Sorority House (1939) User Reviews

Rush Week

[movingpicturegal · 7/10 · 26 September 2006]

Sentimental B-movie about a small town girl named Alice (played by Anne Shirley), daughter of a grocer and devoted daddy's girl, whose father gives her a big surprise - he is sending her to college, her dream of dreams. Moving into a boarding house near campus, she is soon immersed in the most important thing in the world to all the females at her college - rush week for the campus sororities. Alice has two roommates - one, a plain, bookish sophomore, ignored in last's year's freshman rush - the other a girl who longs to be pledged by the all-important "Gamma" sorority. Well even though some of these sorority girls *are* big snobs, more concerned with how much money a girl's family has than her character - our Alice still HOPES she will be invited to join one of these sororities. When she meets and romances, almost the very first day, hunky Bill, "Big Shot On Campus" - he just may be able to give the push she needs to make her dream come true.

Okay, this film is fluff, with a very silly plot - and yes, the women at this college look more like starlets strolling around a studio backlot than college students. But - Anne Shirley is such a very lovely young actress with an endearing quality about her and is *such* an expert at playing this sweet girl/perfect daughter type, she just manages to add enough charm to this to make it work. There is a nice relationship shown between Anne Shirley's character and her all-wise father, played by J.M. Kerrigan. The ending is predictable, yet satisfying. A decent film, much better than I was expecting - worth seeing.

Very Pleasant Romance

[aimless-46 · 7/10 · 25 September 2006]

"Revenge of the Nerds" would copy the basic storyline from 1939's "Sorority House"; which has more angst and less humor. Anne Shirley plays Alice Fisher-the daughter of a small grocer who at the last minute gets to go to little Talbot College. On the train she learns that joining a sorority is an essential thing at the school. Unfortunately her late admission means that none of the sororities know about Alice and initially she is not even rushed.

Arriving at the train station she asks about sororities but is told by a snooty girl that they are by invitation only. There is an immediate credibility problem here-if you have seen any Anne Shirley movies you know that any sorority in the world would be clamoring to have her join. But the situation regains its lost credibility when Alice's plain Jane roommate Dotty (Barbara Read) calls her a date getter and tells her that the sororities will want her once they see her because she will attract men. You need looks and money to get into these organizations at Talbot and sometimes even that is not enough. Those who don't make it are called "dreeps".

Almost all the coeds are Hollywood starlets so a date getter seems irrelevant. Even Dotty has the starlet look, as do three nerd girls in the next room. They try to detune these girls by putting them in glasses and braiding their hair. Marge Champion and Veronica Lake have small parts as average coeds, which should make you wish that you had been the BMOC at Talbot. The actual BMOC is Bill Loomis (James Ellison), he wears a letter sweater and is actually a very nice guy. The Alice-Bill romance is the best part of the film and has a lot of Norman Rockwell charm.

Doris Jordan plays Neva Simpson, the nasty queen bee of Gamma-the best sorority. She blackballs poor Merle (Pamela Blake) who is Alice's other roommate. Merle is devastated and suicidal.

Shirley was a wonderful actress, not just extremely beautiful but able to project an effortless likability. The film's best scene is her realization that in trying to impress the sorority girls she has hurt her father (J.M. Kerrigan). Beautiful nonverbal acting, which looks even better showcased in "Sorority House", where the other actresses are just not on her talent level.

"Sorority House" is a little sappy and takes most of its shots at the low hanging fruit of the 1930's sorority system, but Shirley, Ellison, and Kerrigan turn it into a very enjoyable production.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

money changes everything ... and so does time

[postmanwhoalwaysringstwice · 5/10 · 25 September 2006]

Before the college film degraded into the gross-out comedy and the slasher flick there was the little seen charmer "Sorority House". It revolves around Alice, a young woman whose main desire in life is to attend college. Her financially struggling father ensures this happens and with this we enter the world of the film, which takes place in a particularly non-descript campus somewhere in the Midwest.

