“Let’s Go Collegiate” (1941) starring Frankie Darro & Mantan Moreland / Z-View

Let’s Go Collegiate (1941)

Director:  Jean Yarbrough

Writer:  Edmond Kelso

Stars: Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, Jackie Moran, Keye Luke, Mantan Moreland, Frank Sully, Gale Storm, Barton Yarborough, Frank Faylen and Tristram Coffin 

Tagline: Hollywood’s young stars put a new kind of zig in the old kind of zag…in the freshest college story ever filmed…A riot!

The Plot…

Frankie (Darro) and Tad (Moran) are on the rowing team for Rawley University.  When the boys learn that top rowing recruit, Bob Terry has been drafted, they don’t have the heart to tell their girls who have planned a big welcoming party.  Then the boys meet Hercules ‘Herk’ Bevans (Sully).  Frankie and Tad decide to pass Herk off as Bob Terry.

Soon Herk is on the rowing team and trying to steal Frankie and Tad’s girls.  And what neither Frankie or Tad know is that Herk is a wanted criminal!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I wanted to see Let’s Go Collegiate because of Mantan Moreland.  Sadly, he’s given little to do.  But of course it’s Mantan, so he makes the most of it.

Let’s Go Collegiate is a low-budget feature that gives little thought to logic.  Frankie and Tad know the top rowing recruit has been drafted into the army, but no one else does?  Herk is brought on the team and entered into the college and there are no issues with proper identification?  Later in the film, a cop is knocked out so that Herk can row in a race.  The cop wakes up and isn’t upset since Herk’s team won.  These are just a few things that viewers have to “go with”.

If it wasn’t for Mantan, I’d have passed on this one.

Let’s Go Collegiate (1941) rates 2 of 5 stars.