Ziegfeld Girl

Rating:
Summary: A good example of determination and self-confidence.
Review: I have seen this movie several times, an all time favorite. Three young girls wanting more out of life than what life seems to be offering. The famous line "Keep Your Head Up, Shoulders Back and Don't Forget to Smile" can prove to the world that with a bit of gumshun we all can make it and life's little ups and down won't keep us down forever. The World of Ziegfield is shown with beautiful songs, stage productions and Glamourous girls. The likes we will never see again in the movies.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Backstager
Review: If you overlook the dreary Hedy Lamarr plot, there's a lot to savor in this picture:

Garland's singing, of course, which includes an early and very funny bit of self-parody when she belts the "showstopper" version of "I'm Only Chasing Rainbows." Note the look on Garland's face when papa/vaudeville veteran Charles Winninger orders her to "Give it all you've got!" Judy seems about to say, "Well, you asked for it..." My only disappointment is that she is assigned the negligible tune "Minnie from Trinidad" as her 11 o'clock number.

Lana Turner's performance as a gone-to-hell-in-a-handbasket showgirl/boozer. Campiest moment in the film is when JUDY is assigned to keep Lana sober! Lana's final promenade down the stairs (to yet one more reprise of "You Walked Out of a Dream") is worth the price of the DVD -- this is what star quality is all about.

There are also some very funny bits from Edward Everett Horton and Eve Arden -- which made me wonder why La Arden didn't turn up among all the other ladies in THE WOMEN, lensing at Metro about the same time as this pic.

Oh, and one other thing: do you notice that this film has almost the identical plot to VALLEY OF THE DOLLS -- with Lana in the Neely O'Hara part?

Rating:
Summary: "The Follies is life..."
Review: In the first part of the 20th century, no greater name was associated with American musical theater than Florenz Ziegfeld and no greater spectacle than the Ziegfeld Follies, perhaps best remembered for large numbers of beautiful, scantilly-clad young women. "Ziegfeld Girl" takes place at the peak of the Follies' popularity in the 1920's and revolves around the lives of three different women chosen to star in the famous revue:
- Sheila Hale (Lana Turner), an elevator operator for a toney New York department store,
- Susan Gallagher (Judy Garland), the younger half of a father-daughter vaudeville act, and,
- Sondra Kolter (Hedy Lamarr), the wife of a would-be concert violinist.

This was MGM at its best when it came to musicals, though "Ziegfeld Girl" is not necessarily one of their better-known ones nor their strongest. As a Judy Garland fan, I must admit my bias toward the "Minnie from Trinidad" sequence as well as when Judy sings the classic "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" in an audition scene. But perhaps the best-known musical number in the entire film is "You Stepped Out of a Dream" with Tony Martin's superb vocals as well as Judy, Hedy & Lana among the scores of young women dressed in the astounding outfits created for this movie by the legendary designer Adrian.

"Ziegfeld Girl" also features a solid supporting cast including James Stewart as Sheila Hale's truck-driver fiance, Jackie Cooper as Sheila's brother, Charles Winninger as Susan Gallagher's father, Eve Arden as a wise-cracking veteran of the Follies, Paul Kelly as the no-nonsense stage manager, and Edward Everett Horton as the harried publicity director ("Mr. Ziegfeld's strong right arm"). There is also a rare movie appearance by Al Shean of the legendary Gallagher & Shean vaudeville comedy team thrown in for good measure.

In short, "Ziegfeld Girl" is a lavish glimpse at a legendary part of American musical theater history that has long since passed.

Rating:
Summary: Backstage Soaper
Review: Lana Turner, Heddy Lamar, and Judy Garland get into the Ziegfeld Follies and promptly go through hell in this backstage soaper about the pitfalls of celebrity.

Lana is a saucy elevator operator who aspires to marry Jimmy Stewart--until a Ziegfeld talent scout sweeps her up. She soon turns into a fast-living, mean-tempered lush. Heddy accompanies violinist husband Philip Dorn to an audition; he doesn't get the job, but she gets snatched up to become a beauty queen. Offended by her admirers, Heddy's husband believes she is unfaithful and leaves her. Judy has worked her way up through the ranks of show business and is hired for her way with a song--but Ziegfeld doesn't want to the hire other half of her act, Judy's father Charles Winninger.

To say the actors are typecast is a gross understatement, and in truth Heddy is merely there for decoration and Judy tucked into the film for the occasional musical number. The film really belongs to Lana Turner, who--although somewhat wooden--has the most interesting role of the three, and to James Stewart, who like Lana is a good boy gone bad. Will Lana and Jimmy reform and get back together? Will Heddy be able to convince Philip that her love is true? Will Judy's father ever forgive her? Even though the movie is hokey and a bit overlong, it is still rather fun to watch--and such numbers as "Minnie From Trinidad" are lots of fun. But this is not one of MGM's great musicals by any stretch of the imagination, and it is pretty much for die-hard musical fans only.