This uber-innocent romantic comedy flows along with a very brief running time of sixty-four minutes. It deals mainly with Alice's humble interest in seeing her hopeful roommate at the boarding house garner interest of one of the local sororities, but as fate (read a fraternity member) would have it Alice is instead selected due to a technicality. Alice starts to be overcome by all of the elitism that comes from being involved with the young woman of Gamma House, and in a key scene she chooses the clique over her real family.

Given some mild female empowerment moments, it's not a surprise Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay, since a year later he'd write the script for "Kitty Foyle", the Ginger Rogers vehicle that can be seen as a fair attempt a work of minor pre-feminism. Here the intention seems almost to expose sororities as merely a choice for a young woman, and not the only way to pave a future, as is mentioned again and again from several characters. There does seem to be some underlying criticism of the elitism and focus on money, which makes it seem pretty edgy for its time.

The best moments were spent with Barbara Read's character, Dotty, the young woman who stands on her own two feet and laughs in the face of the sorority that turned her away. It has a certain charm and wit that makes it a nice view, but the running time and underdeveloped character make it seem little more than a trifle. Oh, and the brief suicide attempt seemed way out of place here!

Class Struggle Comes to Sorority Row

[dougdoepke · 11 September 2009]

Communist and later blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo gets a script assignment on sorority houses—the possibilities are intriguing and endless. After all, what better hothouse of class elitism is there than making sure your daughter or son meets just the right people and marries only within the proper social circles. Certainly, no Van der Bilt wants their offspring marrying a campus nobody, so why not manage their young lives through something like elitist clubs, otherwise known as sororities and fraternities. The topic seems perfect grist for an avowed enemy of class privilege, such as Trumbo is presumed to be.

But then the movie is a programmer, and the early Trumbo is a relative unknown, so conventional values do prevail. Nonetheless, dad Fisher delivers the main message at movie's end. Grief in the world, Dad observes, is caused by "cliques" banding together, whether sororities, clubs or nations, and then coming into conflict. And though Dad doesn't say so, cliques would presumably include the bogeyman of Marxist theory, economic class. Thus, as Trumbo's mouthpiece, Dad manages to come up with a social version of a classless society, which sounds more like choosing your own friends and not letting that go to your head than anything like common ownership of the means of production. It's also in keeping with the general spirit of the times, which exalts the virtues of the common man, especially salt-of- the-earth types like dad Fisher.

The movie itself is entertaining enough for a studio programmer, managing some gritty dramatics (the pushy aunt ruining Merle's pledge chances; the suicide attempt) and, of course, the expected sappy romance. But it's really Anne Shirley who shines and holds things together. Her friendliness comes across as so natural and unforced that you can't help but root for her. She's perfect as the unspoiled small town girl. Nonetheless, the movie remains very much a product of Hollywood and its time.

In passing—for a more revealing look at college sororities backed by of an A-budget, catch up with TCF's Take Care of My Little Girl (1952). In my little book, it's a real sleeper, despite the gloss.

The sorority rush

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 29 July 2021]

Anne Shirley plays a new college student who becomes caught up with getting into a sorority in "Sorority House."

The film also stars James Ellison and Barbara Read.

Alice (Shirley) is the daughter of a grocer, who surprises her by getting the money together to send her to college. She is thrilled beyond belief.

She's assigned to a boarding house and has two roommates - one sorority reject and one desperate young woman who just has to get into a sorority. Alice doesn't really care, though it all sounds pretty interesting.

Equally interesting is the big man on campus she meets almost immediately (James Ellison) who talks her up to the various sororities. Soon, they all want her, believing her father to own a chain of grocery stores.

The sororities don't care about a young woman's character, it's all about being in an elite group. However, naive Alice soon sees the light and realizes a few things about values.

Anne Shirley is very sweet and does a good job in this role. She was a very likable actress. She stands out, too, among the better-dressed, overly made up and coiffed young women.

I have been out of college for so long, I have no idea how important sororities are any longer. I went to a music school, so it wasn't like a big college. I'd like to think these things don't matter any longer, but since one still reads about accidents during fraternity hazings, I wonder.

