Singers Make Movies: Connie Francis and Donna Summer

Connie Francis & Harve Presnell.When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965). What possessed a Hollywood producer to pitch a 1960s update of the George and Ira Gershwin stage musical Girl Crazy starring Connie Francis, Liberace, Louis Armstrong, Herman's Hermits, and Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs? We may never know. But shockingly, the movie was made and now we can experience When the Boys Meet the Girls.The "plot" sends a wealthy college student named Danny Churchill (Harve Presnell) to Nevada to avoid marriage to a vivacious, troublesome blonde (Sue Ane Langdon). Once there, Danny meets Ginger (Connie Francis), a hardworking gal whose father is drowning in gambling debt. Danny quickly becomes invested in helping Ginger save her family’s ranch, which is on the verge of being seized by Reno gangsters. His big idea: transform the ranch into a divorcee getaway resort, with his new college friends pitching in on construction.This framework is just an excuse for the incongruous musical numbers:…