User Reviews

I saw this theatrically, and despite the mindless comings and goings of the unexplainable cast that was assembled for this opus, it seemed everyone involved in its production was enjoying themselves tremendously ... and I did too. It's one of those thrown-together packages that still manages to entertain, though when it's all over you'll be hard-pressed to explain exactly why you enjoyed yourself. Wacky fun.

Wow, did the casting in this film pique my interest. Here are some of the stars of this odd little film: Steve Allen and his wife (Jayne Meadows), Jayne Mansfield AND Mamie Van Doren (I can't believe they could squeeze these two in the same screen), Herbert Marshall, Rocky Marciano (the boxer), Conway Twitty(!), Cathy Crosby (Bing's niece) and lots of kids of famous stars--Robert Montgomery Jr., William Wellman Jr. and Elisha Cook Jr.! And, in an odd move, gossip columnists Sheila Graham AND Walter Winchell! Talk about a strange cast! The film begins with Mamie Van Doren coming home late from a date. It's rather funny seeing this 30 year-old bombshell playing a college student and it was also funny seeing her father (Elisha Cook Sr.) and his overreaction when she got home late. Of course, if I had a daughter who looked like Miss Van Doren, I am sure I'd be just as crazed when she came home late!!! After her dad interrogates her further, Mamie responds by saying she was out late...with one of her professors (Steve Allen)! When pressed, she blamed his "sex survey" and him trying to force himself on her--THAT'S why she's home so late.

Instead of trying to verify all this, Cook bounds into Allen's office the next day--making accusations and fuming. Allen seems to have a solid alibi, but after Cook storms off, it isn't so certain this IS the case. Is Allen a pervert asking 'dirty questions' and on the make for co-eds or is this just the case of some amazingly sexually repressed people overreacting to a harmless sociology survey? In other words, is Mamie a slut or is Allen a creeper? Tune in to see the answers.

In the meantime, when the audience isn't sure who exactly is at fault, the question is muddied because some Allen's behaviors then look a bit creepy. For example, you see him with a motion picture camera recording the teens at the lake. Is this more 'research"?! Plus you learn that this isn't the first college girl to claim Allen's made improper advances. Plus, he loves to invite the students over to his house for parties. And, for her part, Mamie seems about as shy and innocent as Divine--as she relentlessly pursues her boyfriend. Her 'innocent child' routine is very transparent and how anyone could worry about HER becoming corrupted is a puzzler! Eventually, Allen runs afoul of the law and eventually he and his 'sex survey' are on trial. This occurs after it appears as if the professor might have been set up for a morals charge. No one really seems to care whether or not Allen really did anything--they just want to punish him! Can the teacher get a fair shake in this apparent witch hunt? See this--as the ending is just crazy--with Allen speechifying and a way over the top performance by someone else to cap it all off.

Overall, hardly believable and often poorly written and silly. BUT, considering how silly it all gets, it IS very entertaining.

By the way, there is a funny inside joke in the film. When Sally Blake (Van Doren) is about to testify, one of the folks in court describes her as "...a Mamie Van Doren type"!

In my ongoing quest to find the World's Worst Movie, I thought I'd found a new hero: Albert Zugsmith. Sex Kittens Go To College and Private Lives of Adam and Eve were awful in new, interesting, and creative ways. You can't actually debase actors like Woo Woo Grabowski, Mickey Rooney, and Martin Milner; you put them on the same set, give them a little freedom to create, and let them surprise you with their creativity in making you want to crawl under porch with the brown recluse spiders and whimper.

So I was sure that College Confidential would complete the set: "C" -list actors, a fresh shipment of tight sweaters for the goils, hot rods and sexual frustration for the guys, and a solemn promise in the promos to deliver hot thrills you KNOW Zugsmith couldn't make good on.

Big mistake. There's a difference between making a fool of yourself and publicly humiliating yourself. In College Confidential, at the height of his career, Steve Allen publicly humiliates himself.

Many people don't know that in later life, he became enough of an expert on the Bible to have several serious books of commentary published in hardcover. Perhaps, years later, it was waking up at three AM in a cold sweat from remorseful nightmares about College Confidential that turned Steve Allen's face to the Lord. We'll never know.

