The first must-see film of the year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

From the title, I guess I was expecting bouncy nonsense like Where The Boys Are (1960) or one of the Gidget puff pieces of the early '60's. Instead the 90-minutes flattens out into a talkfest that undermines both hints of comedy and what little music there is. In fact, the poignant Francis is largely wasted amid an expanded cast and forgettable songs. Instead we get an almost endless series of one-on-one personal palavers as the four couples try to straighten out their relationships with nothing more lively than table talk. It's almost like someone's getting paid by the word. What the movie does have are scenic settings of the French and Italian Rivera where the Navy puts into port and their girls follow them. These are certainly visual treats. Also, the little pink jalopy is a good touch that represents the sort of imagination that should have crafted the film as a whole. Anyway, fans looking for beach bunny escapism should unfortunately look elsewhere.

In her period of movie stardom singer Connie Francis got a bunch of lightweight vehicles from MGM which were more designed to give her opportunities to sing and sell a few records. A movie career was strictly an afterthought for Connie Francis, the best of her films was the remake of Girl Crazy and that had Gershwin score going for it as well.The featherweight plot of Follow The Boys has Connie with two other of her peers Paula Prentiss and Dany Robin being chaperoned around by the older Janis Paige on the way to their navy husbands and sweethearts who are enjoying duty on the Italian Riviera. Not much to say but all the couples go through the usual mating games. The men are Ron Randell, Richard Long, Roger Perry, and Russ Tamblyn.There really isn't much more to say that you'll love the film if you like Connie Francis and her singing. She gets seven songs in the score.

Copyright 5 February 1963 by Franmet Productions. Released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at Loew's neighborhood theaters: 27 February 1963. U.S. release: March 1963. U.K. release: 28 April 1963. Australian release: 24 October 1963. 8,568 feet. 95 minutes.COMMENT: There has to be an entertainment rating less than zero for "Follow the Boys". Audiences shouldn't just demand their money back, they should insist theater managements pay damages for false advertising. A bit of location scenery surrounds a banal plot, rendered even more tiresome by boringly stereotyped characters mouthing flat, mundane dialogue. The men are irritating bores, and any interest one might have in the physical attractions of the brain-dead girls is quickly dashed by unflattering make-up and warts-and-all photography. Aside from the title tune, even Miss Francis' songs are listless and uninspired. Thorpe's less than sparkling direction with its telegraphed pratfalls and strictly charmless widescreen compositions is yet another negative.

Four women, in various stages of romantic pursuit, "Follow the Boys" (men, actually) around European ports, mostly from a dilapidated old jalopy. The four females are: Connie Francis (as Bonnie Pulaski), Paula Prentiss (as Toni Denham), Janis Paige (as Liz Bradville) and Dany Robin (as Michele Perrier). Their "Boys" are: Russ Tamblyn (as Wadsworth Smith), Richard Long (as Peter Langley), Roger Perry (as Billy Pulaski), and Ron Randell (as Ben Bradville). The cast is likable, but the film is dull. Ms. Francis, not coincidently MGM's top selling recording artist, is especially noteworthy; with relatively little experience in films, she performs as well as anyone. However, Francis isn't given enough to do. After an Italian wine-stomping event, all's well that ends well.**** Follow the Boys (2/27/63) Richard Thorpe ~ Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Russ Tamblyn