Girl Crazy (1943)

Talent like that, when not together in the same film, make any of their work worth seeing. When together in the same film, the results are unmissable. While Mickey Rooney is a take/leave performer dependent on the material to me, Judy Garland and the Gershwin Brothers are lifelong favourites and Busby Berkeley has done some of the most jaw-dropping routines in musicals.If one is a fan of at least one of these people, 'Girl Crazy' is a must watch. As far as Rooney and Garland pairings go, it's one of their better efforts and as a musical it's incredible. People may find faults with it as an overall film, but it succeeds mostly brilliantly for what it is and what it aimed to do.'Girl Crazy' is not quite flawless, but the cons are far outweighed by the pros and the pros are enormous. The story is thin and silly with parts being wrapped up too easily and a few of Rooney's antics are somewhat overdone and hammy.However, even when not in Technicolor (imagine how even better "I Got Rhythm" would have been), 'Girl Crazy' still looks lovely in crisp black and white and with elegant production design. It particularly shines in Garland's "But Not For Me" which sees her at perhaps her most luminous. George and Ira Gershwin's songs are simply magnificent, especially "I Got Rhythm" (one of their most famous, iconic even, songs for a reason), "Bidin' My Time" and "Embraceable You". A big honourable mention is "But Not For Me", of which there has never been a more touching rendition of.The songs are further benefited from being staged in a great mix of liveliness and tenderness. The big finale for "I Got Rhythm" is a little overblown but extraordinary in energy, charm and spectacle, though also loved the sophistication for "Could You Use Me?". In general too, they are phenomenally performed, the prime examples being "But Not For Me" and the dynamite contribution from Tommy Dorsey.Scripting is suitably witty and there is tremendous energy and charm throughout. Rooney is more restrained than usual yet still has his boundless energy, even better is luminous and affecting Garland in magisterial voice. Their chemistry is wonderful and gels very well indeed and more. Rags Ragland and Nancy Walker are standouts in support.Overall, hugely entertaining and while not quite a masterpiece 'Girl Crazy's' a must watch. 8/10 Bethany Cox

In more or less following the plot of the '30 Broadway show and '32 film, the plot of this 4th and last of the Mickey & Judy musical film series departs somewhat from the previous 3. Instead of being small town high schoolers trying to get started in a musical or theatrical career, Mickey is the spoiled playboy son of a wealthy NYC publisher, and Judy has a postmaster job at a tiny, very isolated, all men cow college(Cody), presumably in Wyoming, where Mickey is sent to get him away from the distractions(especially girls) of NYC, and build his character.Remember, this is 1943: the midst of WWII. Unlike the '41 "Babes on Broadway", there is no reference to the war. However, Mickey's situation at Cody College is somewhat like that of most servicemen. Like them, he is suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar social and physical environment where opportunities to romance single women are sparse, and he can't rely on his father to bail him out of trouble. Although he almost throws in the towel after his first few days, eventually, he takes on the seemingly impossible challenge of saving the college from being shut down for lack of enrollment, which is somewhat analogous to the role of servicemen in helping the US from being overwhelmed by the Nazis and Japan. He does this by promoting a Cody rodeo and 'rodeo queen' contest. Mickey proposes that this become an annual event. Presumably, in the future, the queen has to be a student at Cody, precipitating an influx of entrance applications from girls, assuming that the college will be declared co-ed in the future.... One possible indirect reference to the war is when M&J are trying to see the governor about their idea, but are told he won't likely have time for them. But, they are moved ahead of all others when the governor is told a Mr. Churchill(Winston?) is there to see him. Yes, corny! While they are waiting to see the governor, Mickey does his classic impression of sports announcers.The film begins with short Mickey in top hat and tails being driven around NYC by two beautiful women, eventually entering Teddy Mitchell's '100 beautiful girls' night club, featuring the Dorsey band. June Allyson does her initial film song on stage: "Treat Me Rough", later displaced by the girl chorus, who eventually pull Mickey to the stage and 'treat him rough', as he gets to sing some too. This is a fun production! ..Later, his father is upset at the newspaper accounts of this episode, and tells him he's being transferred from Yale to obscure Cody College. Mickey is next seen at the tiny Cody rail station, being told the population of Cody is 0, and the college is 8 miles down a dusty road, with no transport. Eventually, he finds Judy on this road trying to fix her car. She's mostly sarcastic at his interest and leaves him in the dust once her violently shaking rattle-trap car is running: quite an amusing scene. Once at the college, Mickey has a rough couple of days, as the students subject him to some initiation rituals and pranks. He's ready to go back to NYC, so Judy gives him a ride to the station, during which they argue, flirt and sing a bit: a good scene!The students put on a big birthday party for Judy, giving her a piano. She plays and sings the memorable "Embraceable You", the men eventually taking over the singing, followed by dancing. For a portion, it looks like Astaire and Rogers dancing. This is the second of 3 big musical productions. The last and much the most elaborate is the Busby Berkeley-directed manic "I Got Rhythm" extravaganza, again including the Dorsey band, with everyone dressed in western garb... In a very strange scene, after the birthday party, Judy strolls with her apparent boyfriend, who asks, in a very formal way, for an engagement. Then, he says he doesn't want to get romantic! After he leaves, Mickey unexpectedly shows up, and they talk about their relationship. After Judy learns that the college is slated to be closed, and after she loses the 'Queen of the Rodeo' contest, she changes from a confident into a weepy woman, who says she's moving east with her visiting cousin(Nancy Walker). But when she learns the college probably will be saved, she perks up, in time for the finale "I Got Rhythm".The governor's daughter(played by Frances Rafferty) serves the role played by June Priesser in "Babes in Arms" and "Strike up the Band", as the debutante that Mickey has to favor for a while over Judy, on the surface, in order to achieve his goal.How Tommy Dorsey came to take his band from NYC to a birthday ball and then rodeo event in this obscure corner of the US is not explored!In contrast to the previous M&J musicals, Mickey looks utterly ridiculous in many scenes: like a kid, getting pushed around by a group of much taller women on stage in NYC, then dressed up as a diminutive cowboy, or lugging his suitcases down a long dusty road in coat and tie. Makes him seem like a Charlie Chaplin-like character, contrasting with his supposed status as a lady's man. No doubt, that's partly why this is considered by many to be the best of the M&J musicals. I still have a slight preference for "Babes on Broadway".Incidentally, Cody WY does host a major annual rodeo event, although there is no college there.This was Judy's last B&W film. June and Nancy, with bit parts, had debuted for MGM earlier in '43 in the Technicolor "Best Foot Forward". Apparently, MGM was relying on star power to sell the present film.

