Arthur Freed Movies
American filmmaker Arthur Freed began his lifelong love affair with popular music while working as a song plugger and vaudeville performer. His first big hit as a songwriter was the plaintive ballad "I Cried For You." After playing the nightclub circuit, Freed was hired by MGM in 1928 to write songs for the studio's new musical department. Usually teamed with Nacio Herb Brown, Freed was responsible for most of the top tunes heard in MGM's early-talkie manifest, including "Broadway Melody," "My Lucky Star," "Wedding of the Painted Doll," and the Oscar-winning "Singin' in the Rain." Even after the first cycle of musical films had passed, Freed was still churning out such classics as "Temptation."Appointed associate producer of MGM's 1939 The Wizard of Oz, Freed became fascinated with the concept of the "integrated" musical, wherein the songs are important to the storyline (and vice versa) rather than being mere disposable "highlights." After Wizard, Freed was given his own production unit at MGM, where he immediately went to work changing the face of filmed musicals. When one uses the phrase "MGM musicals," one is generally speaking of such Freed-produced films as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and The Harvey Girls (1948) rather than the conventional operetta-style endeavors filmed by the rival Joe Pasternak unit. Freed developed and nurtured such talents as Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Stanley Donen, Vincente Minnelli, Andre Previn and Michael Kidd. He also gave Fred Astaire's flagging career a shot in the arm with such productions as Easter Parade (1948) and The Band Wagon (1953). While it was An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958) that attracted all the Oscars, Freed's masterpiece was Singin' in the Rain (1952), a brilliant musical spoof of the early-talkie era. (Millard Mitchell's portrayal in Rain of studio head R. K. Simpson is said to be based on Freed himself). Freed left MGM in 1961, at a time when his brand of pure-cinema musical was on the outs and big-budget adaptations of Broadway hits (West Side Story, The Music Man) were the current rage. From 1963 through 1966, Freed served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, applying his showmanship savvy to the annual Oscar telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1929
In this early talkie, a musical, a Polynesian storekeeper bears his chest and sings. He also falls in love with an island girl and rescues her from a lecher who tries to force her into a marriage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ramon Novarro, Renée Adorée, (more)
This landmark MGM backstage musical of the early sound era about broken dreams on the Great White Way features a bevy of standards by the songwriting team of Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Freed later became unit producer of the legendary Freed Unit at MGM, which is the reason many of the tunes from Broadway Melody --""You Were Meant For Me"", "Broadway Melody", ""The Wedding of the Painted Doll""-- later appeared in Freed's seminal MGM musical Singin' in the Rain. The nominal story concerns midwestern sister act The Mahoney Sisters --Queenie (Anita Page) and Hank (Bessie Love)-- who come to New York to try to make it big on Broadway. Hank's song-and-dance man boyfriend Eddie (Charles King) has promised the gals a part in the new Broadway revue in which he is soon to appear. When Hank and Queenie come to see him, Hank is pleasantly surprised at the way Queenie has filled out. Soon enough, Eddie is making advances to Queenie. Queenie is attracted to Eddie too, but she doesn't want to steal her sister's boyfriend. So she Queenie takes up with a lecherous playboy, leaving it to Hank to put all the confused love relationships in perspective. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Page, Bessie Love, (more)
- 1930
Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown star in this high budget horse opera from M-G-M. She is Joan Prescott, a spoiled debutante en route to the family ranch in Montana and he is the cowboy she meets and marries after impulsively departing the train at a whistle stop. Surprising everyone, Papa Prescott (Lloyd Ingraham) is only too willing to welcome Larry Carrigan (Mack Brown) into the family, Larry being exactly the opposite of the slick society swells that Joan usually dates. But our Joan just can't help cutting the rug with old beau Jeff Pelham (Ricardo Cortez) and a jealous Larry slugs him. An angry Joan hops the next train back to New York but suddenly finds herself a victim of a gang of outlaws. A gang that seems mighty familiar! Co-written by executive producer Irving Thalberg's sister Sylvia, Montana Moon comes complete with songs by house composers Arthur Freed, Nacio Herb Brown and Herbert Stothart, including "The Moon is Low", "Happy Cowboy" and "Let Me Give You Love". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown, (more)