Rating:
Summary: GARLAND, LAMARR AND TURNER!
Review: The adventures of three girls in show-business. ZIEGFELD GIRL is an immense backstage musical into which MGM poured tons of talent; it also marked Pandro S. Berman's first assignment with that studio after his years of success at RKO. Just why Jimmy Stewart received top-billing for this rather uneven but entertaining movie is a mystery - his role is virtually a minor one. Robert Z. Leonard directed this two and a quarter hours worth of stuggle, triumph, pain and music, but the two big production numbers, MINNIE FROM TRINIDAD and YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM, were the work of the fabled wizard of cinematic choreography, Busby Berkeley. Judy is darling as Susan Gallagher and her scenes with her Irish Pop (Charles Winninger) are realistically executed. I felt Lana Turner's performance is a bit artificial and inept in her acting technique; she plays Sheila who succumbs to the bottle. As Sandra, Lamarr is astonishingly beautiful, but her acting hardly lingers in one's memory! Jimmy Stewart would enlist himself in the Army before this film premiered; he wouldn't make another film until 1946; it was a sleeper (just kidding) entitled IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

Rating:
Summary: Where were you looking, Mr. Shean?!
Review: The story itself flounders between drama and musical, but that can be forgiven since the whole business is a backstage story of the Ziegfeld dynasty. (The film's predecessor "The Great Ziegfeld" was presented the same way: a biography proper, but it integrated on-stage musical numbers throughout the film.) In this case the girls of the title are exotic beauty Lamarr (in love with her own husband and devoid of ego, but involved in the standard 'domestic-bliss-or-stardom' dilemma), working-girl Turner in the campier role of fortune huntress (who repeatedly spars with blue-collar beau James Stewart), and vaudeville baby Garland- devoted to dad Winninger, but who quietly matures throughout the film after finding her niche as a singer (beautifully staged in the audition piece "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"). Art imitates life in this film: Garland was historically insecure about her looks- especially when bookended by Turner and Lamarr- and desperately wanted MGM to show her grown-up and beautiful (and while she is quite beautiful, it is more inner and vulnerable than outer and glamorous). The film progresses with these plots nicely but much too slowly- and paints itself into a corner with the Turner plot near the end (although that might've beeen on purpose). But the performances themselves are marvelous, and the film is a great springboard for its three distaff leads as well as future stars Jackie Cooper, Dan Dailey, and Eve Arden. Check out not only 'Rainbows,' but showpieces "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "Minnie From Trinidad" and a marvelous comic bit featuring Winninger called "Gallagher and Shean."

Rating:
Summary: Manque de français
Review: Tous ces films m'intéressent au plus haut point, mais je ne peux les acheter, car il n'y a pas de trame sonore en français. Je cherche depuis des semaines un endroit ou je pourrais faire un commentaire sur cette anomalie qui m'empêche de jouir de ces magnifiques films. Tous les films de Doris Day entre autres. Tous les films des années 50 et bien d'autres. Je dois prendre mes renseignements sur le site américain et commander mesure le site canadien. Le site canadien indique que les films sont en anglais, même s'ils sont aussi en français. C'est une erreur importante. Vous perdez beaucoup de vente. J'ai répertorié une centaine de films que j'aurais achetés s'il y avait eu une trame sonore en français.
Voulez-vous faire parvenir mon commentaire à la personne qui s'occupe de ces choses.
Merci.
Marcel Lamothe
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Rainbows, Dreams and Staircases
Review: When MGM produced this lavish musical in 1940-41, most of the world was at war and the U.S. was on the verge of joining it. Austerity was already being called for in the U.S.A., and Hollywood was doing its part. The studios at that time were closely allied with the federal government which saw movies as a tool for democracy rather than the way Hollywood is treated by government today.

That austerity measure is the primary reason this great musical feast was produced in the less-expensive, always-acceptable (and, at the time, "the norm") black-and-white rather than as a fantastic Technicolor feast. Musicals did not YET rule the lot of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer although they would, soon enough, keep that studio in the black.

Nevertheless, this movie is one of the most beautiful black-and-white musicals ever produced. As Leonard Maltin has said in his TV book of movie reviews, the MGM glitter has never shined more brightly.

Among the most notable things about this film is that it was a turning point in the career of Judy Garland. Here, for the first time, Judy was portrayed as a young girl living at home with her father. But she matures into a young woman going it alone in the Ziegfeld follies. From child to grownup in one movie. And that turning point hinged on the improbably set-up presentation of her singing audition in which her pop had her ham up "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" and, in a second chance, using her own gut instincts to sing the song better than anyone had sung it before...and better than anyone has sung it since.

