Directed by Charles Walters with a screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green that was based on a play by Lew Brown, Lawrence Schwab, Frank Mandel, Buddy DeSylva and Ray Henderson, this remake of the 1930 college Musical features the Academy Award nominated Song "Pass That Peace Pipe" and a cast that includes: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall, Joan McCracken, Ray McDonald, Mel Torme, Robert Strickland, Donald MacBride, Tom Dugan, Clinton Sundberg, Loren Tindall, and Connie Gilchrist (among others). It's 1927 and the guys are called Sheiks and the gals are called Flappers.Set on the Tait campus, the story involves college football (action), dating and other romantic plights among several different students like hard working (class) librarian and teacher's aide Connie Lane (Allyson), football captain Tommy Marlowe (Lawford), perky Babe Doolittle (McCracken) who's interested in weakling Bobby Turner (McDonald) though she's being pursued by jealous football star Beef (Tindall), who vows to kill anyone that comes near his sweetheart, and others like Danny (Tormé, whose character sings and dances without otherwise being involved in the plot). The drama starts when a new girl, Pat McClellan (Marshall) joins the sorority. She's a gold digger that speaks (fakes) a bit of French; naturally, her first interest is Peter Van Dyne III (Strickland), who's worth millions, in lieu of playboy Tommy, who makes all the other girls swoon but initially puts off Pat. To entice her, Tommy learns a bit of the foreign language from Connie, who quickly falls for him, and the feeling is somewhat mutual.But Tommy's French doesn't impress Pat, who's only interested in Peter's money, until Connie's best friend Babe, unaware of the new romance and wanting Tommy to be happy so that he'll do well in the pending big game, tells Pat that the football captain is son of a Pickle magnate. Once Tommy's within Pat's clutches, his performance on the gridiron and in the classroom suffers to a point of concern for his frantic Coach Johnson (MacBride), the trainer Pooch (Dugan), and the rest of the students who fear that Dean Griswold (Morris Ankrum) will keep Tommy from playing in the next big game. Ironically it's the French professor Burton Kennyon (Sundberg), for whom the love abandoned Connie works, that gives Tommy his only failing grade. She's then asked to tutor him for the good of the team, which she does reluctantly especially because Tommy and Pat are to be engaged after the game, that is until Connie and Cora (the sorority's housekeeper) conspire to turn gold digging Pat onto now injured Beef, which has the added benefit of freeing Babe to be with Bobby.Of course, Tommy and Connie are the rage, a stirring dance number (the climactic prom) ends the picture.

The good news about "Good News" is that there really isn't any good news. (Ha! Just kidding there, folks!) Actually, the good news about "Good News" is that this Technicolor Musical/Comedy from 1947 does, surprisingly enough, feature 3 outstanding and really swinging musical numbers, which are - Pass The Peace Pipe, Varsity Rag and the film's opening sequence.But, on the other hand, the bad news about "Good News" is that, no, these 3 high-energy musical numbers do not in any way, shape, or form, come anywhere near to compensating the viewer for having to endure the drab and clichéd triteness of the rest of the film.This picture's predictable, little story concerns the activities of a bunch of super-preppy rich kids in the late 1920s who are attending Tait University.When these "golly-gee" brats aren't singing up a storm (sometimes quite out of tune), they spend most of their time either partying and/or gossiping about who's dating who.These spoiled-rotten, whipper-snappers seem to have very little concern about their studies, their grades, or their finances. (Well, what the heck could you expect from this bunch, anyways?) To be totally honest here, I thought that "Good News" (for the most part) really sucked. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. (But, hey, to each his own, is what I always say) One of this film's biggest let-downs was that its 2 big-name stars, Peter Lawford and June Allyson, couldn't carry a tune even if their lives depended on it. They really couldn't. (I really couldn't say much in favor of their dancing, or acting, either) And, that, my friends, is the good news, as well as the bad news, about "Good News".

Campus fanfare in the l920s with Peter Lawford, the captain of the football team, a campus heart-throb, needing to pass his French exam so that he can play in the football game. Of course, June Allyson is called in to tutor him, the same girl he broke a prom date with so that he could escort the new girl on campus, a snob-seeking status girl, only interested in money.I just love these so called college musicals where academics is never really the focus, but rather good old fashion fun.What makes this film a delight is the singing and dancing. While Lawford's voice could have been better, he does fairly well nonetheless. Allyson, who was 30 at the time the movie was made, looks like a college co-ed all the way.Mel Torme has his moments as a college student as well.

Good News is one of my all time favorite MGM musicals.Great songs by wonderful performers.Ray McDonald in a part that shows his talent,Ray was one of the under exposed performers at MGM.June in one of her best performances ,its also one of her favorites.Peter miscast but does a good job.The first film directed by Charles Walters he went on to direct Easter Parade and many others.JoanMacCraken in one of the few films she made.Pat Marshall ,Mel Torme all add up to a great entertainment.When I met June Allyson I told her some scenes from the first version were shown .She wasn't aware there was an earlier one.I said Penny Singleton(the star) was no match for June Allyson.She chuckled at that. Gordon