miss "Syl" Sylvester * Rhys Williams as Cedric Flagg *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

as Sergeant Moon * Noel Toy as Cherry Blossom Wang *

Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...

as Police chief

Background

''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' was the third adaptation derived from the 1933 novel ''She Loves Me Not'' by Edward Hope. The novel was first made into the

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

comedy '' She Loves Me Not'' which starred

Miriam Hopkins Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930. Her best-known roles included a pickpocket in Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy '' T ...

as Curly Flagg and co-starred

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 ...

. That was then remade as ''

True to the Army ''True to the Army'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell, written by Art Arthur, Bradford Ropes, Edmund L. Hartmann and Val Burton, and starring Judy Canova, Allan Jones, Ann Miller, Jerry Colonna, Clarence Kolb, Edwar ...

'' for Paramount in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. ''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' was based on the Broadway adaptation of ''She Loves Me Not'' 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 ...

which was adapted from the original Edward Hope (Edward Hope Coffey) novel. It was also based on a second play, ''Sleep It Off'', which was about a woman hypnotised for 24 hours. It was written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson who had written and produced ''How to Marry a Millionaire''. Johnson called ''Popular'' "an old fashioned farce. Wacky." He said he felt like making a comedy after doing two dramas, ''Night People'' and ''Black Widow''.A TOWN CALLED HOLLYWOOD: Nunnally Johnson Gambles on Chorines and Baldheads; Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. os Angeles, Calif7 Mar 1955: E2. The character of Curly Flagg was the lead in ''She Loves Me Not'' but was made the secondary character to Stormy Tornado in ''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' to accommodate

. She had been the number one box office attraction throughout the 1940s and early 50s with her films making enormous amounts of money for

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 ...

. Nunnally Johnson said he wrote the script for Grable and Marilyn Monroe who had previously starred together in ''

How to Marry a Millionaire ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American screwball comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and ''Loc ...

'' (1953) which is credited for basically creating the changeover in who was the top star at Fox. Grable was the top star in the 1940s and Monroe would become the top star of the 50s. However, there was no rivalry between the two bombshells, in fact Grable is said to have famously told Monroe, "go and get yours honey! I've had mine". The two became friends after that. In December 1954 Fox announced the film would star Monroe. ''Sleep It Off'' was an alternative title. However Monroe refused to make the movie. In January 1955 the studio suspended her and replaced her with

who had been meant to appear in a film called ''Pink Tights''. Johnson said North had "been in the bull pen warming up too long and I'll hope she'll emerge from this a star. To date she's just been a threat but she's good looking and frank as they come." Johnson later said in an interview he was "handed" North, and knew nothing about her. Johnson called the script "a mess, and Sheree, nice little woman, but unbelievably untalented. Untalented in the sense that she couldn't do this. ohnson looks from left to rightYou know;, she had to do this. ohnson looks left, looks down, looks up to the left Her eyes would go down like this. I'd say, "Now; look, when you turn from him to her, can't you just look?" She says, "Isn't that what I'm doing?" I said, "No, this is what you're doing." With that kind of talent, it was hard to get anything out of her." In the absence of Monroe, Fox offered the co starring role to

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

then joined the cast. Archer MacDonald was meant to play a key role but was hospitalised for ulcers and replaced by Tommy Noonan. Jonhson reflected "Betty was good as always, but its only distinction, if you want to call it that, is that I'm convinced that Billy Wilder pinched the plot." Wilder would make ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

'' with Monroe, which had a similar plot..

Song credit

*Song "How to Be Very, Very Popular" by

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

and

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...

*Vocal Supervision

Ken Darby Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...

*Orchestration Edward B. Powell

Skip Martin Lloyd Vernon "Skip" Martin (May 14, 1916, in Robinson, Illinois – February 12, 1976, in Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and music arranger. Background Martin was active principally as an arranger for some ...

Reception

At the time of its release, ''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' was greeted with mixed-to-positive press. Betty Grable's performance was generally praised, whereas newcomer Sheree North's performance drew less impressive notices. North appeared on the cover of ''

LIFE Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' just before the film's release. It enjoyed reasonable success, earning an estimated $1.65 million in rentals at the North American box office during its first year of release.'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', ''Variety Weekly'', January 25, 1956

References

Notes

External links

* * * *
''How to Be Very, Very Popular''
at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' (1987 write-up was originally published in ''The Motion Picture Guide'') {{DEFAULTSORT:How To Be Very Very Popular 1955 films 1955 comedy films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films Remakes of American films American films based on plays Cross-dressing in American films Films based on American novels Films directed by Nunnally Johnson Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Films set in universities and colleges Films with screenplays by Nunnally Johnson CinemaScope films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films