Lana Turner was not yet a major MGM star, but she was given the full glamour treatment here. She had a role in which she got to brush off Jimmy Stewart (who was a huge star in his own right). Along the way on her path to fame and infamy, she encounters an impossibly young, incredibly handsome Dan Dailey, who protrayed a fighter. In the film, he wins a title in a boxing match that Lana sees with one of her rich boyfriends. When Dailey encounters Turner in a night spot, he comes on to her. Sizing her up and letting her know who he is, he tells her, "Ya seen me when I done it." Once she realizes what he means, she agrees she was there, and then gives him the brush-off. Later in the film, when they're both on the skids, he runs into her in a dive. He offers to buy her a drink and reminds her of who he is. He then treats her badly. It's a terrific scene between them, and it's a terrible character for the young Dailey to have played, but it was a standout. Oddly enough, I don't recall anyone ever mentioning it in anything I've read about the film.

Happily, though, Turner got one of the best scenes any actress has had in a career. And it is, allegedly, a scene that MGM's resident musical genius (the true talent in the Freed Unit) Roger Edens wrote specifically for her while the film was shooting because it was felt her character needed a little something more dramatic. In this scene, the mortally ill Lana goes to the Ziegfeld Theater to see a revue of previous Ziegfeld triumphs. Growing visibly sicker as she watches the show, she gets up to leave. As she reaches the top of the balcony staircase, the theater orchestra starts playing "You Stepped Out of A Dream', which was the big number in her first Ziegfeld hit. Per Edens' instruction, Turner threw back her shoulders, lifted her chin, and began descending the stairs as a Ziegfeld girl would do it on stage. As she nears the bottom, she collapses. It's one HELL of a scene and Turner delivered it in spades.

This film IS a great musical wallow. Tony Martin was a perfect leading man in this film. "You Stepped Out of a Dream" is one of the great "show girl" anthems of all time. His voice was terrific and he wooed the impossibly beautiful Hedy Lamarr onstage and off. Lamarr brought that beauty to her role, if little else, although she portrayed a noble character with honorable intentions.

There are many movies in which the sum of the parts do not necessarily equal a masterful whole, but this is one of those movies in which the sum of the parts DO EQUAL great entertainment that rewards time and again. The music is tuneful/memorable, the sets and costumes are lavish and the Busby Berkeley numbers are imaginative and eye-filling.

If you love musicals, this is for you!


Rating:
Summary: They Stepped Out of a Dream!
Review: Ziegfeld Girl is a good movie but personally I don't think its memorable. Even though James Stewart and Judy Garland get top billing it is mostly a Lana Turner movie. Anyway the movie is about three girls with diffrent backgrounds that become Ziegfeld Girls. Susan Gallagher (Judy Garland) is a vaudeville star who wants to see her name in lights. Sandra Kolter (Hedy Lamarr) is the girl devoted to her marriage (her husband is a struggling concert violinist) even though she does starts to fall for singer Frank Merron (Tony Martin). Sheila Regan (Lana Turner) is a elevator operator who has trouble with her boyfriend Gilbert Young (James Stewart) and eventually falls and becomes a heavy drinker. This movie also co-stars Tony Martin, Edward Everett Horton, Jackie Cooper, and Eve Arden. This movie also contains some great numbers.

Here are the numbers:

Laugh? I Thought I'd Split My Sides- Judy sings this number with Charles Winninger who plays her father in the movie. They sing this as part of their vaudeville act.

You Stepped out of a Dream- Tony Martin sings this as part of the Ziegfeld show. It has all three girls walking on stairs. Hedy Lamrr looks beautiful in this number!

I'm Always Chasing Rainbows- Judy sings this number twice first its really fast and jazzy and then she sings it like a ballad.

Caribbean Love Song- Tony sings this number in the Ziegfeld show and you can see Hedy and Lana in this number too.

Minnie from Trinidad- Judy sings this number in the Ziegfeld show and its great. Its all tropical. There is this cool part in the number where Judy sits on this surface and the chorus raises her with these large poles and she is still singing!

Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean- Charles Winninger and Al Shean perform this cute little number in the Ziegfeld show.

Ziegfeld Girls- Judy performs this number in the show.

You Gotta Pull Strings- Judy performs this number in the show also and the chorus girls sing and dance.

You Never Looked So Beautiful- This is the finale number and Judy performs it with a chrous. It is a breathtaking scene! Actually it is extacly like the number "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" from The Great Ziegfeld. I also read somewhere that they had Judy costumed and made up to resemble Virginia Bruce who was crowned the "Wedding Cake" set in the earlier film.


If you really enjoy musicals, Judy Garland, or Lana Turner then I suggest you see this movie. It has a lot of breathtaking numbers and it was directed very well!