Amazon.com: Meet Me in St. Louis One of the finest American musicals, this 1944 film by Vincente Minnelli is an intentionally self-contained story set in 1903. A happy St. Louis family is shaken to their roots by the prospect of moving to New York, where the father has a better job pending. Judy Garland heads the cast in what amounts to a splendid, end-of-an-era story that nicely rhymes with the onset of the 20th century. The film is extraordinarily alive, the characters strong, and the musical numbers are so splendidly part of the storytelling that you don't feel the film has stopped for an interlude. --Tom Keogh
The Harvey Girls Sometimes lively, sometimes pokey, this Technicolor MGM musical inspires mixed feelings in aficionados of the form--except on one point. No viewer will question why "On the Atchison, Topeka, & the Santa Fe" won the best song Oscar for 1946. This is a brilliant, inventive song given an epic staging. Director George Sidney pulls out all the stops for this wowser--even Marjorie Main sings, an eardrum-testing sound. The real-life Harvey Girls were waitresses imported to the far-flung Fred Harvey Hotels, civilizing oases along the railroad lines out west. The fictional Harvey Girls is set in Sandrock, where the traveling waitresses are joined by a sort of mail-order bride (Judy Garland) whose prospective husband is a bust--he's a roughhewn rancher played by Chill Wills. Garland is in fine spunky form; unfortunately, her romance is with John Hodiak (as the owner of a dance hall), that uninspiring World War II-era lead. The film's other great Johnny Mercer-Harry Warren song is the unexpectedly melancholy "It's a Great Big World," performed in a lovely trio by Garland, Virginia O'Brien, and the young Cyd Charisse. The tall, deadpan O'Brien also does a comic take on "The Wild, Wild West" while shoeing a horse. With kewpie-faced Angela Lansbury as a bespangled dance-hall gal and Ray Bolger high-stepping through a dance solo, there are enough good people on board to keep the wheels a-turning "all the way to Californ-eye-yay." --Robert Horton
Easter Parade Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) is devastated when his longtime dancing partner, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller), breaks up the team to set out on her own. Determined to prove that he can succeed without her, Astaire vows that he can pick any random chorus girl and make her a star. Fortunately for him, the chorus girl he picks happens to be one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, Judy Garland (playing Hannah Brown). Easter Parade turned out to be the first and only collaboration between the two screen legends. Garland made the 1948 film despite ongoing health problems, then had to pull out of a planned follow-up, The Barkleys of Broadway (Ginger Rogers replaced her). Astaire had retired following Blue Skies in 1946 but was brought in for this film as an emergency replacement after Gene Kelly broke his ankle playing touch football. Fortunately, Easter Parade always feels like an Astaire film rather than a Kelly film, from its Pygmalion-esque plot (which helps explain the principals' 23-year age disparity) to its score of Irving Berlin standards (some new, some recycled from earlier films). The film capitalizes on the strengths of both stars, Astaire in dance solos, including "Drum Crazy" and "Steppin' Out with My Baby" (MGM's take on Astaire's earlier, persona-defining "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails"), and Garland in vocal solos, including the torchy "Better Luck Next Time." The stars especially shine, however, when they perform together in their vaudeville numbers, most notably the persona-defying hobo routine "We're a Couple of Swells." Watch this classic every Easter. --David Horiuchi
Korina If you love Judy Garland and old musical romances this is the perfect movie for you.
Judy! Judy! Judy! There was never a more talented actress than Judy Garland! During the 40's when very few actresses could hold a picture on their own shoulders, the entire weight of THE HARVEY GIRLS was put on Judy's shoulders. She was probably the only actress to carry a picture and outshine every other person in the movie. John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury and Ray Bolger co-star, and although they give great performances, they are dim compared to Judy's. She just shines! THE HARVEY GIRLS is mostly noted for it's incredible and magnificent (almost 10min. long) "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" number that won an award for Best Song, but there was another number, filmed on MGM's backlot, that Judy sings entitled "March On Little Doagies," complete with flaming torches and cowboys. Unfortunetly it was cut from the movie, but fortunelty, it is included on this DVD, with yet another deleted number "My Intuition". (It's worth purchasing this DVD just to hear Judy sing "March On Little Doagies"). I had originally seen the number on "That's Entertainment!" and I knew I had to purchase the movie (it was a good decision)! I love this movie! I would also like to note that MGM's lovely dancing star, Cyd Charisse (in one of her early roles) plays Deborah.
