For Me and My Gal (1942)
Directed by Busby Berkeley

Film Review

Gene Kelly's screen career got off to a flying start with this typically jaunty MGM musical, in which he is effectively partnered with another screen legend of the era, Judy Garland.  Not long before this, Kelly had found stardom on Broadway as the lead in Rodgers and Hart's musical comedy Pal Joey, which resulted in David O. Selznick offering him a contract to start appearing in movies.  As it happened, Selznick failed to find a suitable role for Kelly, and it was MGM producer Arthur Freed who gave him his big break in For Me and My Gal, a film that was based on a true story and which proved to be one of the big hits of 1942.

The film was directed by Busby Berkeley, who had distinguished himself in the previous decade by choreographing some of the most spectacular song and dance numbers to grace a Hollywood musical, notably on Gold Diggers of 1933 and 42nd Street (1933).  Whilst For Me and My Gal has none of the grand musical set pieces for which Berkeley is renowned, it is directed with his customary aplomb and includes such uplifting numbers as Oh, You Beautiful Doll and For Me and My Gal.  In common with many films made around this time, the film had a dual purpose, to support the war effort (by portraying those in the armed services as selfless heroes whilst demonising draft dodgers) and to divert the people back home with some wholesome, no-nonsense entertainment.

The film's one flaw is that it fails to redeem its central character in a convincing way.  So good is Kelly at playing the self-loving opportunist that his character's sudden transformation at the end of the film (from draft dodging skunk to Bruce Willis-style action hero) appears laughably absurd and takes the gloss off an otherwise flawless production.  Fortunately, there are enough other things to like about the film to prevent this one king-size blemish from spoiling it.  By this time, Judy Garland has blossomed into a fully fledged grown-up star, and there are few other actresses who could invest the film with as much warmth and poignancy as she does, apparently without the slightest effort.

Garland may be an accomplished actress, but it is in the toe-tapping vaudevillian musical numbers that she is most in her element, and watching her perform alongside Kelly is a treat which no fan of the classical Hollywood musical should pass up.  Garland and Kelly make such an effective combination (and apparently had such a good off-screen relationship) that you wonder why they only worked together on two further films, The Pirate (1948) and Summer Stock (1950).  For what is so patently a wartime propaganda piece, For Me and My Gal has stood the test of time remarkably well, bursting at the seams with star quality and good, old-fashioned charm.

Film Synopsis

In 1916, Jo Hayden and Jimmy Metcalf scrape a living, touring American towns with their second rate vaudeville act.  Jo earns just enough to support her brother Danny as he studies to be a doctor.  Her dream of Broadway success comes one step closer when she meets Harry Palmer, an ambitious young dancer who offers her a partnership.  Realising that this is Jo's big chance, Jimmy steps aside and encourages her to sign up with Harry, but success still proves elusive for Jo.  When Jo and Harry finally land a spot at a top Broadway theatre, Harry learns he is about to be drafted into the army.  Unable to give up what may be his only shot at fame, Harry intentionally damages his right hand so that he will fail his medical examination.  When she discovers this subterfuge, Jo is sickened by Harry and refuses to have anything more to do with him.   Ashamed of himself, Harry tries to make amends, but getting into WWI is a lot harder than he imagined...