The Harvey Girls (1946)

On a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a " Harvey House " restaurant at a remote whistle-stop to provide ... See full summary »

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Edmund Beloin (screenplay), Nathaniel Curtis (screenplay)

Stars:

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judy Garland	...	Susan Bradley
John Hodiak	...	Ned Trent
Ray Bolger	...	Chris Maule
Angela Lansbury	...	Em
Preston Foster	...	Judge Sam Purvis
Virginia O'Brien	...	Alma from Ohio
Kenny Baker	...	Terry O'Halloran
Marjorie Main	...	Sonora Cassidy
Chill Wills	...	H.H. Hartsey
Selena Royle	...	Miss Bliss
Cyd Charisse	...	Deborah Andrews
Ruth Brady	...	Ethel
Jack Lambert	...	Marty Peters
Edward Earle	...	Jed Adams
Morris Ankrum	...	Rev. Claggett

Storyline

On a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a " Harvey House " restaurant at a remote whistle-stop to provide good cooking and wholesome company for railway travelers. When Susan and her bashful suitor find romance daunting, she joins the Harvey Girls instead. The saloon across the street with its alluring worldly-wise women offers them tough competition, fair and foul, and Susan catches the eye of the Ned Trent, the distant but intense proprietor of the bar.

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | train | saloon | mail order bride | dancing | 

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Taglines:

It's Blazing, Blistering Romance . . . in the wide open spaces !

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1946 (UK)

Also Known As:

Las chicas de Harvey

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,524,315 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was first telecast in Philadelphia Monday 3 March 1958 on WFIL (Channel 6), followed by Los Angeles 4 July 1958 on KTTV (Channel 11), by New York City 3 August 1958 on WCBS (Channel 2), and by San Francisco 9 November 1958 on KGO (Channel 7). At this time, color broadcasting was in its infancy, limited to only a small number of high rated programs, primarily on NBC and NBC affiliated stations, so these film showings were all still in B&W. Viewers were not offered the opportunity to see these films in their original Technicolor until several years later.

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Goofs

Angela Lansbury and the other dance-hall girls sing "Oh, You Kid!" The movie is set at the end of the 19th century, but this song (though new lyrics were written for the movie) did not appear until 1909.

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Quotes

Marty Peters: Where do ya come from, Tex?
Chris Maule: Massachusetts.

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: Judy Garland: By Myself (2004)

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Soundtracks

Wait and See
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Sung by Angela Lansbury (dubbed by Virginia Rees)
Sung also by Kenny Baker

User Reviews

The "Oklahoma" influence is felt on this western musical...

With Broadway still under the spell of musicals like "Oklahoma", MGM's Arthur Freed was inspired to make a western musical. Originally designed for Lana Turner, the script was altered and songs added to make it a perfect vehicle for Judy Garland. The songs by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren included two standouts: "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" and "It's A Great Big World".

Judy gives an inspired performance and belts out her songs with gusto, particularly effective in the big set piece, "Atchison", which is photographed and choreographed with great precision to produce a dazzling show-stopping number. The film opened to great reviews and was a big box-office hit in the summer of '46.

Don't believe the "sour grapes" reviews claiming the film is dated and mediocre. It's anything but that. If you enjoy MGM musicals at the height of their popularity with film-goers, you'll enjoy this one! Marjorie Main is a treat, Selena Royle is dignified, Kenny Baker does wonders with a ballad and Cyd Charisse has a couple of nice numbers. It's nice to see Ray Bolger sharing scenes with Judy again, their first reunion since "Oz". The big surprise is Angela Lansbury as the garishly costumed dancehall hostess--a far cry from her "Murder She Wrote" image.

Understandably, "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" won the Academy Award for Best Song, as well as a nomination for Best Scoring of a dramatic or comedy film.