- 1930
Those Three French Girls are Charmaine (Fifi D'Orsay), Dian (Yola D'Avril) and Madelon (Sandra Ravel), each a real oo-la-la in her own right. All three get mixed up in the affairs of stuffy Englishman Larry (Reginald Denny) and the even stuffier Earl of Ippleton (George Grossmith). Meanwhile, American doughboys Owly (Cliff Edwards) and Yank (Edward S. Brophy) set their own sights on the lovely trio. The result is an uneven combination of drawing-room comedy and slapstick farce, including such standbys as the roadster caught in the rain and the idyllic (but innocent) overnight stay in the barnyard. And, of course, Those Three French Girls strip down to their skivvies when things threaten to get dull. Hard to believe that P.G. Wodehouse wrote the original story, and that one of the screenwriters was Arthur Freed, who later produced such prestigious MGM musicals as An American in Paris and Singin'in the Rain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Edwards
- 1931
In this romantic comedy-drama, a wealthy San Francisco businessman becomes the guardian of a sexy young Polynesian woman. At first, he sees her as in the way, but he falls in love with her and moves back to her home island with her, adopting the ways of the natives. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Howard, Conchita Montenegro, (more)
- 1931
The third of Metropolitan Opera star Lawrence Tibbett's MGM vehicles, The Prodigal casts the star as Jeffry, the proverbial black sheep of an aristocratic Southern family. After several years on the bum with his buddies Doc (Roland Young) and Snipe (Cliff Edwards), Jeffry returns home, where he immediately falls in love with Antonia (Esther Ralston), the young wife of his hateful older brother Rodman (Purnell B. Pratt). Though he knows she'd be happier with him, Jeffry finally acquiescences to family honor and walks out of Antoina's life. The film's best-remembered musical number was "Without a Song", originally composed for the never-completed MGM epic Great Day. Also released as The Southerner, The Prodigal was retitled Wandering Son for television, to avoid confusion with the 1955 Biblical spectacle of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Tibbett, Esther Ralston, (more)
- 1932
Marion Davies and Billie Dove, both veterans of the real-life Ziegfeld Follies, star in the entertaining comedy-drama Blondie of the Follies. Having both grown up in the New York tenement district, Blondie (Davies) and Lurleen (Dove) hope to escape their shabby surroundings in favor of the show-business world. But while Lurleen takes "the easiest path," sleeping her way to the top and living in luxury as the kept woman of playboy Robert Montgomery, Blondie does her best to hold on to her virtue while climbing the rungs of fame and fortune. The rivalry between the two girls reaches a fever pitch when Lurleen inadvertently causes Blondie to suffer a debilitating injury during a particularly treacherous Follies production number. Sticking fast to her principles, Blondie ultimately wins Montgomery, whereupon she and Lurleen renew their rocky friendship. The film's highlight is a delightful party scene in which Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante perform a devastating send-up of Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in Grand Hotel. Blondie of the Follies might have even been better had it been shorter; at 90 minutes, however, it veers towards repetition and predictability in the final reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1933
Reportedly at the request of Marion Davies herself, Bing Crosby was borrowed from Paramount for the MGM Davies vehicle Going Hollywood. Der Bingle plays a struggling crooner who falls in love with Davies, a French teacher in a girl's school. He rises to fame and fortune in Hollywood, leaving Davies behind. She trails after him and becomes a movie star in her own right, supplanting Crosby's current vis-a-vis, the seductive Fifi D'Orsay. Hero and heroine are reunited in a lyrical finale. Some of the best moments in Going Hollywood belong to Patsy Kelly, making her movie debut as Davies' wisecracking chum, and to the Radio Rogues, a comedy singing act specializing in impressions of contemporary radio celebrities. As was his wont, publisher William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies' very good friend, was present throughout the filming, making it difficult indeed for Bing Crosby to "lose himself" in the kissing scenes. The gloriously oversized production numbers include "Temptation" (given an astoundingly seductive rendition by a worldly Bing Crosby) and the high-kickin' title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, (more)
