For Me and My Gal (1942)

Two vaudeville performers fall in love, but find their relationship tested by the arrival of WWI.

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Howard Emmett Rogers (story), Richard Sherman (screenplay),

Stars:

Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Garland	...	Jo Hayden
George Murphy	...	Jimmy K. Metcalf
Gene Kelly	...	Harry Palmer
Mártha Eggerth	...	Eve Minard (as Marta Eggerth)
Ben Blue	...	Sid Simms
Stephen McNally	...	Mr. Waring (New York Palace manager) (as Horace McNally)

Storyline

Set during WW I, Palmer and Hayden team up as vaudeville artists. Harry Palmer deliberately injures his hand to avoid being drafted to the army. Later, he makes up for this. WW I patriotism for a WW II audience, very sentimental, great musical episodes and songs.

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Plot Keywords:

hand | song | vaudeville | opportunist | heroism | 

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Taglines:

She's a Yankee Doodle Girlie !

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Genres:

Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 August 1943 (Australia)

Also Known As:

The Big Time

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$802,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,371,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 22, 1943 with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

Depicts a Southern Pacific Railway "cab-forward" steam locomotive hauling a passenger train. That model locomotive was used in freight service only.

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Quotes

Harry Palmer: You think anything's going to stand in the way of us playing the Palace this time? Oh no, not even a war.

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Crazy Credits

A picture of an infantry soldier in New York harbor and the text "America needs your money. Buy war bonds and stamps at this theatre."

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994)

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Soundtracks

"There's a Long, Long Trail"
(1915) (uncredited)
Music by Zo Elliott
Lyrics by Stoddard King
Sung offscreen by The King's Men and chorus in the YMCA theater in France

User Reviews

Gene Kelly's entry into movies

In 1943 Gene Kelly made "For Me And My Gal". It was a film starring that rising star of MGM Judy Garland, set in the years from 1915 - 1919. Garland wanted Kelly to appear in this film as her lover, Harry Palmer. It was an unusual film debut for Kelly, now recalled for his masterful dancing in musicals like "Singing In The Rain" and "An American In Paris". Instead, although it was a musical (using many tunes of the Tin Pan Alley period, it really was a character study. It looked at Kelly's opportunistic anti-hero, who does love Garland, but who is career centered to the point that he injures himself (he thinks it will be a slight injury) to avoid the draft.

It is a passably good film, due to the chemistry of the leads and such supporting film actors as Keenan Wynn (as Kelly's long suffering agent, who gets to tell him off), and George Murphy (as the would-be lover of Garland, who can't get her attention away from the unworthy Kelly).

The interest I have in the film is why Garland chose Kelly for this part. She apparently insisted that he be used for this film. The reason is that his biggest Broadway success was the 1941 show "Pal Joey", where he played the first anti-hero in Broadway history. Joey is a user of women, who wants to own a fancy nightclub in Chicago. He never rises above the sleazy dive he acts as M.C. at. He could be Harry Palmer's distant, slightly cousin. Garland would have seen Kelly play a role of a heel where he sang a golden flow of Rogers and Hart melodies, and do some good hoofing as well. It was the perfect "screen test" for Kelly to use to prove his ability to play Palmer. So he got his first role, and then went on to the major achievements of his career.