I DO know is that this is the first bad film I couldn't finish (although I got through Plutonium Baby only by walking out for twenty minutes in the middle). When the grim inevitability of the Spiked Punch Scene became clear, I turned off the VCR, got a bowl of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, wandered out to the darkened balcony, and thought about Death for an hour. Then I felt better.

I saw this peculiar film a couple of times very late at night in the 60's; I thought it humorous and slightly provocative at the time. But I was about 12 then too. When I got to see it again as an adult on AMC, I found my tastes and perceptions had changed somewhat. My chief impressions of it now are: a) Steve Allen wasn't a very good actor, b) his wife Jayne Meadows wasn't very good either, c) the film was awfully contrived and preachy, and brimming with stereotypes. I found it interesting that at the time Allen chose to play a heroic professor persecuted for seeking frankness and truth about sex, and years later he lead a self- righteous "anti-smut" crusade against movies and TV. I suppose that sometimes hypocrisy needs years to ripen and bloom. In any case, this film isn't likely to arouse much interest or respect nowadays.

This movie has no real redeeming qualities. It is a silly mess. And how they got some of these stars to even do this thing is a mind bender. But then again the cast is not what you call a stellar cast. Steve Allen is a sociology professor with a special project he would like to complete before getting ran out of town. He is conducting a survey that is 20% sexual questions, but the towns people fear he is corrupting their community college students. Jane Meadows is a reporter trying to do a story on the professor accused of hanky panky with some of his students.

Since I am not and never have been a Steve Allen fan, the only reason I watched this was for singer Conway Twitty. I have always liked Twitty when he was a rock 'n' roller. He was not too much of a disappointment, but he only had a few lines and a couple of scenes. And even he had to be ashamed of the song he sang. Also in the cast is Mamie Van Doren. She was in top form playing Twitty's girl. A sexpot is a sexpot, how can I complain?

Also in this silly romp are: Mickey Shaughnessy, Elisha Cook Jr.,Walter Winchell, Rocky Marciano and Cathy Crosby.

This movie has a professional cast and good production values but it so unclear as to what it wants to be about that its all for nothing. It does portray college students pretty much as they really are: ready to label other people as creeps, not seeing what creeps they are themselves. However, Steve Allen really does seem creepy as the professor. That scene, where he accidentally shows the porno film cut into the home movies of wholesome student fun! It really and truly is embarassing to watch, just as if you were really there. I've never seen a scene like that it in any other movie. The only thing that comes anywhere near close is the gay bar scene in "Advise and Consent" Any showcase for Mamie Van Doren is a good thing. I would say more but I couldn't finish watching it.

Herbert Marshall fans are going to be a bit distressed to find their idol sharing the seamy surroundings of Uncle Albert's "College" with the likes of Steve Allen, Conway Twitty and Uncle Al's usual grab-bag of exploitable "names". Usually, the direction at least can be rated as pretty slick in an Albert Zugsmith production, but on this occasion he has directed the movie himself. Instead of rating as reasonably lively, the proceedings here are dull, slow-moving and indeed super-lethargically paced. Production values also seem unusually tight. In addition to flat camera-work, boringly routine film editing, and cheap, clapboard sets, even the songs are dull and desultory. And worst of all, Miss Van Doren reveals little of her customary talent. Alas, even measured by lowly Zugsmith standards, this entry is pretty much of a bore.

A college teacher does a sex survey which is seen as immoral by the entire town.

I liked the film, and it had very nice points that apply to today.

Steve Allen was a talented, erudite entertainer of the 50s and 60s, who had a great deal of success on the small screen. Unfortunately, his talent did not translate too well on the big screen. Despite his limitations, he gave an excellent effort in this low budget production that tried to exploit sex on college campuses in the late 50s and very early 60s. By 2020, all of these issues seem pretty lame and moot, but in 1960, it was sensitive stuff. Walter Winchell plays himself in a cameo, and his funniest line is when he offers a screen test to the judge's daughter; as if he has any instinct in the least about on-camera talent. The story line is interesting, despite the exploitative nature of the producer. Allen gives it his best shot, along with an uncomfortable-looking Jayne Meadows, the lesser known sister of Audrey Meadows, the famous Alice from the Honeymooners. Jayne tried to be sexy in her films; but her wiser sister knew that comedy was more influential than sex for most actresses. The film is clearly dated, but still interesting to view.