It takes making mistakes in life to learn how to have a real life.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 21 January 2019]

College years are obviously very important to the social aspect of one's moving into adulthood. For working-class girl Anne Shirley, getting into college periodet alone one of the top local schools is a dream come true. Once she's in, she is then encouraged to start applying at the top sororities. Encouraged by roommates Barbara Read and Pamela Blake, Shirley chooses the Gamma sorority as her top choice. But the uppityness of the girls within that sorority is off-putting to her and she must look within her own conscience to decide if that is a right move for a young lady of good character. When she all but ignores her own father at the parent meet and greet, she is forced to wake up and see what they could possibly turn her into.

Interesting but contrived, this sorority drama isn't quite "Satan's School for Girls", but it has the same setup as that cult TV movie. Read and Blake give good performances as the roommates with Read truly down to earth and realistic about what the Gamma sorority is all about, with Blake much more sensitive to rejection. James Ellison co-stars as the All-American college boy who meets Shirley in an amusing moment concerning a fire escape and it is obvious when the sorority girls from Gamma sees Ellison and Shirley together, that their snooty reaction is one of jealousy, not just snobbism.

Veteran character actress Elisabeth Risdon stands out in a small role as Blake's obnoxious aunt whose character stands in the way of Blake getting into the Gamma's. To contrast Risdon, there is J.M. Kerrigan as Shirley's wise father who supplies the moral of the story at the end of the film. It's an adequate time passer that has been done hundreds of times but with the help of the sincere performances and the quality of the screenwriting of the controversial Dalton Trumbo, it ends up being better than average.

Fluffy film about snobbish sororities is a pleasant trifle easily forgotten...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 2 September 2009]

ANNE SHIRLEY and JAMES ELLISON are the romantic leads in this trifle directed by John Farrow about a nice young girl who learns her lessons at college the hard way--by attempting to fit into the sorority scene when she comes from a humble background and is not a girl of wealth as the other girls are falsely told.

Shirley and Ellison make a pleasant twosome but their roles are one-dimensional after they meet in the usual Hollywood "by accident" way. He's the campus hero who helps her learn the ins and outs of campus life. Anne Shirley made this film the same year that she tested for Melanie in GWTW and her sweetness appears natural here. But, as usual, her roles seldom became more demanding than requiring a sweet presence, limiting her opportunities as an actress.

Surprisingly, Dalton Trumbo wrote the script and Nicholas Musuraca was behind the camera but it's just an RKO trifle easily forgotten.

Sensitive Anne Excels in School Drama!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 21 May 2012]

Anne Shirley seemed to spend a lot of the thirties in school!! There was "Finishing School" (1934), "School for Girls" (1934), "Girl's School" (1938) until she finally arrived at "Sorority House". Anne was a sensitive actress who often put more into her parts than was there in the first place. Her two big films were "Anne of Green Gables" and "Stella Dallas" but because she had been in movies since the age of four, by her teenage years she was considered a fixture and was passed over for roles she would have been ideal for, in favour of other up and coming actresses (Maureen O'Hara in the remake of "A Bill of Divorcement" and Jane Bryan in "The Old Maid"). So, once again, Anne was back in familiar territory in "Sorority House" as Alice, daughter of a small town grocer who withdraws all his savings so she can attend the prestigious Talbot University.

In my opinion this was a much better movie than "Girl's School" and Anne had a chance to add more dimension to her characterization. Once at college dewy eyed Alice falls right in step with the social climbing fever that is gripping the school - although she still retains her country values. Any co-ed who is not a sorority girl is seen as a "dreep" (a combination of dreary and weep). Her two room- mates are Dottie (Barbara Read) who is philosophical about her low chances of being invited to a sorority and Merle, who is frantic to join but whose aunt with her pushy behaviour ruins her chances. Although countrified Alice would ordinarily not have a hope of getting into Gamma, the top sorority house, she makes the acquaintance of Bill (James Ellison) the college hero who takes Alice under his wing and helps her adjust to the hectic social life. To say nothing of spreading a rumor that Alice's father owns a supermarket chain - instead of his one struggling grocery store.

