Expert: Barbara L. Baker - 6/23/2006

Question

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Followup To

Question -
I remember watching a black/white movie on TV in the 50's about college students(five or six?) rooming together in an old house or large apartment.  And although they had separate rooms, beds, etc., their parents did not know about the situation, which was understandable for the times.  One strange thing that I remember is, one of the guys would perch up in a large quarter moon that was hanging on the wall or fireplace and seemed to be waiting to "ripen."  One male and female were secretly married and the female became pregnant.  She kept a bottle of medicine outside(large patio or roof?) buried in the dirt of a plant.  I was a teenager in the 50"s - lucky me :) - and this movie has run around in my head for years.  A Grade B movie perhaps?  Maybe even British?  I know this is not very much to go on.  I sincerely thank you for your help and hope you are sucessful in naming this movie.

Answer -
Dear Patsy:  After searching around various websites during the past two days, the closest film title I could locate was "Blondie Goes to College," made in 1942, and part of a whole series of Blondie films made during that time period.  The plot has Dagwood deciding to go to college, and Blondie deciding to follow him.  They have to hide their marriage, and she is revealed to be pregnant.  They also apparently live in a boarding house.  Complications ensue as other people try to attract each of them (plus Dagwood tries out for several sports, adding to the comedy).  There was no mention of the other residents of the boarding house.

Does this sound like it could be the film you are looking for?  If not, then could you provide me with any additional information that might help me find it?

Not sure if this is the way to respond, but will try.  No, this does not sound like my movie.  Not sure that I can come up with anything else.  The guy sitting in the quarter moon on the wall waiting to "ripen" was a clue that I thought might help.

Thank you so much for trying.  Wish I could give you more clues!

Sincerely,

Patsy

Answer
Well, I'm sorry you don't recall anything more, either, and that you don't think this is your movie.  It was the closest I could locate to your plot description.

Actually, although your instincts were good, unless the guy on the moon was a main character, and that moon figured significantly in the plot, the information isn't as much help as one might think.  Had I seen this film, it might spur my memory, but even though I was a child in the 1950s, I don't recall ever seeing it.  If I haven't seen a film, then the best clues to finding a film, whether on the internet or in print resources, are when someone has an actor's or director's name.  The next best are the name of the film company, dates, type of film stock (both which you noted), and how & when the film was seen.  Next is for someone to provide as much detail as possible about the main characters and main plot events, which you did.  Unfortunately, it is really hard to locate film titles from just plot information, as it isn't really catalogued that way on various film sites, not even the Internet Movie Data Base.  I tried as many keywords from your plot description as I could, in various combinations, which is how I came up with this film title.  Nothing else even came close.

There were some films set in colleges in the 1950s, but most were in color, and didn't really match this plot.  One possible match was "You're Only Young Once" a 1962 TV movie where married students must live in a dorm.  The next closest film was the 1952 musical comedy, "About Face,"  1952, where a couple are secretly married, but in a military school setting (it was in color, but if you saw it on tv in the 1950s, it would have been b & w). Also in 1952 was "She's Working Her Way Through College," where a burlesque dancer goes to school.

The only black & white film with any mention of a moon was "The Moon is Blue" from 1953.  It deals with 2 playboys who pursue a young woman but she, like Doris Day, wants to be virgin until she gets married.  There also was a color film called "How To Be Very, Very Popular" (1955) where showgirls on the lam hide out in a fraternity.  A British black and white college film was "Lucky Jim" (1957), based on the novel, where a hapless student must help a professor.

So, again, unless one of these is what you're looking for, I don't think I can help. I'm sorry I couldn't provide a definitive answer.  I get frustrated when that occurs.  I hope someday you can locate the film you are thinking about.