Silver Screen Standards: For Me and My Gal (1942)

Silver Image Standards: For me and my girl (1942)

Although both alone have taken more unforgettable pictures, For me and my girl (1942) marks Gene Kelly’s film debut and his first collaboration with Judy Garland, who, after numerous films with Mickey Rooney and co., was just about to leave her youthful roles and slip into adult leading lady status The Wizard of Oz (1939). Directed by Busby Berkeley, but far more tame than it suggests, this charming if overtly sentimental MGM musical blends vaudeville nostalgia and World War I-era patriotism to boost morale and war resolve in American audiences. still living through the early days of World War II. For modern viewers, the appeal lies primarily in the two iconic stars, both of whom are in transition in their roles here: Kelly bursts into the film full of his signature energy and 19-year-old Garland proves she’s ready to become the adult to play romantic leading man.

The story begins in the vaudeville arena in the early 20th century, before the Great War becomes a pressing concern for American audiences or touring entertainers like Jo Hayden (Garland) and Harry Palmer (Kelly). Ambitious and self-absorbed, Harry persuades Jo to break up with her staunch beau Jimmy Metcalf (George Murphy) and hook up with him instead, but setbacks keep thwarting her hopes for a big break in New York. Jo’s beloved brother Danny (Richard Quine) enlists in the army during the course of World War I, but Harry only cares about fame and is desperate to delay his service once he’s drafted. He intentionally slaps his hand to meet his opening date at the palace, but his actions have unintended consequences for his relationship with Jo and his subsequent efforts to make amends.

Garland, the established star, is compassionate, vulnerable, and poignant as Jo; It’s a perfect role for her and the audience understands why both Jimmy and Harry fall in love. Her performance of “After You’ve Gone” is particularly touching, though the endless variety montages of other songs converge after a while. She also has a memorable scene with Marta Eggerth, the Hungarian operetta star, playing Eve Minard, a successful, sophisticated singer who draws Harry’s admiration. These moments of pain for Jo show Garland’s talent for pathos, but I always find her heartbreak a little too real when I see her in roles like this. A childhood veteran on the vaudeville stage, Garland knew all too well the life and personality of Jo and understood first-hand the hardships someone like Jo goes through. Garland is so compelling in the tragic scenes that the happy ending sounds a little off-key, although this effect is due in part to the moral ambiguity of her lead character’s character.

Gene Kelly makes Harry Palmer a complex, raunchy romantic lead, perhaps more nuanced than a feel-good war musical requires. We believe Eve Minard when she tells Jo that Harry will only bring her pain, even if Jo refuses to see the truth about the man she loves. His character is so flawed and self-centered that the studio had to make changes to the preview cut to convince audiences that Harry – and not the devoted and selfless Jimmy – actually deserved to have the girl in the end. There’s a darkness to Kelly’s performance as Harry that we rarely see in his later films, but it suggests that, like Tyrone Power, he could have made a hell of a noir antihero if he ever got the chance would have gotten. Musicals would be his future, however, and his singing and dancing performances in this debut clearly demonstrate his skill, even if they lack the personal stamp he gave his performances in later films such as B. would press In the city (1949), An American in Paris (1951) and of course sing in the rain (1952). His energetic, frankly masculine style would be the perfect counterpoint to Fred Astaire’s airy grace, but this is our first glimpse of him on the big screen. Anchors lift (1945), for which Kelly created the dance sequences, signaled his full career as a musical star and earned him the only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor of his career.

After For me and my girlGarland and Kelly reunited for The pirate (1948) and summer stock (1950), the latter would be Garland’s last film with MGM. Both actors also appear in the 1943 musical. Thousands cheer, which includes Garland as part of the guest star segment and Kelly as one of the characters in the romantic comedy portion of the film. If you’re interested in similar vaudeville-era treatments, give it a try Rose from Washington Square (1939) and Hello Frisco, hello (1943), both starring Alice Faye, or see Garland in another up-and-coming variety singer Ziegfeld girl (1941). Marta Eggerth has made many films in Europe, but you can also see her starring Judy Garland in the 1943 musical. Introducing Lily Mars.

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— Jennifer Garlen for Classic Movie Hub

Jennifer Garlen is a contributor to our monthly Silver Screen Standards column. You can read all of Jennifer’s Silver Screen Standards articles here.

Jennifer is a former college professor with a PhD in English Literature and a lifelong passion for films. She writes about classic films on her blog, Virtual Virago, and presents classic film programs for lifelong learning groups and retirement communities. She is the author of Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies to Watch and its continuation Beyond Casablanca II: 101 must-see classic filmsShe is also co-editor of two books on the works of Jim Henson.