Suddenly all the sororities are clamouring for her but with all the invitations come extra expenses, fees etc and Alice's father finds he has to sell his store to pay for all the hidden costs. When Alice's father turns up unannounced at a sorority "Meet the Parents" party, for one brief moment Alice turns into a social snob - ashamed of her own father. He saves the day with oodles of home spun philosophy - telling the story of Abraham Lincoln, preventing a suicide and giving Alice a lecture on freedom of choice when she decides to found a club where sorority members will not be welcolme!!

Barbara Read started off as one of the "Three Smart Girls" that made a star out of Deanna Durbin but she really looked too much like Durbin and was replaced in the sequel "Three Smart Girls Grow Up" by Helen Parrish. Veronica Lake and Marge Champion can be glimpsed as co-eds.

Shallow girls and dreeps

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 18 September 2022]

Some films are simple, sweet and nicely presented like this one. They remain etched in the viewer's mind as a pleasant motion picture experience. It had been awhile since I watched SORORITY HOUSE, but I remembered enjoying it very much...namely because of Anne Shirley's central performance, as well as Dalton Trumbo's intelligent screenplay.

Miss Shirley is playing a grocer's daughter who has spent her life in a small town getting good grades, getting along with everyone and getting customers to come back to her father's store. However, she would like to attend college and dreams of attending a place called Talbot University in a nearby city.

She doesn't think they can afford the tuition, but dear old dad takes out a loan from the bank so she's able to go. The story kicks into gear when Shirley's character arrives on campus a short time later.

She finds lodging at the boarding house of a kind old woman (Margaret Armstrong) and ends up sharing a room with two other girls (Barbara Read and Pamela Blake). Miss Read is a perfect contrast to Miss Shirley, playing a world-wise type who is the complete opposite of the naive qualities that Shirley projects.

As for Miss Blake, her role is that of a very insecure upperclass girl who is just dying to be invited to join a sorority...and this is where the title and story's main theme come into focus.

Trumbo's screenplay highlights the cattiness and desperation of rich snobs struggling to maintain a way of life for their own sort of people, while middle-class girls like Shirley can become upwardly mobile if they are pretty enough and have winning personalities.

At the same time we see the dreeps, a made-up word that Read uses, which is a combination of dreary and weep-- basically dreary girls who weep because they will never fit in anywhere. You know the ones I'm talking about-- they wear thick glasses and knit, because they have nothing to do on a Saturday night. Such pitiful creatures.

They will never be asked to move into a sorority house on the hill, and will spend their entire college career at the boarding house. Stereotypes? Oh yes. But that gives the story its edge, because we see how these girls and the perception of where they're from and where they're going in life, determining who they are.

The movie would not be complete if there wasn't a bit of wholesome romance worked into the 63-minute plot. RKO contract player James Ellison, who also worked with Miss Shirley in ANNE OF WINDY POPLARS, plays a somewhat older medical student who ditches a snooty sorority gal when he gets to know Shirley and develops feelings for her.

There's a very cute scene where the freshman girls must have physical exams, and Shirley goes to Ellison for hers. There is nothing inappropriate about the scene...she is overly modest, and he kids her when taking her blood pressure. He asks her on a date which makes her BP go up. It goes up even more when he says she's the most attractive female he's seen on campus.

The "climax" of this mild film involves the decision-making process of the sororities. Especially how it affects Miss Blake's character when she is not chosen to join one of them, but Shirley and other girls are. She goes into the bathroom to kill herself, but is stopped in time. Shades of the suicide scene in STAGE DOOR, which was much more tragic.

In addition to this, we have a nice reconciliation between Shirley and her father, after she had started to act haughty and was embarrassed to say she was a grocer's daughter. In the end, Shirley and her roommates decide to stay at the boarding house and start their own club, for the more independent girls like them who want to be together. I guess you could say they are starting their own sorority!