With a great cast of TV and Film personalities this B-movie is a film of it's time. It was shown late at night even in the late '60's. A curious film and a must see, whether you like it or not. The awareness of sex before the sexual revolution. A little tongue-in-cheek too. It is amusing to know that Steve Allen who went from radio to TV, and enormously well liked, made this film. Steve wrote thousands of songs and many books, etc. Howard Stern fans may find this amusing after the fact that Steve thought Howard was just a shock jock with no worth. Yet Steve broke many barriers in the entertainment business. How different and yet similar are these two men. Just different times and moral codes. Would there have been Howard without a Steve?

I've seen this film at least three times, and I still can't figure out if it is meant to be a farce, a social commentary, or a camp comedy. But I have figured out one thing - this movie stinks on ice.

At the open, we are treated to famed columnist Walter Winchell's blaring out "Good morning Mr. And Mrs. America and all the ships at sea." I'm pretty sure the Mr. America he refers to is not Steve Reeves. And if you were listening to this at sea, I have a suggestion. Get your butt on deck and shoot a tomahawk at somebody, will you please.

Next, we see bombshell Mamie Van Doren making out with some guy in the shadows, while her anxious parents, played by Elisha Cook, Jr. And Pamela Mason, are wondering where the hell she is. When Mamie finally returns home (and her date speeds off), Cook grills her about where she was. This goes on for almost ten minutes. Now I like seeing Mamie on screen, but give me a break. They argue about whether it's three in the morning or quarter to three in the morning. To shut up her father, Mamie concocts a story that she was out with her sociology professor, helping him with his "research survey."

So later that morning, Cook goes to Collins College to confront the professor. The professor turns out to be Steve Allen, who has a sexy coed (Ziva Rodann) sitting on his desk. This situation looks bad (not the girl on the desk, but the fact that Steve Allen is playing a professor). Cook lays into him about the survey, and wants to know what kinds of questions Allen is asking. They get into a heated debate about whether questions of a sexual nature should be asked of the college students. Allen replies "You can't hide sex under rocks or ignore it." No, but you can burn the print of this film and pretend it never existed. To cover his butt, Allen calls another young babe into his office. This chick turns out to be the daughter of the Chair of the Sociology Department, and she happens to be engaged to Allen. (She also disappears from the film shortly thereafter). She verifies that she was with Allen most of the night, which clears him of Mamie-gate. Meanwhile, the audience is left wondering how Allen is getting all these dames.

Allen meets with the Chair, played by Herbert Marshall, the only actor in this film. In fact, Marshall's artificial leg is a better actor than everyone else in the film. It seems someone has sent an anonymous letter to Marshall, complaining about the survey. (I would be worried; from past experience, any time Marshall and a letter cross paths, somebody goes belly up.) Allen presses on with his research, which includes filming college students at a beach party. If I wanted to do this, my university would have me fill out a 20-page document, making me guarantee the privacy of the subjects, and making me promise I would do nothing to endanger them, or other vertebrates.

Enter Jayne Meadows, Allen's real-life spouse, who plays a reporter. She is snooping on Allen while he is filming. He invites her to his pad, which is a complete mess. Their banter is actually entertaining; unfortunately, when they try to act their parts, that's another story. Allen invites Meadows and the college crowd over for a party (another smart move by the Prof), where he plans to show the film. Allen, half-drunk, starts the screening, but disaster ensues. Someone has slipped an "adult film" into his own, which sends everyone out the door. This should have been the audience reaction when someone slipped "College Confidential" into a movie house. The room has barely emptied, when two cops show up at the door. One of them is played by former heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano. In his best Massachusetts accent, Marciano confronts Allen: "Got a complaint at the office about a wild potty up here." At least it sounded like he said "potty." Allen is charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Eventually, a hearing is held, with Magistrate Mickey Shaughnessy presiding. The hearing is held in Shaughnessy's grocery store. Allen apparently is not entitled to a lawyer. The store is filled with real-life Hollywood and newspaper bigwigs, like Earl Wilson, Jim Bacon, and Sheilah Graham. Shaughnessy falls all over them, asking them to look at photos of his daughter, trying to get her into Hollywood. Meanwhile, Walter Winchell sits behind the microphone, offering his running commentary. He spouts gems like "This is a shocker, enough to make Dr. Kinsey blush." When Ziva Rodann is called to testify, Winchell says "They certainly have beautiful girls out here at Collins College. This one would certainly embellish any Broadway show." Today, NOW would swoop down on his butt for saying that. When Mamie takes the stand, Winchell describes her as a "Mamie Van Doren type." Ha ha. I get it. Inside joke. Hysterical. Can't control myself. Wetting my pants.

