For Me and My Gal (1942)

"The clouds are singing for me and my gal. . ."The title song is pretty much the only memorable part of this movie, sung by Judy Garland and a newcomer to Hollywood, Gene Kelly. He was a Broadway star and made a smash in his film debut. To see all his collaborations with pint-sized Judy, rent The Pirate and Summer Stock for a song-and-dance-filled weekend!The plot of For Me and My Gal is actually very interesting, but since it didn't exactly send the right message in 1942, that's not the part of the movie most people remember. Judy and Gene are a married couple with dreams of stardom, but just when they're about to make it, Gene gets drafted for WWI. While Judy's brother, the fantastic dancer George Murphy who no doubt joined Gene Nelson in the "I'm jealous of Gene Kelly" fan club, fights in the war gladly, Gene doesn't want to give up his career. In a very controversial decision, he purposely injures his hand to avoid the battlefield. If you like WWI or WWII dramas in black-and-white, with some songs and dances thrown in for morale, you won't go wrong with For Me and My Gal. It's romantic, patriotic, and it makes you think about how far you'd go to realize your dreams. Plus it's got Gene Kelly in it.

This is one of my favorite of the Judy Garland movies. Being a big fan of her and her music, I've seen at least fifteen of her films, and this made it as my #2. 19 year-old Garland is our film's star, and top-billed for the first time. Besides her, this movie features Gene Kelly, fresh off from Broadway and in his first feature film. Alongside them is the always reliable George Murphy, who last starred with Garland in Little Nellie Kelly (1940). While Garland did play an adult for part of Little Nellie Kelly, this was the first film in which she had a complete adult role. We also have a guest in Marta Eggerth, an experienced opera singer who has a small part in this movie, and had a more significant part in Garland's next film, Presenting Lily Mars (1943).Garland easily shined above the rest. Being in her fifteenth picture, she was already a polished actress, and it definitely shows in some of the more dramatic moments. Her singing was just wonderful, having reached a new level of maturity. Her dancing was actually very good considering she was never actually a dancer. But she could pick up anything thrown her way. She was perfect.Kelly was a good co-star. Being as inexperienced as he was, he still acted pretty well, but that inexperience did show at some points. His dancing was brilliant of course, he was one of the best dancers at the time, second only to Fred Astaire. He was never really a singer, but he was okay. Murphy, sadly, was grossly underplayed, especially in the love triangle, but he did well as a supporting character. I wish he had gotten a little more screen time.The songs were wonderful. I find myself singing them all around my house. The sets were well put together and the plot was mostly tight. The ending was obviously tacked on, but I was able to ignore it.But my absolute favorite part of the movie was when Garland and Kelly sang "For Me and My Gal." I was actually surprised that it was played less than twenty minutes in, considering it was the title song, but I loved it all the same. I consider it to be one of the famous magical movie moments. The pacing, the dancing, the accompaniment, it was all so perfect. And of course, it was sung by the person Fred Astaire called, "The greatest entertainer of all time," Judy Garland.This movie will definitely put you in a good mood, despite its minor flaws. And for Garland fans such as myself, it will be a delight. The bells are ringing For Me and My Gal.

Judy Garland was just twenty years old when this movie was shot. Just twenty. I enjoyed it immensely because I feel that she was the greatest performer in the history of American show business.Sure, there have been great singers. Yes there have been great dancers and yes there have been great actors but no one besides Judy had all three talents so tightly rolled up into one. I found the storyline quite interesting even though Gene Kelly was the heel of heels but when you see and hear him and Judy in duets...man...that's what makes the world go 'round. How odd. Here we have a picture shot in 1942, 70 years ago and it's better than anything on the screen today. No, it's not a masterpiece but rather terrific wholesome family enjoyment and I highly recommend it to anyone who's disgusted with the stuff now being shown. It's simply top flight entertainment. Incidentally, the musical selections in this film are REAL MUSIC instead of the rock schlock now being heard. I borrowed a bit from Wikipedia to give you the details of that film's songs. * "Oh, You Beautiful Doll", music by Nat D. Ayer, lyrics by A. Seymour Brown, additional lyrics by Roger Edens performed by George Murphy, Judy Garland and others.* "For Me and My Gal", music and lyrics by George W. Meyer, Edgar Leslie and E. Ray Goetz, performed by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland* "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose", music by Percy Wenrich, lyrics by Jack Mahoney, performed by Kelly and Garland* "After You've Gone", music by Turner Layton, lyrics by Henry Creamer, sung by Judy Garland.* "Ballin' the Jack", music by Chris Smith, lyrics by Jim Burris, sung and danced by Kelly and Garland.* The film also contains portions of a number of songs popular during World War I, including "By the Beautiful Sea", "There's a Long, Long Trail", "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)", "Where Do We Go from Here, Boys", "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France", "(There are) Smiles (That Make Us Happy)", "Oh Frenchy", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" and "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile".* Two additional songs were intended to be included: "Spell of the Waltz", which was to be performed by Marta Eggerth and a male chorus and "Three Cheers for the Yanks", written by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin. THAT'S CLASS, people. REAL HONEST-TO-GOODNESS CLASS.

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.