She Loves Me Not is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Bing Crosby and Miriam Hopkins. Based on the novel She Loves Me Not by Edward Hope and the subsequent play by Howard Lindsay, the film is about a cabaret dancer who witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film has been remade twice as True to the Army (1942) and as How to Be Very, Very Popular in (1955), the latter starring Betty Grable. The film is notable as one of Crosby's earliest starring vehicles. It was also the last film that Miriam Hopkins made under her contract to Paramount Pictures. In 1935, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Love in Bloom", the theme song of comedian Jack Benny.

Cast

Production

Ida Lupino and Charles Ruggles were reported to have joined the cast in early 1934, but neither appeared in the film. Before filming commenced, Paramount announced plans to retitle the film College Rhythm but preserved the original title because of the notoriety of the novel and stage production. An unrelated film titled College Rhythm was also released by Paramount in 1934.

Reception

The film was one of Paramount's biggest hits of the year. In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Mordaunt Hall wrote: "As on the stage, this adaptation is a swift-paced piece of hilarity, with occasional romantic interludes during which Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle contribute some tuneful melodies. Some of the farcical episodes in this Paramount offering are apt to recall that famous old comedy, 'Charley's Aunt,' but in the present production, instead of having a varsity student in skirts, they dress up a cabaret girl in male attire after she has invaded a dormitory room." A review in The Buffalo News found the film to be "a gaily diverting bit of humorous fantasy" and "clean and unceasingly funny."

Songs

Crosby recorded some of the songs for Brunswick Records. "Love in Bloom" topped the music chart for six weeks.