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. Another 1 win.

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 (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:

reference to franklin d. roosevelt | vaudeville | hand | song | music conductor | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Romantic Musical . . . Ever !

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Genres:

Musical | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

2 August 1943 (Argentina)

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)

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

At the start of the film, the date of 1916 is shown. Later in the film it mentions the liner Lusitania being sunk. The timing is off because the ship was sunk in May of 1915.

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Quotes

Bill: [when Harry Palmer first appears] Say, *he* looks like an actor.

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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

Referenced in Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena (1978)

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Soundtracks

Some of These Days
(1910) (uncredited)
Music by Shelton Brooks
Played offscreen at the New York Palace Theater (Sophie Tucker's name was on the marquee)

User Reviews

grown-up Judy catches Gene in uniform

Notable for two things: the first adult role for Judy Garland (then just out of her teens), and debut of Gene Kelly, who had previously made an impact on Broadway as Pal Joey. George Murphy also appears as a kind of second-string lead, and one suspects much of his original part went to Kelly as filming progressed.

Directed by Busby Berkeley, but without his usual musical sequence flourishes, the plot is focused on the war, specifically the need for able-bodied men to serve rather than squander their lives on selfish pursuits. This means, for Kelly and Garland, putting aside their dreams of vaudeville fame as a team in favour of the greater good.

The stars have great chemistry – in their two duets, the title song and ‘If You Wore A Tulip', there is a gaiety and charm which would continue throughout their further collaborations through the forties. Garland shines as you always knew she would from her pictures as a child, and Kelly has the charisma in spades which would put him at the forefront of the golden age of musicals.