This an upbeat, entertaining movie which showcases the talents of Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and the rest of the cast. Mickey Rooney's performance is incredible. He sings, he dances, he acts, he is funny, he is serious, he does it all. Judy Garland was never better. She really could act - and dance too. The dance sequences are great. The story is transparent but so what? It's a musical and it delivers the goods. And of course, the music itself is great. This movie is in its own way a tribute to the music of George Gershwin. Where would this movie be without George Gershwin? The ubiquitous presence of Gershwin defines this movie. Sometimes are movie is character-driven, sometimes story-driven. This movie is music-driven, and it is driven quite well. There are some who may dismiss this movie as mere fluff, a Hollywood potboiler, a retreading of an old formula, but that would ignore the outstanding Gershwin music, the snappy dialog, the great acting and the wonderful cast. The fact is that this movie is entertaining and does the job, which is to entertain.

Girl Crazy (1943) *** (out of 4) Playboy Danny Churchill (Mickey Rooney) has one good time too many so his father sends him out West to attend a school that "hasn't seen a girl since the Civil War." Once out there he's tortured by the fact that there's nothing to do but there is one girl (Judy Garland) and he plans on stealing her heart. Believe it or not but this MGM film is actually a remake of a 1932 Wheeler and Woolsey film, which I haven't seen but it's doubtful to be anything like this here. Many consider this to be one of the greatest teamings of Rooney and Garland and I probably wouldn't disagree. This movie pretty much has a little bit of everything from comedy to drama to of course the music, which is the real reason to check the film out. Garland gets to do several classic numbers including But Not For Me, Embraceable You, Biding My Time and Could You Use Me, which is a duet with Rooney. The big number is I've Got Phythm, which comes at the very end of the film and certainly has you leaving the film with a tremendous bang. Apparently original director Berkeley was fired because this sequence went over-budget, which one can look at the scene and see why. The story here is a pretty good one, although I'm sure many will have a hard time seeing Rooney as a playboy. I thought he was just fine in the role and his comic timing really helped things, especially early on including a sequence where he's trying to walk to the college but each new sign keeps repeating that he only has eight more miles to go. There's another very good sequence early on when he meets Garland who is working on her car that has broken down in the street. The scene goes on a lot longer than you'd expect but both actors do a very good job with it and make it quite memorable. Going through these Rooney and Garland movies makes one amazed at how charming they were together. No matter what they were doing it really seemed like they had genuine smiles on their faces and got a real kick out of acting together. Each time they were in a scene I couldn't help but feel that I was watching something real between them. Guy Kibbee, Gil Stratton, Rags Ragland and June Allyson are nice in their roles as is Nancy Walker is a quick comic bit. The film has pretty much everything Musical fans will want and everything is at such a high level that this thing is easy to recommend.