- 1933
In this romantic comedy, a middle-aged woman married to a much older man begins a harmless flirtation with an artistically inclined gigolo after she mistakes him for her long-lost lover. Unfortunately, the opportunist really loves the woman's daughter. He is also smitten with another woman. Romantic mayhem ensues when the artist's true identity is revealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Alice Brady, (more)
- 1933
There's nothing wrong with Hold Your Man that a little editing wouldn't cure. Clark Gable plays a raffish young petty crook who hides out in hard-boiled Jean Harlow's apartment after he pulls off a robbery. Harlow enjoys Gable's company, and soon the two are living together. Gable puts his criminal career on hold for a while, but when Harlow, jealous of her boy friend's womanizing, fabricates a romance with "wealthy" laundry owner Paul Hurst, Gable decides to knock over Hurst's establishment. Hurst is accidentally killed, whereupon Gable runs off to parts unknown, leaving Harlow to take the rap. While in prison, Harlow discovers she's pregnant with Gable's baby. The conscience-stricken Gable tries to fix things by sneaking into prison and hastily marrying Harlow. By coming out of hiding, Gable allows himself to be arrested, but Harlow promises to wait for him. Hold Your Man starts out as an acerbic "sez you" comedy-drama, then bogs down into a big pile of sentimental goo (a common problem with MGM films of the early 1930). Still, the first few reels are infinitely entertaining, thanks to the chemistry between Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, (more)
Virtually everybody except President Roosevelt was in the lavish MGM backstage musical Dancing Lady. Joan Crawford stars as Janie Barlow, an impoverished dancer reduced to working in a seedy Manhattan burlesque house. While on a slumming party with his society friend, wealthy young Tod Newton (Franchot Tone) spots Janie in the burleycue chorus line and immediately falls in love with her. When the joint is raided, Tod pays Janie's bail, but she resists his entreaties to become his mistress, promising instead to pay back every cent she owes him "honestly." With Tod's help, Janie is able to secure work in a big-time Broadway musical being staged by Patch Gallegher (Clark Gable), who is certain that the girl is an untalented opportunist and does everything he can to sabotage her audition. When he realizes that the girl "has something," he refuses to admit it but does, grudgingly, hire her for the show. Through a combination of skill and damned hard work, Janie ends up as the star of the show, whereupon Tod, worried that he'll lose the girl to the Great White Way, buys the show and promptly closes it. But Janie, who's fallen in love with Patch, teams with her new sweetheart to restage the show with their own meager savings -- and surprise of surprises, it's a smash hit. Truly an embarrassment of riches, Dancing Lady introduced Fred Astaire to the movie-going public, solidified the popularity of MGM's new tenor Nelson Eddy, and offered a wide berth for the comedy antics of Ted Healy and his Three Stooges -- Moe Howard, Curly Howard and Larry Fine (Larry, performing his role in a Jewish dialect, has a wonderful double-take bit with a jigsaw puzzle which turns out to be a portrait of Adolf Hitler). As a bonus, the film offers spectacular musical production numbers, not to mention the enduring song hit "Everything I Have is Yours." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, (more)
- 1933
After the death of her circus-aerialist husband, Kitty Lorraine (Alice Brady) dedicates herself to transforming her daughter Shirley (Maureen O'Sullivan) into a celebrity. Kitty is so determined that Shirley will hit the "big time" that she continues to issue instructions to the girl even while undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Artist Warren Foster (Franchot Tone) upsets Kitty's plans by falling in love with Shirley, so mom plans to throw Foster off the scent by marrying her daughter off to titled nobleman Lord Aylesworth (Phillips Holmes). Finally realizing that she may be loving her girl to death, Kitty reunites Shirley with ever-patient Warren. A blend of themes previously explored by such dramas as Applause and Stella Dallas, Stage Mother was the film that introduced the syrupy ballad Beautiful Girl, later showcased (and gently mocked) in Singin' in the Rain. The film's best scenes are Alice Brady's verbal duels with her brash business partner Ted Healy -- and incidentally, one of Healy's stooges, the inimitable Larry Fine, shows up in a one-line bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Brady, Maureen O'Sullivan, (more)
