The only aspect of FOR ME AND MY GAL that displeased me was the fact that GEORGE MURPHY (who was originally set to star opposite Judy in the Gene Kelly role) didn't have enough to do--and certainly his dancing talent is not seen to advantage here. MGM could have built up his role a little more.
But other than that, everything else about the film is right on track. JUDY GARLAND and GENE KELLY (in his first film) make a wonderful team, each complementing the other in a way that never makes it appear either one is trying to upstage the other performer. But let's face it--any time Garland is involved in a song or dance it's just plain hard to watch anyone else.
Released during the start of World War II, it's a look back at the nostalgic songs of World War I, and the most delightful scene occurs pretty early in the film--the coffee shop number to "For Me and My Gal", simple in execution (without a trace of Busby Berkeley's usual fancy stuff), but all the more charming for its simplicity.
It's the story of vaudeville entertainers. Kelly plays a brash young man (very much in the same vein as the man he played on Broadway in PAL JOEY), who's so intent on making it big in show biz that he deliberately avoids the draft by hurting his hand so that he's unable to be drafted. Animosity between him and his sweetheart grows when she learns the truth about his "accident". Of course, as in all such musicals of the '40s, all is resolved for a happy ending and the end of World War I.
It's handsomely produced in the MGM manner, in glorious B&W cinematography, a songfest for nostalgic tunes of the period, and guaranteed to please the fans of Judy and Gene.
But other than that, everything else about the film is right on track. JUDY GARLAND and GENE KELLY (in his first film) make a wonderful team, each complementing the other in a way that never makes it appear either one is trying to upstage the other performer. But let's face it--any time Garland is involved in a song or dance it's just plain hard to watch anyone else.
Released during the start of World War II, it's a look back at the nostalgic songs of World War I, and the most delightful scene occurs pretty early in the film--the coffee shop number to "For Me and My Gal", simple in execution (without a trace of Busby Berkeley's usual fancy stuff), but all the more charming for its simplicity.
It's the story of vaudeville entertainers. Kelly plays a brash young man (very much in the same vein as the man he played on Broadway in PAL JOEY), who's so intent on making it big in show biz that he deliberately avoids the draft by hurting his hand so that he's unable to be drafted. Animosity between him and his sweetheart grows when she learns the truth about his "accident". Of course, as in all such musicals of the '40s, all is resolved for a happy ending and the end of World War I.
It's handsomely produced in the MGM manner, in glorious B&W cinematography, a songfest for nostalgic tunes of the period, and guaranteed to please the fans of Judy and Gene.