weezeralfalfa
Perfect training material for prospective manic-depressives, as a series of emotional roller coaster rides punctuate this story. Short on comedy and relatively short on dancing and elaborate stage numbers, it features no new song, but plenty of standards of the early 20th century and WWI era, mostly sung by Judy, sometimes accompanied by others. The most memorable musical number is the one not performed on a stage:the title song, which became 'their song' for Judy and Gene. Their duet, followed by a dance, was a show stopper. Ironically, only a few minutes before this scene, Judy(as Jo) still has Kelly (as Harry) pegged as a fast-talking small-time bore of a stage comedian, with an over-sized ego and ambition. Especially in the first half of the film, Kelly's character clearly is largely taken from the lead character, Joey Evans, which Kelly had just played, in the Broadway production of "Pal Joey". Although Harry's first stage performance was as a costumed clown, who does a bit of dancing and gymnastics, there was little effective comedy in this production. Ben Blue, who showed up periodically,was supposed to be the main comic relief, but I found his limited physical comedy quite flat.We see part of Kelly's clown act repeated in "The Pirate", and I'm sure I heard a few bars of "Be a Clown" at the end of his act, but supposedly that wasn't composed until 6 years later! Kelly would provide much of the comedy in many of his subsequent films. He would also have much more effective comedic talents to partner with, including: Phil Silvers, Don O'Connor, Jules Mushin, Betty Garrett, Van Johnson, Dan Daily, and even Jerry, the Mouse!Vaudevillian George Murphy, who originally was slated to take Kelly's male lead role,got bumped to mostly a male shoulder to cry on, when Judy or Kelly was being blue or in trouble. Actually, he had two stage performance roles near the beginning. He is the male lead in the "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" stage production,within which Judy's "Don't Leave Me Daddy" is sandwiched. Again, he partnered with Judy in "By the Beautiful Sea", which was interwoven into Ben Blue's supposed comedic "The Ocean Roll" dance routine.I don't know what possessed them to cast Martha Eggerth, as Eve Minard, Jo's competition for Harry, at one point. Her operatic singing style seemed so out of place, like Judy had to compete against Dianna Durbin, all over again. Perhaps the point was that Harry was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his ambition of getting into acts at the Broadway Palace. In any case, the cordial exchange between Judy and Martha in Martha's apartment and the subsequent tense exchange between Judy and Kelly in Judy's room,is one of the melodramatic highlights of the film.Will Harry prove what Eve said about his character? Another melodramatic crisis occurs when Harry intentionally injures his hand to avoid being immediately drafted into the army, followed by a telegram saying that Jo's beloved brother has been killed in action. Harry now wants to get into the armed serves to avenge the death of Jo's brother, but nobody will take him with his crippled hand, and he can't perform his vaudeville act well with his hand, either. Jo joins the YMCA overseas entertainers unit, and is soon entertaining in France. Later, Harry joins this unit, along with Ben Blue. While near the front, Harry takes advantage of a situation to upstage Sergeant York, in cleaning out a German machine gun nest, and warning an Allied convey about a German patrol ready to ambush them. This was a very risky, illegal, action on his part, but this action has negated his anti-hero image. At a victory performance at the Broadway Palace, Jo is singing various songs, when she spots Harry in the audience. The band then plays "For Me and My Gal", and we know the film is about to end.I noticed that Kelly did a lot smirking at times, near the beginning. Maybe he told to cut this out. Also, in a few places, Judy's acting seemed awkward. Kelly was nearly 30, having spent years in various roles relating to stage productions and in dancing instruction. Before this introduction to film making, he seemed content with stage productions. Beginning with "Cover Girl", he would discover that creating and performing in film dances was the best use of his entertainment talent.Judy and Kelly wouldn't do another film together for another 5-6 years. By that time, Judy was in a bad mental state from her chronic insomnia and drug taking. Nonetheless , she finished the controversial "The Pirate", directed by her then husband. Unfortunately, she was still in this state of mind when she costarred with Kelly in her last MGM film, "Summer Stock". Thus, despite the limitations of the present film, many people find it the most endearing of the 3 films in which she costarred with Kelly.
Jem Odewahn
Very enjoyable MGM musical, with Gene Kelly debuting opposite the wonderful Judy Garland. Kelly never found a regular dancing partner like Astaire, but Judy perhaps came the closest. They have a magical bond whenever they are on-screen together. This is a war-time musical (the end credits tell us to "Buy War Bonds"), and it has plenty of sentiment, but it also has a darker side, with Kelly's attempt at "Draft-dodging". Kelly's screen persona was influenced by his "Pal Joey" stage success, and you can see this influence very clearly in the film. It's directed by Busby Berkely, and there a few musical numbers that are memorable, but it's really just standard stuff. However, the film is enjoyable regardless of the weak songbook because of the charisma of Kelly and Garland, a plot that actually engages us, and works. Garland was never more gorgeous and lovable than she is here.
gkeith_1
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Busby does well as a director. Judy, George and Gene are great dancers. I love the dancing doll scene in the beginning with Judy and George, and Judy's and Gene's later dance scenes. George had great finesse. He danced with Fred Astaire in the Broadway Melody of 1940, I think. Ben Blue is always great in acting, singing and dancing. He does comedic female character impersonations very well. He was a very talented choreographer and dance coach, I think. He is wonderful in this film. Gene's first film role portrays him initially as obnoxious and unpopular, and he is even a coward by faking an injury to keep from fighting in World War One. Later on in this film, he goes overseas as a YMCA entertainer. He gets nicer later in this film, and of course his dancing is superb. Elsie Janis was on the NY Palace marquee in this film. She, for real, entertained in Europe during World War One, and was called the Sweetheart of the AEF. She was billed as Elsie Janis and Her Gang. In this film, however, Judy is billed as the Sweetheart of America, then you see AEF (American Expeditionary Force) on the curtain. Judy appears as Jo Hayden and Her Gang. I think that this is a travesty. The real Elsie Janis was from here, in Columbus, Ohio, and she is a legend. She even owned a large home here, across from The Ohio State University. Finally, there is the film Yankee Doodle Dandy, also made in 1942 like For Me and My Gal. It is also made during WWII, and talks about WWI. In both films, there are WWI female singers encouraging the troops. There are also both James Cagney and Gene Kelly being rejected for military service in WWI. Gene and Jimmy both happen to be great tap dancers. "Over There", George M. Cohan's authored song, even appeared in For Me and My Gal. There are military troops marching in both films. Both films are in black and white, which I do not like, especially for musicals. Judy and Gene would later appear in The Pirate and Summer Stock. There may be other films, but I am not sure.