MGM's Sadie McKee is a superb example of how the "committee" system of moviemaking in the 1930s could sometimes yield unexpected delights. It all begins when Sadie McKee (Joan Crawford) is brought to big bad old New York by glib vaudevillian Tommy (Gene Raymond), only to be unceremoniously dumped in favor of actress Dolly (Esther Ralston). Cast adrift, our Sadie lands a nightclub job, where she meets genially intoxicated millionaire Brennan (Edward Arnold). Accepting his drunken marriage proposal, Sadie must endure the slings and arrows of Brennan's friends and family, who consider her a gold-digger. Meanwhile, Sadie's former boss Michael (Franchot Tone), the one true love of her life, waits and waits and waits to see what's really on the girl's mind! And as a bonus, this is the film that introduced the peppy ditty "All I Do Is Dream of You". The labyrinth plotline of Sadie McKee is proof enough that more than one screenwriter had a hand in its creation: but instead of chaos, the film is irresistibly watchable, full of unexpected plot twists and marvelous little surprises. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1935
The Broadway Melody of 1936 was designed as the first of many annual follow-ups to "MGM"'s early-talkie triumph Broadway Melody (1929). Jack Benny is atypically cast as a Walter Winchell type who carries on a feud with Broadway producer Robert Taylor. Into this fray comes Taylor's childhood sweetheart Eleanor Powell, who wants to play a role in Taylor's upcoming production. Already under fire from Benny for exhibiting favoritism, Taylor says no. Powell gets into the show anyway, disguising herself as a celebrated Parisian stage star. The film's song highlights (one of them sung by Robert Taylor!) include "I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling", "Broadway Rhythm", and a holdover from the original Broadway Melody, "You Are My Lucky Star." Spotlighted in several numbers is the song 'n' dance team of Buddy and Vilma Ebsen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, (more)
- 1936
The Devil Is a Sissy deserves an historical footnote as the only film to team three of the biggest child stars of the 1930s: Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew. Bartholomew is a wealthy young English boy attending a New York "magnet" school, whose students are drawn from all walks of life. He is befriended by slum kid Rooney, son of a recently executed gangster, who in his own roughneck fashion helps Bartholomew to "assimilate" (Translation: He helps him to steal and evade the cops). Cooper is a middle-class gang leader with whom Rooney frequently clashes. Freddie attempts to fit in with his new chums by masterminding a break-in at a Park Avenue townhouse. None too soon, all three boys end up in juvenile court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Cooper, (more)
- 1936
This second of MGM's Thin Man films reteams William Powell and Myrna Loy as, respectively, bibulous private detective Nick Charles and his socialite wife Nora. The Charleses are sucked into another murder case via Nick's lovely cousin Elissa Landi, whose husband Alan Marshall has vanished. Hubby has been conducting an affair with nightclub thrush Dorothy McNulty (later known as Penny Singleton) and is also blackmailing gangsterish Joseph Calleia. When the corpses begin piling up, Nick and Nora try to piece the clues together, with the earnest assistance of Jimmy Stewart, who carries a torch for Landi. You won't believe who turns out to be the murderer in this one--then again, given the plot's strict adherence to "least likely suspect" formula, you probably will. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1937
The third of Paramount's "deluxe" westerns of the 1930s (following The Texas Rangers and The Plainsman) was Wells Fargo, filmed on a Cecil B. DeMille scale by producer-director Frank Lloyd. In his first western appearance, Joel McCrea plays Ramsey McCay, troubleshooter for the newly formed partnership of Henry Wells (Henry O'Neill) and William Fargo (Jack Clark). Dedicated to maintaining a safe and speedy overland mail and freight service to the West, Wells-Fargo is at the forefront of several important historical events, including the California Gold Rush, the formation of the Pony Express and the Civil War. Hero McCay is briefly separated from his wife Justine (played by McCrea's real-life spouse Frances Dee) during the last-named conflict, but the two are reunited late in life as Wells-Fargo celebrates its 20th year of service. Constructed in a rather pedantic "tableau" fashion (a frequent shortcoming in Frank Lloyd's films), Wells Fargo nevertheless contains several thrill-packed highlights, most of which would do service as stock footage in such later Paramount westerns as Geronimo. Originally released at 115 minutes, Wells Fargo was radically shortened in subsequent re-issues, almost completely eliminating the semi-villainous character played by fourth-billed Lloyd Nolan (if asked, audiences would probably have preferred to see far less of comedy-relief Bob "Bazooka" Burns). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, (more)