Shaughnessy decides to quote Voltaire, and then dismiss the charges. Allen, still indignant, gets up and launches into an extended monologue, which no doubt increased sales at the concession stand. At one point, he quotes from Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5: "Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother ought; leave her to heaven." He should have quoted Descartes, who famously said "I think, therefore I am ... watching my career go into the toilet."

Oh, the culprit who inserted the adult film? Do you really care?

This is just a stinker film, with possibly the worst casting of all time. I have always liked Steve Allen, as a humorist, composer, and writer, but here he is out of his element. He is all wrong for this part, does incredibly stupid things, and should get no sympathy from the audience. He also looks like Clark Kent, so it is hard to take him seriously. Marshall is wasted, but at least we find out he doesn't like hot dogs. Every time I hear Winchell, I expect Robert Stack to show up with a tommy gun. William Wellman, Jr. And Robert Montgomery, Jr. Have bit parts. Woo Woo Grabowski plays a muscle-bound moron named "Skippy." For musical interludes, we are subjected to Randy Sparks and Conway Twitty. Twitty plays Mamie's boyfriend, which is inconceivable. Then again, Mamie attending college is also inconceivable. What is most inconceivable is that anyone, besides me, would watch this film more than once.

Ironically enough, I saw this insult while in college in the early 1970s. Imagine sitting in a dorm room with your friends, unwittingly turning on the TV and being subjected to well known actors and other personalities acting out absolute drivel about campus morality. The participation of Steve Allen is particularly sad. I've always admired him as an intelligent, socially involved representative of his profession. I cannot imagine what he and his wife Jayne Meadows we're thinking when they signed up to humiliate themselves in this way.

I would watch anything in the Ed Wood catalog 50 times before I'd torture myself again with this abomination. Somewhere Albert Zugsmith is having a hearty laugh at Wood being named worst director of all time. Wood's films may have been bad, but they came from a sincere desire to reach an audience and entertain them. Zugsmith's mind was an open sewer.

I'm quite shocked at the low ratings this film receives. Even my satellite provider only gave it 1 star out of 4.

It's entertaining enough, keeping the audience's attention for the duration of the film, which is more than can be said for most film I've seen.

Further, the issues it discusses (the scientific pursuit of knowledge, ignorant small town values, political corruption of the courts, parent-child conflict, and professors whose research is more of a way to party) are relevant today. Nobody comes out looking pure and innocent, which is often the mark of a good film.

The only thing that seems out of place is that college-age adults are considered "minors" which is absurd today.

The beginning of College Confidential is great, even though it's overacted and silly. Two parents, Elisha Cook Jr. And Pamela Mason, are waiting up in their bathrobes for their teenaged daughter to come home from her date. She finally comes home and under their scolding and questioning, she admits that she was with her college professor. He was conducting a survey on sex and she stayed after class for hours, and hours...

Eli is livid, understandably, and he goes to the campus to confront Prof. Steve Allen. Steve insists his survey was perfectly innocent and that he wasn't even interviewing Eli's daughter the night before. She must have been out with her boyfriend and was embarrassed to admit it. The rest of the movie shows the raunchy college kids with sex on the brain. Partying by the lake in their bikinis, partying in Steve's apartment, partying after school - is Steve encouraging this behavior by conducting a sex survey, or is his attitude merely fitting in with the times?

You'll get to see lots of silly teenagers and lots of cameos from real people, like Sheila Graham, Walter Winchell, and Rocky Marciano. Conway Twitty sings a ridiculous but somehow cute and catchy title song, and Mamie Van Doren's character gets teased for looking like Mamie Van Doren. Herbert Marshall is the dean of the school, but he can't really add to the class of the movie. It's all cheese and low-class. It's quite hilarious, though, and you can imagine young audiences flocking to the drive-ins in 1960 to see it.