Undescribable Perfection

Strong and Moving!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The year is 1942, and by that time, the movie making has matured, there had been quite outstanding mystery movies (eg Thin Man series), and in addition, the mystery literature of outstanding quality was already there for some time. So this poor attempt on a mystery-comedy-thriller can't be really swallowed without leaving a bit of bitter taste. The movie per se, if I don't look at the inconsistencies, won't be really that bad, and one can afford to watch it, after putting the brain in some locker. But if the brain functions, one would start asking questions. Why, Louise, supposed to be not only in love, but even secretly married, would flirt with all and sundry ? In fact whose daughter was Louise? It was mentioned that she wasn't the professor's real daughter, does it mean she was his step-daughter ? In that case she would have been complicit in the crime (which could explain her flirting), but that wasn't brought out. In fact, how could all the victim fail to recognize the murderer ? There can be no circumstances, under which one could say that they have not seen the person, at the scene of the original incident which prompted these crimes, and in their guilty conscience, that would have been permanently etched. The thriller (attempt at) had been through forced creation of situations. Naturally considering the physique of the murderer and the murdered/ attempted, the strangling, even through a rope, would have been difficult and the poison, could have been sourced through Louise, I don't see how else.. The murderer wasn't a chemist, nor probably the other one, on which the fingers were pointed, probably was. Louise wasn't only a senior chemistry student, but had a free access to the lab. Even in the end, just to put the audience on edge, the phone wasn't picked up. With the murders taking place, one after other, won't one ? These are only some of the glaring inconsistencies. If I start listing all, it would take up all the space.On the positive side, there are quite a few catchy songs, and the comedy sequences, some of them, are believable situational, and thankfully, without loud acting by either Eddie or June.

This is one of several films that eluded me for many years and turned out to have more going for it than a great song. Like most popular song buffs I knew - and relished - the story of how Jule Styne arrived in Hollywood and got a job at Monogram where he was teamed with veteran lyricist Frank Loesser to write a score for a Cass Daley western. When he played a melody Loesser said 'Forget that. We're not wasting it here, we'll take it to Paramount', which they did and it wound up in Sweater Girl. We also get a couple of other Styne-Loesser numbers for good measure plus an easy-to-take plot about collegians putting together a show which veers off into a who-done-it. Definitely worth a look.

This film is a remake of "College Scandal" (1935). The stars of that movie were Arline Judge, Kent Taylor, Wendy Barrie, Benny Baker and William Frawley. The director was Elliott Nugent, and the screenplay was credited to Frank Partos, Charles Brackett (of later Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder fame) and Marguerite Roberts. However, this remake certainly boasts a much more interesting cast and it's directed with a surprising amount of polish (at least by the standards of the typical major studio "B" brigade) by William Clemens, who is is usually (and justly) regarded as a work horse with no particular talent than the ability to keep a movie within in its narrow budget. The stylish photography here by John Mescall is also well above the demands of "B"- grade competence. Until the rise of Elvis Presley, the movie was also highly regarded for presenting the song, "I Don't Want To Walk Without You", introduced in the film by the popular radio crooner, Johnny Johnston. That song was a huge wartime hit. And I mean HUGE!

A unique Paramount 'B' picture, "Sweater Girl" was often telecast in the early 1960s, then vanished along with others of its under-appreciated genre. Ostensibly a "quickie" campus musical about students preparing to put on the big school show, it suddenly takes an unexpected turn into a dark, disturbing murder-mystery as these cleancut kids are methodically being killed off by...Who? A one-of-a-kind film sparkling with a buoyant young cast (Eddie Bracken, June Preisser, Kenneth Howell, William Henry, etc.), a craftily-developed plot of a sinister killer-on-the-loose (you'll never guess the identity or motive of the murderer), a surprisingly effective amount of eerie and chilling moments, and...As for the musical interludes, the songs were written by two then-unknown composers, Jules Styne and Frank Loesser Thanks to them, and a recording by a fledgling crooner named Frank Sinatra, "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" emerged as one of the biggest hits of its day, and was in large part responsible for putting these three musicians on the map. The time is long overdue to make "Sweater Girl" again available to movie-lovers. Aside from historical interest, it's an unpretentious, humdinger of a thriller in its own right. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun by giving away the ending but--POSSIBLE SPOILER--never trust an embittered old woman helplessly confined to a wheelchair but seething with hatred. . .