John Wayne in a college sweater? Girls Demand Excitement is a weird one.

If you are looking for a gritty western or a war epic, you are in the wrong place. 🤠 This is 1931 John Wayne, which means he is wearing a sweater and looking deeply uncomfortable.

Is it worth watching today? Only if you are a completionist or you really like seeing how awkward early sound movies could be.

Modern audiences will probably find the plot pretty annoying. It is basically a 'battle of the sexes' where the stakes are whether girls should be allowed to go to college at all.

Peter Brooks, played by Wayne, is a 'hard-working' student who somehow finds the time to lead a crusade against co-eds. He is grumpy and serious in a way that feels accidental rather than intentional.

Then you have Joan Madison, played by Virginia Cherrill. She is the rich girl who decides Peter is cute when he is angry.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a few hallways and a single gym. The burstiness of the dialogue is high because everyone talks like they are trying to beat a timer.

There is a scene where the boys and girls have a 'competition' to see who stays on campus. It involves a basketball game that looks more like a mild riot than a sport.

The camera just kind of sits there. It watches people run back and forth without much energy.

One of the weirdest parts is seeing John Wayne try to be a romantic lead. He has this massive physical presence, but he doesn't know what to do with his hands when he isn't holding a gun.

He looks like he wants to bolt for the exit in every scene with Cherrill. It is actually kind of charming in a 'watching a middle school play' sort of way.

The movie doesn't really have a middle. It just has a series of scenes where people argue about gender roles in high-pitched voices.

I kept thinking about Whoa, Emma! while watching this. Both films have that frantic, early-talkie energy where nobody is quite sure how loud to speak.

There is a supporting character named Pudge who is supposed to be the comic relief. He mostly just falls down or looks confused.

The script is credited to Harlan Thompson, and you can tell he was trying to capture 'youth culture.' But it feels like a 50-year-old wrote what he thought 20-year-olds sounded like after hearing a rumor about them.

The lighting in the indoor scenes is strangely flat. It makes everyone look like they are standing in a grocery store aisle.

At one point, there is a ping-pong match that is treated with the gravity of a duel to the death. The sound of the ball hitting the table is the loudest thing in the movie.

It goes on for a while. Maybe a bit too long. 🏓

If you compare this to something like The Forbidden Path, it lacks that dark, dramatic edge. It is purely fluff, but the fluff has turned a bit stale over the last ninety years.

I noticed that the extras in the background of the gym scenes look bored out of their minds. One girl in the back is clearly just staring at the ceiling during a 'tense' moment.

The movie ends exactly how you think it will. Peter realizes that maybe girls aren't so bad if they are pretty and like him.

It is a very 1931 solution to a 1931 problem. The logic is thin, but the movie is only about an hour long, so it doesn't overstay its welcome too much.

You can see glimpses of the future 'Duke' in his walk, though. He still has that rhythmic way of moving, even in a suit.

But the dialogue? Oof. He delivers lines like he is reading a grocery list. 🛒

I did like the hats, though. Every woman in this movie has a hat that looks like a piece of origami gone wrong. It is very stylish.

Is it a good movie? Not really. It is a clumsy, dated relic that mostly serves as a footnote in a massive career.

But if you like seeing the 'rough drafts' of movie stars, it is kind of a hoot. Just don't expect any profound insights into the human condition here.

It is just a bunch of people in sweaters being silly. And sometimes, that is enough for a Sunday afternoon when you've run out of other things to stream.

Things I Noticed:

• John Wayne's hair is surprisingly wavy.
• The 'fraternity' house looks like a funeral home.
• The way they talk about 'co-eds' makes it sound like a disease.
• The ending happens so fast I thought my player skipped a chapter.

Anyway, give it a look if you want to laugh at how much things have changed. Or how much they haven't. 🤷‍♂️