Whenever we have a chance, we at GVN like to shine a spotlight on the classic cinema that shaped the way movies are made today. June 10, 2022 marks the centennial of the one and only Judy Garland, a singular performer whose presence is still keenly felt to this day. In honor of this milestone, throughout the month we are going to take the opportunity to explore beyond her most popular titles such as The Wizard of Oz and A Star Is Born and reflect back on some of our lesser-known favorites from the Warner Archive.
Check out our previous entries on Strike Up The Band and Ziegfeld Girl.
When we last left Judy Garland, she was still struggling to be recognized as a force of her own alongside the likes of her “bombshell” co-stars Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl. Roles such as these, along with the juvenile musicals she was churning out with Mickey Rooney, showcased one facet of her personality well enough, but there was a maturing young woman waiting to be taken seriously as an adult performer. It was the next year in 1942 at the age of nineteen when she got her first “adult” role in the Busby Berkeley musical For Me And My Gal. This would be her first time working with Berkeley without Rooney, and in this process she would take on his role on set as the shepherd of a young star – one that would dazzle on screen for years to come.
A 29-year-old Gene Kelly (Singin’ In The Rain) had been languishing without work under contract for David O. Selznick for almost a year following lauded work on Broadway when he was snapped up by producer Arthur Freed for his film debut in Gal. Although a decade his junior, Garland helped Kelly acclimate to film acting and showed him how to survive a Hollywood production. The fondness they had for one another was the perfect groundwork for this stirring romance inspired by the true story about vaudeville actors Harry Palmer and Jo Hayden. Due to this link to the vaudeville tradition, this film did not have the typical lavish production numbers that cemented Berkeley as one of the star creatives of the time, but the giddy intensity that the performers brought to their smaller-scale numbers allowed for something more intimate and personal that complemented the story famously.
Garland leads this production as Jo Hayden, a struggling performer on the vaudeville circuit who aspires to ditch the rinky-dink venues she plays to every night for something more grand in big cities. Her partner is the sincere and upstanding Jimmy Metcalf (George Murphy, Broadway Melody of 1940), but she does not know sparks until she collaborates with fellow struggling performer Harry Palmer (Kelly). This cannot be contained simply to a creative partnership, as Jo soon finds herself helplessly in love with Harry despite all of her best intentions. Garland nails some of her best work early on in this film as she contends with the heartache that comes with unrequited love. This is made all the more complicated by the fact that Harry is an opportunist who will do anything to get ahead in his career, but he may just be eligible for reform when he is surrounded by a woman such as Jo.
While the scale of the production numbers may be more modest, the emotion within each one is turned straight up to eleven. When Harry inevitably relinquishes some of his selfish tendencies and lets himself love Jo, it is completely believable based on everything we have seen thus far. The way Kelly gazes upon Garland’s Jo as she performs reveals a portrait of a man obviously in love even if he has yet to realize it himself. The numbers we do get from Berkeley pack a punch; the titular tune shows the off-the-charts chemistry between Garland and Kelly and gets you on board with their pairing even with some obvious red flags. A personal favorite is “Ballin’ The Jack,” which shows how their delirious love for one another flows into their performance with a fearless giddiness that makes you smile from ear to ear.
If you believe this sums up the movie, we have not even mentioned that the film is set during World War I and how this little fact evolves throughout the course of the picture. There is an undercurrent of pro-military propaganda throughout the picture, underlined in the the final seconds by a call to buy war bonds and stamps, but the ways in which it impacts the narrative feels natural to the characters. Kelly is playing a character who has selfish qualities, and it is watching him wrestle to be a better person that makes him so dynamic. Garland does not take such great leaps on a character level, but her subtle evolution to being more self-sufficient and to have agency is a great thrill on its own. More than many musicals, this film feels as if it has depth, real emotions between the characters that mean something. For Me And My Gal is a terrific picture to not only introduce Gene Kelly to the world, but to show them that the “grown up” Judy Garland has arrived and she is more magnificent than ever.
Video Quality
Warner Archive presents For Me And My Gal for the first time on Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the best surviving protection elements. One of the best labels in the game treats Garland fans to a sterling transfer that is better than anything for which we could have hoped. This black and white feature has a fetching amount of natural film grain throughout that provides a miraculous amount of detail to the image. The picture has a striking amount of depth to it including in the darker portions of the dressing rooms where there is no evidence of any black crush. This disc runs at a consistently high bit rate with absolutely no trace of digital anomalies such as sharpening or compression artifacts. Print damage is not even a question with this 5-star picture. Warner Archive makes us thrilled to be fans of classic movies.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that knocks it out of the park. Normal dialogue is more important than usual for a musical as you witness some dramatically rich exchanges. Everything comes through clearly even with some heavy accents in the cards. Music is another obvious driving force to the narrative, and this track delivers these lovely tunes to your living room with impeccable fidelity. Every element of the number resonates with tremendous clarity. There are busy moments like you might expect from a showbiz tale, but this track keeps all of the elements distinct. Warner Archive has provided a top-notch audio presentation that does not exhibit any signs of age-related wear-and-tear. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian John Fricke provides a very informative commentary track in which he discusses where Judy Garland was at this point in her career, the burgeoning Freed unit, the various potential titles and creative directions for the film, the careers of the creatives, the atmosphere of the country of the time and much more. There is so much to dig into here that reveals a lot of the history of old Hollywood.
- MGM Short – La Fiesta De Santa Bárbara: An 19-minute short from 1935 which showcases a Mexican-themed revue and festival in Santa Barbara. This is notable for featuring a pre-stardom 13-year-old Judy Garland singing “La Cucaracha” with her two sisters (billed as “The Garland Sisters”).
- MGM Short – Every Sunday: An 11-minute short from 1936 featuring a young Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin is provided here which finds the two girls trying to rally people to come to a concert that is threatened to be closed due to low attendance.
- Outtake Musical Numbers
- Three Cheers For the Yanks (2:33): Audio of an unused Judy Garland tune is provided here over stills and stock footage from the film.
- For Me And My Gal Deleted Finale (2:32): Audio of an unused version of the finale tune is provided here over stills and stock footage from the film.
- Screen Guild Players For Me And My Gal: A 30-minute radio show version of the story featuring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and Dick Powell.
- Leo Is On The Air Radio Promo: A 14-minute MGM radio program which puts the spotlight on For Me And My Gal.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
For Me And My Gal is an important step in the evolution of Judy Garland, and it is one of her strongest early dramatic performances. That’s not to discredit the work of Gene Kelly, who conveys an easy naturalism that would never be believed to be a first-time screen performance. These two are magical opposite one another, bringing this emotional tale to the audience in a way that will not leave you for a long time. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a virtually flawless A/V presentation and a wonderful array of special features. If you have even a passing interest in old-school musicals or the performers involved, this should not be missed. Recommended
For Me And My Gal can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
