The year 1939 was a pivotal moment in American popular culture John Steinbeck published "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" dominated the box office, Batman made his first appearance in a comic book and paternity test enthusiast Maury Povich made famous by his eponymous talk show "Maury" was born into the world.
It was also the year that the less-than-classic movie "Winter Carnival" was made. Sadly, it comes up a bit short of achieving such continuing resonance as the aforementioned events and by a bit short, I mean it falls somewhere on the "irrelevant-things-from-1939" spectrum between the invention of nylon stockings (quite irrelevant) and my Grandma Shirley's 12th birthday (extremely irrelevant).
Most Dartmouth students are probably unaware of this antiquated feature film about the College's annual winter celebration. "Winter Carnival," however, was actually a fairly legitimate project, with F. Scott Fitzgerald of "The Great Gatsby" fame originally hired as the writer. Fitzgerald, a recovering alcoholic, was left uncredited, however. While visiting Dartmouth for movie research, he became excessively drunk and was fired by producer Walter Wanger '15. Nevertheless, in portions of the script remain Fitzgerald's words.
Unfortunately, the off-camera intrigue isn't matched in the final product. The plot centers on a former Carnival Queen/celebrity-divorce, Jill Baxter (Ann Sheridan), who returns to Dartmouth and runs into an old fling, Professor Weldon (Richard Carlson). The couple's rocky relationship isn't exactly believable the two bicker, kiss passionately, decide they want to move in together and break up viciously, all in a minute-and-a-half long sequence. However, their flirty, intelligent banter is relatively sharp and endearing, making their relationship one of the few worth rooting for in the film.
Other aspects of "Winter Carnival" are unintentionally hysterical. Count Olaf Von Lundborg's (Morton Lowry) ever-changing accent and receding hairline speak for themselves. Additionally, while I knew that people dressed quite differently when FDR was in office, I was unaware of the apparent need for men to wear suits at all times (especially while skiing) or of the need to change one's hat/veil/head scarf more than five times per day. Finally, I very much appreciate that 1939, at least according to the film's dialogue, was an excellent year for the non-ironic use of the exclamation "Jeepers!"
Where the film does succeed, at least from a Dartmouth student's perspective, is in showcasing what Winter Carnival was like way back when. It's interesting to observe the changes in both the physical campus and the traditions that have come and gone over the past 71 years (come on Programming Board, can't you bring back the fireworks show this year?). Regrettably, this sort of "Hey look no Hop!" excitement only manages to sustain about 12 of the movie's 90 minutes. Once those moments have lost their charm, you're forced to actually follow the plot, and things go downhill as quickly as the suit-clad skiers.
I don't mean to say that the movie is unwatchable it's a few steps above that, maybe even borderline appealing if you love Dartmouth's history. When I plan my Carnival schedule, however, I'm pretty sure I'll opt to jump in a 30-degree pond rather than watch it again. I suggest you follow suit.
