For Me And My Gal

Rating:
Summary: Swing with Judy and Gene
Review: If you love to curl up and enjoy times past, cuddle someone you love - your cat or dog and enjoy a soft 1940's romantic movie, this is for you. Judy sings beautifully, and Gene in his first Hollywood production (straight from the Broadway production of Guys and Dolls) is great. This is one of those movies I get out often and never tire of. Please Hollywood find more talent like these two.

Rating:
Summary: Classic musical catapults Garland to new heights
Review: In her first adult role, yet still filled with girlish charm, Judy Garland captures the audiences eyes and ears with her moving portrayal of a young vaudevillian trying to keep her goals and love in check. Gene Kelly, in his film debut, show signs of being a novice. Yet, the dancing capabilities he possessed still are just amazing. Filled with drama, candor and realism, "For Me and My Gal" is an absorbing musical melodrama set during the WWI era. Musical highlights include "For Me and My Gal," "Ballin' the Jack," and "After You've Gone."

Rating:
Summary: Irresistible Judy-Gene WWI movie musical!
Review: Judy and Gene Kelly make an engaging musical team in this nifty, chestnut of a movie musical. Young Judy displays signs of an emerging dramatic actress without straying from her "Dorothy Adorable" screen persona. Kelly makes an impressive film debut as a scheming, song-and-dance man. Tune-filled with snappy, Tin Pan Alley songs. Highlights: "Ballin' the Jack" and title song. An enjoyable viewing guaranteed!

Rating:
Summary: Gene Kelly's film debut
Review: Judy Garland plays Jo Hayden, a Vaudeville performer who has big dreams to reach the top along with her partners Jimmy Metcalf (George Murphy) and Sid Simms (Ben Blue). But then Harry Palmer (Gene Kelly) comes along with a great duo act. A Vaudeville performer himself, Jo finds that he too has big dreams, to be able to play at the Palace. This is the tale about how these two team up and through hardships and the war effort, reach out for their dreams and to their surprise, find love.

I'm a big fan of all musicals so hearing that this was Gene Kelly's first film, I knew I had to see it. And though I didn't enjoy it as much as I do other superior musicals, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Judy Garland is one of the most wonderful actresses, a one in a million. Every note she sings is pure perfection and she is one talented actress. "For Me and My Gal" is more of a musical/drama than a musical/comedy, so expect Garland to have many scenes where her eyes are full of tears. And this being in black and white, these scenes come out simply beautiful since Judy Garland is a stunning actress.

Being a musical, expect to see some great musical numbers. All the dance scenes are well choreographed. Most favorite is probably the "Ballin' the Jack" where Garland and Kelly share a number. But since this is Kelly's first film, don't expect him to do any of his famous outstanding solo tap numbers. He does get a short number towards the beginning which gives really only a glimpse of his talents. He tap dances... with huge rubber shoes worn by clowns!

Another character is in this movie called Eve Minard played by Martha Eggerth, a beautiful operatic singer. Though I'm not a big fan of opera type music (Kathryn Grayson is the only one I love in the movies), I must admit that Eggerth has an astounding voice.

As I said, there is a lot more drama than comedy in "For Me and My Gal". But don't worry, the end is terrific, and my only reason for giving this movie four stars is that I do have other musical favorites which I think are a bit superior to this one.

To see Gene Kelly REALLY show off his tap-dance talent, watch:
*SINGIN' IN THE RAIN* - If you claim to be a fan of all musicals and STILL haven't seen this one... well, tsk tsk tsk on you!
*COVER GIRL* - Kelly has this one amazing number where he dances... with himself! VERY cool!
*ANCHORS AWEIGHT* - Great number where he dances with the cartoon, Jerry the Mouse! Also a scene where he plays a matador.
And just in general, watch any of Kelly's films, they won't disappoint!

Rating:
Summary: Judy's 1st Grownup Role
Review: No longer a foil for Mickey, Judy really shines in this film. Her jazz dancing style gets showcased with Gene Kelly and just think, it is because of this film that we got Singing in The Rain and An American In Paris.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Gene Kelly/Judy Garland Movie!
Review: One of the most romantic movies there is! It's cute & sweet & not gross like most movies these days! I would definitly recommend this movie to anyone!

Rating:
Summary: JUDY`S FIRST STAR TOP BILLING
Review: Poor Judy looks frail in her first film that she carries without any other star names. She has striking resemblence to Monroe in confrontation scenes with Kelly and all and all - a good if not a great movie. It`s more of a drama with musical interludes. See my MORE ABOUT ME page about my thoughts of JUDY GARLAND

Rating:
Summary: BLACK & WHITE....not color!
Review: So many have done such a great job reviewing this movie I won't rehash....but Amazon.com taking their cue from Warners (on the DVD box) say this is color and it is NOT....its in its glorious original Black and White and a beautiful print at that! Didn't want anyone out there afraid this masterpiece had been colorized! Yiiikes
Kelly / Garland......please this should be a no-brainer!

Rating:
Summary: The War Effort muddles this otherwise delightful musical
Review: The prospect of having Gene Kelly and Judy Garland in a musical that involved vaudeville admittedly made me set my alarm to the movie's show time on TV. I really hadn't seen a movie before where a male singing/ dancing lead could hold his own against the great and powerful Oz veteran. Even Fred Astaire in "Easter Parade" was a bit too old to counter Garland (he was about 23 years older than her).

But this one hit all the right notes. I think the way that Kelly and Garland blend together is best epitomized by the "For Me and My Gal" duet at the beginning. Their voices are simply perfect together and Garland never overpowers him, just as Kelly never overpowers her when dancing.

Then there is the montage of events leading up to the war, such as the sinking of the Lusitania -- almost all of which are not even attempted to be mixed into the story (that is, with some song or dance number about the war. There is the occasional newspaper headline, however). Unlike Bob Fosse's later "Cabaret," the story of these two has nothing to do with the war and everything to do with vaudeville. So I thought this montage to be a bad choice at first.

Later, when I saw that this was perhaps an artistic choice to show how distant the war was at first and how it later would change them, I accepted it. However, the Great War simply overpowers the storyline in the third act, to an unacceptable point. We see character arcs change, the plot change, basically everything. Kelly's character is now more beaten down by being a coward then anything else that was established previously (i.e., before he "accidentally" injured his hand).

At the end of the movie, we see a title card that says to buy war bonds on your way out of the theater. And at that moment, as if it weren't clear enough before, it becomes even more apparent that this movie's purpose was to boost morale for the second world war. There's even a scene where Kelly's character is shooting at the Germans. At that point, I thought I was watching "A Farewell To Arms," not a vaudeville musical.

There were some things definitely amiss in this movie. However, I think we'll all remember it for that classic duet with Kelly and Garland in the coffee shop, singing "For Me and My Gal."

Rating:
Summary: JUDY AND GENE SHINE
Review: The story begins with a troupe of vaudevillians performing in a small town in Iowa. Kelly convinces Judy that they'd make a good team - that they'll play the Palace in New York soon; she agrees to join him, but two years pass and they are still in the small time...........A good many songs from the first WW era are included in the troop entertainment sequences, and the vaudeville segments include such memorables as OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL DOLL and AFTER YOU'RE GONE. Kelly and Garland do a slendid dance routine to BALLIN' THE JACK; they recorded the title song and WHEN YOU WORE A TULIP for the Decca label in 1942. As escapist entertainment for WWII audiences, FOR ME AND MY GAL succeeded completely. Fresh from Broadway, 30 year-old Gene Kelly made his picture debut in this little lark with beguiling Judy.