''When the Boys Meet the Girls'' is a 1965 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Alvin Ganzer Alvin Ganzer (1911–2009) was an American film and television director. Early life Ganzer was born in 1911 in Cold Spring, Minnesota. Career As a young man, Ganzer moved to California, and in 1932 was given a job at Paramount Pictures in its ca ...

and starring

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

and

Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career re ...

based on the musical '' Girl Crazy'' and a remake of MGM's 1943 film '' Girl Crazy''.

Plot

A playboy (Harve Presnell) helps a young woman (Connie Francis) turn her father's Nevada ranch into a haven for divorcees.

Cast

– Ginger Gray *

– Danny Churchill *

Peter Noone Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (born 5 November 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He was the lead singer "Herman" in the 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits. Early life Noone was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, ...

– Himself (as Herman's Hermits) *

Karl Green Karl Anthony Green (born 31 July 1947) is an English songwriter, musician and bassist who was the bass guitarist and backing singer for the 1960s British band, Herman's Hermits. Biography Herman's Hermits consisted of Peter Noone (lead vocal ...

– Himself (as Herman's Hermits) * Derek Leckenby – Himself (as Herman's Hermits) *

Keith Hopwood Keith Hopwood (born 26 October 1946) is an English pop and rock musician, singer-songwriter, composer, businessman and record producer, who served as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocals for the 1960s pop band, Herman's Hermits. Hopwood als ...

– Himself (as Herman's Hermits) *

Barry Whitwam Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK an ...

– Himself (as Herman's Hermits) *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

– Himself *

Buddy Catlett George James Catlett (May 13, 1933 – November 12, 2014), known professionally as Buddy Catlett, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as a bassist. Career Catlett was born in Long Beach, California, and raise ...

– Himself *

Domingo Samudio Domingo "Sam" Samudio (born February 28, 1937, in Dallas, Texas, United States), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipme ...

– Sam the Sham (as Sam the Sham) * Dave Martin – Pharaoh (as The Pharaohs) *

Ray Stinnet Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

– Pharaoh (as The Pharaohs) * Jerry Patterson – Pharaoh (as The Pharaohs) *

Butch Gibson Evans Denver "Butch" Gibson (August 28, 1904 – May 1, 1960) was an American football player. Gibson was born in 1904 on a farm near Middlebranch, Ohio. He attended Central Catholic High School and McKinley High School, both in Canton, Ohio. H ...

– Pharaoh (as The Pharaohs) *

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

– Himself *

Sue Ane Langdon Sue Ane Langdon is an American actress. She has appeared in dozens of television series and had featured roles in films such as ''A Guide for the Married Man'' and ''The Cheyenne Social Club'', both directed by Gene Kelly, as well as '' The Round ...

– Tess Rawley * Fred Clark – Bill Denning *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

– Phin Gray * Joby Baker – Sam *

Hortense Petra Hortense is a French feminine given name that comes from Latin meaning ''gardener''. It may refer to: Persons * Hortense Allart (1801–1879), Italian-French feminist writer and essayist * Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), stepdaughter of ...

– Kate * Stanley Adams – Lank * Romo Vincent – Pete * Susan Holloway – Delilah *

Russell Collins Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins, October 11, 1897 – November 14, 1965) was an American actor whose 43-year career included hundreds of performances on stage, in feature films, and on television. Early life Born in 1897 in Indiana ...

– Mr. Stokes (as Russ Collins) *

Pepper Davis Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

– Himself *

Bill Quinn William Tyrell Quinn (1912 – April 29, 1994) was an American film actor. Quinn was born in 1912 in New York. He performed with his older brothers in a children's act in vaudeville. Quinn began working on radio around 1934. He starred as a de ...

– Dean of Colby (as William I. Quinn) * Tony Reese – Himself

Production

The film was a remake of MGM's Girl Crazy (1943 film). The remake was produced by Sam Katzman, who made it as the first of five films he did for the studio in 1965. In April 1965 Connie Francis was attached as star. In June 1965 Jeffrey Hayden was to direct and the stars were announced as Connie Francis, Harve Presnell, Paul Anka, Fran Jeffries and Louis Armstrong. The title was changed to ''I've Got Rhythm'' then ''When the Boys Meet the Girls''. Presnell played the same role as Mickey Rooney in the original. Presnell said "When we did ''Molly Brown'' on Broadway, we had a standing joke whenever I didn't do something right. I said 'Well why don't you get Mickey Rooney?'." Filming started July 1965. It was the film debut of Herman's Hermits. MGM were so pleased with their performance they put them in a series of films.

Soundtrack

Reception

Upon the film's release ''

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 ...

'' reported that "If the music of the Gershwin brothers can survive a terrible little musical such as "When the Boys Meet the Girls" ..chances are it could outlast atomic annihilation," described the film overall as "a dull, silly scramble," and described the talents of Francis and Presnell as "strictly middling" and "teamed romantically, they look like Mutt and Jeff, and their vocal wrestling with the grand Gershwin melodies is slippery at best." A contemporary review in '' Variety'' described the film as "a spotty comedy film, loaded with often extraneous tunes, also limited to some okay performances and gags," and reported that "Langdon remains the most impressive of the principals; she makes a first rate shrew." Writing for

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

, critic Roger Fristoe described the film as "a very loose reworking of the George and Ira Gershwin musical ''Girl Crazy''," and noted that "the film allows for musical performances from an eclectic gathering of guest stars."

Awards

In 1966, the year after the film was released, it received some prestigious awards at that year's Laurel Awards ceremony. Harve Presnell was nominated for a Golden Laurel in the category of Musical Performance, Male for his talented musical numbers. Though he did not win, he was awarded 3rd place. Connie Francis was also nominated for a Golden Laurel in the category of Musical Performance, Female for her musical numbers. She did not win either, but came in a gratifying 4th place.

References

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Review
at the Spinning Image {{DEFAULTSORT:When The Boys Meet The Girls 1965 films 1965 musical films American films based on plays Films scored by George Gershwin Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Recordings of music by George Gershwin American musical films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Alvin Ganzer 1960s American films English-language musical films

Plot

Cast

Production

Soundtrack

Reception

Awards

References

External links