- 1937
Young Roger Calverton (Ronald Sinclair) and his uncle Sir Peter Calverton (Sir C. Aubrey Smith) bring their prize race-horse The Pookah to America, hoping to win a major purse and save their impoverished family estate. They cross paths with Tim Donahue (Mickey Rooney), one of the top young jockeys in the business, and also with Cricket West (Judy Garland), the niece of Mother Ralph (Sophie Tucker), who runs the boarding house where Donahue resides. Cricket likes to sing every chance she gets, and also has a terrible crush on Tim, but even she can't abide his brash, cocky attitude about himself -- and as a good hostess and also a sensible girl, she also gets just a tiny bit smitten with Roger. He and Tim have a rough first meeting but find that they do sort of like each other, and soon Tim -- who has had a tough, hard-scrabble life -- becomes very close to his new friend from England and to Sir Peter, especially when he finds out how much they love horses and racing. He agrees to ride The Pookah -- but then the young jockey is suckered by his estranged father (Charles D. Brown), a low-life member of a gambling syndicate, into throwing the race. This leads to a tragedy that forces Tim to walk away from his profession and everyone he knows, until Cricket finds him and convinces the boy that what he did wasn't entirely his fault, and that he still has the power to make up for a part of it. Tim steals some of the money he gave his father -- supposedly to save the man's life -- to help Roger get The Pookah into another race, but he still has to overcome the machinations of the mob so he can right the wrong he did to the best friends he's ever had. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, (more)
- 1937
This third entry in MGM's "Broadway Melody" series may not have been the biggest or best, but thanks to a masterpiece of casting it is one of the most memorable of the batch. Signed by MGM in 1935, 15-year-old Judy Garland made her first feature-film appearance under the aegis of Leo the Lion, immediately capturing the hearts of moviegoers everywhere by singing "You Made Me Love You" to a photograph of Clark Gable (a sequence that has since been excerpted countless times in TV and movie documentaries). She later shares a song-and-dance number with gangly Buddy Ebsen, making an impressive entrance in a white midget car (Ebsen would later be cast as the Tin Man in Judy's The Wizard of Oz, only to be replaced by Jack Haley when he fell ill during shooting). The presence of Garland, coupled with several superlative dance solos by Eleanor Powell and a spectacular musical finale, tends to make one forget about the plot, which has something to do with a racehorse owned by heroine Sally Lee (Powell). The horse wins the Grand Steeplechase, the prize money is poured into the stage production previously bankrolled by Steve Raleigh (Robert Taylor), and the Show Goes On. Movies fans of the 1930s with long memories were gratified to see such old vaudeville favorites as Sophie Tucker and Willie Howard in the cast, even if their material wasn't quite up to standard. Interestingly, one of the best comic turns is performed by "professional sneezer" Robert Wildhack -- leaving another famed movie sneezer, Billy Gilbert, with virtually nothing to do! On the other hand, Robert Benchley is his usual droll self, managing to score a comic bullseye despite all the lavish and noisy competition around him. Broadway Melody of 1938 was followed by a 1940 sequel, distinguished by the "challenge dance" between returnee Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell, (more)
- 1939
This fun-filled spin-off of the Rodgers & Hart Broadway musical by the same name, features Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney as two young children of vaudevillian parents who aren't included in their parents travels, so they set out to produce a show of their own. Rooney's the driver here and he's up against the administrators of a fogy state-run trade school, who think the whole show idea is nonsense. A listening judge gives them 30 days to put on the show and prove they don't belong in the jail-like school. The rest of the action involves the highly talented kids successful efforts to not only stage the show, but to bring the whole troupe to Broadway. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, (more)
- 1940
