Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

terrygaffney I agree with the many who feel this remake of 'The Male Animal' falls far short of the original- but- Gene Nelson's dancing is worth suffering through the rest.

Tanstaafl1969 Having read the other reviews and just seen the movie on TCM I can really recommend this movie as excellent entertainment. First and foremost the movie retains the terrific plots from the original "The Male Animal" where a university professor must fight for freedom in his class and fight the football hero for his wife.I totally disagree that this musical is in any way less than the original. The climatic speech by Ronald Reagan makes the point that if he expels the showgirl then "they" can expel others based on their religion, race, or where they were born. This freedom was what Henry Fonda's character was also protecting. Both also had excellent "fights" with the football hero and I actually prefer Reagan's because it was more intellectual and sincere.Virginia Mayo is a favorite actress of mine and even if she always had her songs dubbed in all her movies it did not deter from her dancing and acting. She was excellent in "Best Years of Our Lives", "Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N." and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"...all different types of roles but giving each character life and reality with no singing required.Gene Nelson is excellent as the senior football quarterback who dances and sings for the heart of Virginia Mayo…just like he did in "Oklahoma". He shows some good acting ability, too, in the serious scene of finding Reagan drunk when he brought Virginia Mayo home and Reagan thought they were his wife and the football hero.All together this movie is something to enjoy and feel good about when its over…something many critical acclaimed movies don't do.

EIGHTMAYS24 This is a horrible apolitical McCarthy Era remake of "The Male Animal" starring Henry Fonda and Olivia DeHavilland. The original had Fonda as a professor standing up to regent Eugene Palette to read a letter by Sacco of Sacco and Vanzetti while simultaneously battling Jack Carson as the faded college football star for the affections of DeHavilland. This is mindless fluff. Reagan is to Fonda as an actor what Reagan was to Roosevelt as a President, a cheap imitation. The only interesting thing is that Dan Defore ("Hazel") is in both films. He is the half-witted football player suitor for the affections of DeHavilland's sister in the original, and the half-witted former football player suitor for Thaxter's affections in this film, reprising Jack Carson's role.

John Seal I'm not much of a fan of Hollywood musicals (especially the bloated 50s variety--you can keep Kiss Me Kate, thank you) but there is something riveting about this film that is rather hard to explain. The script is sharply written and the songs are reasonably good, but the capper for me are the production numbers. Watching Gene Nelson bound around a gymnasium is a truly thrilling experience. If you think this is merely another one of President Ronnie's bad films, think again. With its candy cane Technicolor, snappy dialogue, and big productions, it's almost a pre-rock The Girl Can't Help It--and that can only be a good thing!