Where the Boys Are

The film mainly focuses on the "coming of age" of four girl students at a midwestern university during spring vacation. In a class discussion, smart, down-to-earth Merritt Andrews suggests that premarital sex might be something young women should experience. Melanie Tolman, a magnet for young men, loses her virginity on her first date, soon after the young women arrive in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Tuggle Carpenter seeks to be a "baby-making machine", lacking only a man to join her in marriage. The athletic Angie, who is clueless about romance, rounds out the group.

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The girls find their attitudes challenged. Merritt, a freshman, meets suave, darkly handsome Ryder Smith, a senior at Brown University, and realizes she is not ready for sex. Melanie discovers that Franklin, a boy from Yale University whom she thought loved her, was only using her for sex. Tuggle quickly fixes her attention on goofy "TV" Thompson, a junior at Michigan State University, but becomes disillusioned when he becomes infatuated with performer Lola Fandango, a "mermaid" swimmer/dancer in a local nightclub. Angie stumbles into a relationship with eccentric jazz musician Basil.

The relationship angst of Merritt, Tuggle, and Angie evaporates when they discover Melanie is distraught after going to meet Franklin at a motel and instead finding there another of the "Yalies", Dill, who raped her. Franklin had moved on to another girl, but told Dill that Melanie was "easy" and set up the ambush. Melanie, her dress torn, walks into traffic. Just as her friends arrive, she is sideswiped by a car and is rushed to the hospital.

Ultimately, the girls resolve to act more maturely and responsibly. After hearing about Melanie, "TV" returns to Tuggle. Angie ends up with Basil, especially after he loses his glasses and needs her help. Melanie recovers in the hospital, with Merritt looking after her. Merritt promises Ryder she will continue their long-distance relationship. He then drives them back to college.

• Dolores Hart as Merritt Andrews
• Paula Prentiss as Tuggle Carpenter
• Yvette Mimieux as Melanie Tolman
• Connie Francis as Angie
• George Hamilton as Ryder Smith
• Jim Hutton as TV Thompson
• Rory Harrity as Franklin
• Frank Gorshin as Basil
• Chill Wills as Police Captain
• Barbara Nichols as Lola Fandango
• Maggie Pierce as Dody
• Carol Byron as Sybil

Joe Pasternak bought the film rights to the novel, which originally was known as Unholy Spring, even before it was published. He assigned George Wells to write the script.[5]

"There isn't a gat, knife, or marijuana cigarette in the whole thing", said Pasternak. "These are good students. We'll use our young contract players, such as George Hamilton, Joe Cronin, Denny Miller, Alfredo Sadel, Bill Smith, Russ Tamblyn, Luana Patten, Maggie Pierce, Carmen Phillips, and Nancy Walters; then get one star to head the cast."[6] Natalie Wood, who had just made All the Fine Young Cannibals for MGM, was mentioned as a possible star at one stage.[7]

MGM eventually persuaded the book's author to change the title from Unholy Spring to Where the Boys Are.[8][9]

Henry Levin was signed to direct. The first two stars confirmed for the movie were George Hamilton and Yvette Mimieux.[10] Paula Prentiss was cast despite never having made a movie before.[11] Connie Francis also made her movie debut (although she had previously done voice work in Jamboree! and Rock Rock Rock![12]) .[13] Strangely enough, this marked the first of three films starring Francis which featured "boys" in the title. The other two were Follow The Boys and When The Boys Meet The Girls.[14] Coincidentally, Hamilton, Prentiss and star Dolores Hart were all born the same year, and 22 at the time of filming. The youngest of the principal cast was Yvette Mimieux, who was only 19 years old during filming.[15]

The novel contained a section where the students help raise money to ship arms to Fidel Castro for his revolution in Cuba. Pasternak decided to remove this. "The author was very sympathetic to Castro", said Pasternak. "Politics does not belong in entertainment. As actors or writers or movie makers of any sort, we have a right to our political preferences. But that is why we have secret ballots... We felt that the only revolution these youngsters should be involved in was their personal revolution."[16]

George Hamilton got a bit part for his friend Sean Flynn in the movie.[17][18]

Hamilton claims to have improvised the scene in which he wrote a question mark in the sand next to Dolores Hart. He firmly believed he was making a "little nothing of a film" and did not enjoy the shoot. The film also featured the screen debut, in an unaccredited role, by former Miss Ohio and Elvis Presley consort Kathy Gabriel.[19]

The opening sequence was narrated by veteran voice-over artist Paul Frees. Frees is best known for his work on Disneyland attractions, such as The Haunted Mansion and Pirates Of The Caribbean.[20]

The kind of cool modern jazz (or west coast jazz) popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil. Called "dialectic jazz" in the film, the original compositions were by Pete Rugolo.[21]

MGM had bolstered the film's success potential by giving a large role to Connie Francis, the top American female recording star and a member of the MGM Records roster. Francis had solicited the services of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who had written hit songs for her, to write original material for her to perform on the film's soundtrack including a "Where the Boys Are" title song. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote two potential title songs for the film, but producer Joe Pasternak passed over the song Francis and the songwriting duo preferred in favor of a lush 1950s style movie theme. Francis recorded the song on October 18, 1960 in a New York City recording session with Stan Applebaum arranging and conducting.

The theme song, "Where the Boys Are", peaked at No. 4 in the U.S. and became Connie Francis's signature tune. It was covered by many other artists.

Besides the theme song, Francis sang "Turn on the Sunshine", another Sedaka-Greenfield composition, in the film.

The film's soundtrack also features "Have You Met Miss Fandango?", sung by co-star Barbara Nichols and featured music by Victor Young and lyrics by Stella Unger.[21]

MGM did not release a soundtrack album for Where the Boys Are.[22][23]

The film was a success at the box office.

MGM signed Henry Levin, Dolores Hart, Prentiss and Hutton to long-term contracts.[24]

Where the Boys Are '84 was released in 1984 by TriStar Pictures. While it bears the distinction of being the first film released by TriStar, the film was a critical and commercial failure. Although it was touted as a remake, it was imagined as a sex comedy. Roger Ebert reported that "It isn't a sequel and isn't a remake and isn't, in fact, much of anything."[32]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Where the Boys Are.

• Where the Boys Are at IMDb
• Where the Boys Are at the TCM Movie Database
• Where the Boys Are at AllMovie
• Where The Boys Are at the American Film Institute Catalog