Sweetie (1929) | Region-Free (DVD) | Starring Nancy Carroll & Helen Kane

Title: Sweetie (1929)

Genre: Musical, Romance

Plot Synopsis:
Chorus girl Barbara Pell plans to marry football star Biff Bentley, but he decides to stay in school for the team’s sake, angering Barbara. She struggles to find work until Professor Willow reveals her true identity as Barbara Pelham, the new owner of Pelham University. She moves on campus to take control and confront the football team.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Frank Tuttle
• Writers: George Marion Jr., Lloyd Corrigan
• Cast:
  • Nancy Carroll as Barbara Pell
  • Helen Kane as Helen Fry
  • Stanley Smith as Biff Bentley
  • Jack Oakie as Tap-Tap Thompson
  • William Austin as Prof. Willow

IMDb Link:
Sweetie (1929)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Kari – ★★★☆☆
   “I enjoyed this light musical. Helen Kane was in full Betty Boop mode here. Her song, ‘He’s So Unusual’ was an inspiration for Cyndi Lauper some 50 years later. I’ve never seen Stuart Erwin so young! I think Jack Oakie was such a great performer. He really stands out in these early talkies as a natural when others around him are rather stiff.”
2. Michael Shawn – ★★★½☆
   “A very silly but very cute college football musical starring Nancy Carroll and the ‘Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl,’ Helen Kane, whose look and style and Boop-Boop-a-Dooping were stolen by the creators of Betty Boop. Nancy plays a young woman who inherits the boys’ school where her fiancé is a star football player and becomes its headmistress. To punish him for delaying their wedding for a season of football, she devises a scheme to keep him from playing in the big game against their rival school, crushing the ample school spirit of everybody. Meanwhile, Helen has to keep shooting her boyfriend in the ass with an air rifle to encourage him to keep playing for the team. Apparently, this was the film that…”
3. PUNQ – ★★☆☆☆
   “The type of nonsense affair that killed the 1st generation Hollywood musical. Some Sweetie (1929) moments, but highly unnecessary light bubbly entertainment without direction. Best thing in this was Helen Kane doing her Betty Boop routine, but the rest didn’t have much to work with, William Austin ‘brit twit’ act quickly gets on you nerves and the songs were forgettable.”

Meta Description:
“Sweetie” (1929) is a musical romance directed by Frank Tuttle, featuring Nancy Carroll and Helen Kane. The film follows chorus girl Barbara Pell as she inherits Pelham University and confronts the football team, blending humor and music in a collegiate setting.