Note: Notice when Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse and Virginia O'Brien sing and dance to "It's a Great Big World", Judy (at 4'10") is noticeably shorter than Cyd and Virginia. Even though she has about 5" heels on and they have flats.
Enjoy!
A TREAT FOR FANS OF JUDY GARLAND AND ANGELA LANSBURY Movies often have a long history BEFORE the cameras roll. "THE HARVEY GIRLS" was originally envisioned as a straight Western, with the likes of Lana Turner (a thorn in Judy Garland's side at MGM), Joan Crawford, and Clark Gable. It was turned around as a musical; similar in its Americana, homespun/folsky spirit to Rodgers & Hammerstein's "OKLAHOMA!" With Judy Garland in, Clark Gable was OUT as her love interest. Because Judy had sung the ballad "You Made Me Love You" to Gable's photo in "BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938" as an adolescent, it was thought that audiences would not accept an onscreen romance between Garland and Gable; never mind that she was now a beautiful, grown woman. Never mind, really, because John Hodiak fills the bill nicely as resident hunk Ned Trent. The plot premise is slight and a bit weird, but Judy Garland, regardless of how silly the plots of her films at MGM often were, was always best playing women who wanted to get a lot of adventure out of life. Her character of Susan Bradley says here in this film, "The Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness, but it's up to me to do the pursuing!" Susan has traveled all the way to Sandrock ("the bare and blistered end of creation") to answer a marriage ad. When the ad turns out to be a joke of Ned Trent's, she decides to stay and work as a Harvey Girl waitress. All the girls have come to town "On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe"-- which won Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren an Academy Award for "Best Song Of 1946." Several girls are quickly and easily frightened out of town by cheap and obvious scare tactics. Judy, Cyd Charisse, and Virginia O'Brien are the only original three ladies tough enough to tackle the Wild West, and Majorie Main is always good for laughs. The Harvey House Restaurant is right across the street from Ned's saloon/brothel, where a very young and beautiful Angela Lansbury is Em, the hooker with a heart of gold. Judy and Angela are rivals for Hodiak's affeections. (Angela is the Bad Girl, Judy is the Good Girl). A cat-fight/brawl between the "Good Harvey Girls" and the "Bad Saloon Girls" is thrown in for good measure. Angela Lansbury's singing voice is dubbed in here; especially ironic since Angela later went on to win a record four Tony Awards for her roles in the Broadway musicals "MAME," "DEAR WORLD", "GYPSY", and "SWEENEY TODD." Virginia O'Brien has one fun song titled, "It's Too Darn Mild In The Wild, Wild West." O'Brien is seen in the first half of the film, and is absent entirely from the second half. This is because, as the late director George Sidney points out in his cheery, amiable, but meandering walk down memory lane of a DVD audio commentary, she went off to have a baby. There is even a mini "THE WIZARD OF OZ" reunion here. Ray Bolger is also in the cast as meek blacksmith Chris Maul. He appears in production numbers and dances with Judy. Ray and Judy worked together again on Judy's 1964 TV Variety Show. A look at the deleted but huge production number "March Of The Doagies" strongly suggests that the best musical sequence in the film was left on the cutting-room floor!! Bursting with the vibrant Technicolor hues from a sadly vanished age of Cinema, "THE HARVEY GIRLS" is too slight and lightweight on plot to succeed or be considered as a great Musical or Western, but it does entertain, nevertheless, in its own merry way.
Oldies but goodies!! Absolutely loved it !! I love any movie with Judy Garland in it!
The Harvey Girls A must see for any Judy Garland fan. Home of The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe - a classic!!
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