FOR ME AND MY GAL

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CREDITS

1942, 104 minutes, B&W.
Producer, Arthur Freed; Director, Busby Berkeley; Screenplay, Fred Finklehoffe, Richard Sherman, Sid Silvers, Jack McGowan and Irving Brecher; Music Direction, George Stoll; Choreography, Bobby Connolly; Cinematography, William Daniels.

CAST

Jo Hayden, Judy Garland; Jimmy Metcalf, George Murphy; Harry Palmer, Gene Kelly; Eve Minard, Marta Eggerth; Sid Simms, Ben Blue; Danny Hayden, Richard Quine; Eddie Milton, Keenan Wynn; Mr. Waring, Horace McNally; Lily, Lucille Norman.

SONGS

For Me and My Gal by Edgar Leslie, E. Ray Goetz and George W. Meyer; Oh, Johnny, Oh by Ed Rose and Abe Olman; They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me by Joseph McCarthy and Fred Fisher; Oh, You Beautiful Doll by A. Seymour Brown and Nat D. Ayer; Don't Leave Me Daddy by Joe Verges; By the Beautiful Sea by Harold Atteridge and Harry Carroll; When You Wore a Tulip by Jack Mahoney and Percy Wenrich; Do I Love You? by Goetz and Henri Christine; After You've Gone by Henry Creamer and Turner Layton; Tell Me by Max Kortlander and J. Will Callahan; Till We Meet Again by Ray Egan and Richard A. Whiting; We Don't Want the Bacon by Howard Carr, Harry Russell and Jimmie Havens; Ballin' the Jack by Jim Burris and Chris Smith; What Are You Going to Do to Help the Boys? by Gus Kahn and Egbert Van Alstyne; How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm? by Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young and Walter Donaldson; Where Do We Go from Here? by Howard Johnson and Wenrich; It's a Long Way to Tipperary by Jack Judge and Williams; Goodbye, Broadway, Hello France by Francis Riesner, Benny Davis and Billy Baskette; Smiles by J. Will Callahan and Lee M. Roberts; Oh Frenchy by Sam Ehrlich and Con Conrad; Pack Up Your Troubles by George Asaf and Felix Powell; When Johnny Comes Marching Home by Louis Lambert; The Doll Shop by Roger Edens; Mademoiselle from Armentieres.

PLOT SYNOPSIS

"The plot revolves around a vaudeville team (Garland/Kelly/Murphy) that tours the sticks, all-the-while dreaming of playing New York's famed Palace Theater. Romantically, they are an ill-matched triangle - Murphy pining for Garland, who pines for Kelly, who pines only for that big-time break. When World War I breaks out just as they are about to make it, Kelly deliberately smashes his hand in a trunk to keep from being drafted. His heartsick partners break up the act and leave to entertain the troops at the front. It's a temporary aberration for Kelly, however, and he finally proves his patriotism in time to join his gal and his pal for the big finale at the Palace."
- Lawrence B. Thomas, The MGM Years

NOTES

"Kelly and Garland (who received top billing) worked brilliantly together, establishing a magical rapport, and their performance of the title number. . .was the undoubted highlight of the movie."
- Clive Hirschhorn, The Hollywood Musical

"A touch of imagination and a deal more than a touch of energy."
- The Times

"The story is naively patriotic and sentimental, but Kelly is amazingly fresh; his grin could melt stone, and he and Garland are a magical pair. . ."
- Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights At The Movies


ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION:
Scoring of a Musical Picture

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