Hey, gang! Let's put on a swell show and call it Strike Up the Band! Yes, it's the irrepressible Mickey Rooney, teamed up again with Judy Garland to show the grownups how to do things right. This time, Rooney wants to organize a high-school band. He hopes to enter a competition being held in Chicago by the great orchestra leader Paul Whiteman; all he needs is two hundred dollars for train fare. To raise the money, Rooney, Garland and company stage a student "mellerdrammer" that in real life would have cost the equivalent of a third-world-nation annual budget. They get the dough, but soft-hearted Rooney turns over the money to the mother of student musician Larry Nunn, who is in desperate need of emergency surgery. It looks hopeless until, luck of luck, Paul Whiteman arrives in Rooney's town. The original George and Ira Gershwin Broadway musical Strike Up the Band was a satire of warfare, with America declaring war on Switzerland in order to corner the chocolate industry. You'll see none of that subversive stuff in this MGM musical; instead, we are treated to such highlights as a George Pal animated sequence involving dancing fruit. It ain't profound, but Strike Up the Band is sure entertaining. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, (more)
- 1940
Judy Garland performs her only on-screen death scene early in the proceedings of Little Nellie Kelly. But despair not! Garland soon reappears as the daughter of the character she was playing in the film's first reels. Now a girl of 20, Garland has fallen in love with Douglas McPhail, much to the dismay of her father George Murphy and grandfather Charles Winninger. However, Murphy and Winninger are too much at odds with each other to give proper attention to Garland. Going into her Miss Fixit act, Garland patches up the differences between pop and grandpop, and gets to keep her beau in the bargain. Based on the play by George M. Cohan, Little Nellie Kelly affords Judy Garland ample opportunity to sing a swing version of "Singin' in the Rain", as well as several newer songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, George Murphy, (more)
- 1941
Advertised as a sort of sequel to MGM's Babes in Arms (1939), Babes on Broadway reunites the two stars of the earlier film: Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Rooney is the guiding force of a group of young showbiz hopefuls who are trying to make it on Broadway. When things look darkest, he goes into his "Say, kids!" routine, rousing his companions to put on their own show. Highlights include a sequence in which Rooney and Garland go through a series of imitations of past theatrical greats. As cute and perky as Garland is, she has nothing on the "Carmen Miranda" takeoff performed--in full makeup and platform shoes--by the ubiquitous Rooney. Babes on Broadway ends with a typically overproduced production number stage by the film's director, the immortal Busby Berkeley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, (more)
- 1941
The 1924 George Gershwin stage hit Lady Be Good was brought to the screen by MGM; any resemblance (beyond the Gershwin score) to the original play is purely accidental. The MGM scriveners came up with a new story concerning married songwriters Ann Sothern and Robert Young, who can't live with each other and can't live without each other. Top billing goes to dancing star Eleanor Powell, who certainly deserves it. Red Skelton is around and about as well, inserting a few much-needed laughs. While such Gershwin songs as "So Am I", "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Hang on Me" are well showcased, the hit of the evening is a new song by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, the Oscar-winning "The Last Time I Saw Paris". Our favorite scene: Ann Sothern and Robert Young composing "Lady be Good" out of thin air in two minutes flat! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, (more)
For Me and My Gal, a leisurely period musical, represents the first on-screen dancing of MGM's new star Gene Kelly. Judy Garland plays a member of a vaudeville troupe consisting of herself, George Murphy, Ben Blue and Lucille Norman. She leaves the act to join up with Kelly, who promises to propel her to the big time. Two unsuccessful years later, Garland and Kelly are still struggling in the small time, while Murphy and his bunch are headliners. Kelly nearly throws Garland over for singer Marta Eggerth, but Judy remains loyal--at least until Kelly deliberately breaks his hand to avoid serving in World War I. Having lost her brother Richard Quine to the war, Garland denounces Kelly as a coward and walks out. Kelly redeems himself by joining an overseas entertainment troupe, saving several lives when he finds himself under attack on the front. Judy and Gene are at last reunited in Paris. A major break for both Gene Kelly and Judy Garland (who proved once and for all in this film that she was no longer just a "juvenile"), For Me and My Gal was based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, George Murphy, (more)
