In honor of one of the most celebrated MGM stars in heaven’s centennial birth year–and as you know there are several, even outnumbering the heavens–this review will focus on The Harvey Girls starring Judy Garland. The film was directed by George Sidney and released in 1946. It became the first film to begin his career of making big technicolor musicals with iconic songs and stars. These included films like Show Boat, and Bye Bye Birdie, along with later youth-marketed pictures like Viva Las Vegas. But the trend first began with The Harvey Girls.
At a time when nostalgia for the west was being depicted in film and television more often, it seemed a smart move for this film to do so as well and to combine musical numbers led by one of the studio’s most profitable stars, Judy Garland. Judy Garland’s fluttery contralto had a hold on audiences and critics alike. She leaves you in awe with ballads like "In the Valley (Where the Evening Sun Goes Down)” and inspires excitement in ensemble numbers like the “On the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe”. Altogether this film is like being in a candy store. A confectionary of musical wonderment, humor, romance, and spectacle.
Ray Bolger and Judy doing what they did best in a vivid musical sequence
This scene is such a perfect example of delectable costuming, music, dancing, and talent. And the talent! I have already mentioned Judy Garland as the star, she plays Susan Bradley, a young Ohio native who answers a lonely-hearts ad and finds herself on a train going to Arizona with newly employed Harvey Girls. Angela Lansbury is her sort of foil, a local coquettish saloon dancer called Em who has a soft spot for Ned Trent, the male lead played by John Hodiak. These three characters, it’s fair to say have the most character development and personality dedicated to them and are played wondrously by each of these actors. The only deficit is the unnecessary dubbing of Angela Lansbury for Em’s signature song “Oh, You Kid”. But she still plays Em very charismatically even as she is unnecessarily catty to Susan and it’s hard to not enjoy her villainy.
Ned Trent is the saloon owner and, on that basis, alone he and Susan have a conflict of interest since she shortly after realizing her fiancé-to-be was not an ideal match, decides to join the Harvey Girls, his competitors, essentially. Their conflict actually first arose when it was revealed that Ned Trent wrote the letters that had driven her to Sandrock, instead of her actual betrothed. So, she starts off quite angry with him, feeling as though he made a joke of what she thought was a legitimate courtship. She later comes to respect and secretly pine for him, after seeing how he has no animosity towards her and the other Harvey Girls, and how he means for their competition to be amicable, unlike Em and his business partner, Sam Purvis. He develops feelings for Susan as well.
Judy Garland and John Hodiak have great chemistry in this film. He plays Ned Trent, who is written as an incorrigible businessman with a secret romantic side, in a very realistic way. Another actor might have veered too close into caricature, but he delivers his lines with no airs, with complete believability and an arresting smile. Personally, she never found a better match as far as romantic co-leads (though there are definitely some more suitable in the song and dance department) and it’s a shame to this writer that he was not cast opposite Judy again in A Star is Born per her request, but I digress.
She was known for her tardiness and sometimes altogether missing a day of shooting and the filming of The Harvey Girls was not an exception. One character played with deadpan charisma by fellow former child actor Virginia O’Brien had several of her scenes cut as the shooting delays made it harder to hide her pregnancy. Her character Alma is noticeably missing at the end of the film, but she does get a song performed in a scene with Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow himself, reuniting with Garland again since they first starred together in The Wizard of Oz. He and Cyd Charisse get to show off their dancing skills, and they are both a joy to watch in their respective styles. Bolger shines in the aforementioned ballroom scene in a very impressive and humorous tap number. Charisse, who plays fellow Harvey Girl, Deborah dances in an interim to a song performed by Kenny Baker in his beautiful tenor voice. He plays her character's love interest and the song he charms her with is called “Wait and See”. It is such a gorgeous song and performance.
The choreography was done by Robert Alton, a renowned choreographer at the time. He worked with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly and choreographed many other musicals. He had his work cut out for him as the film was conceived as a response to Oklahoma, a very dance-heavy musical, and it should be said that he succeeds with both ensemble numbers and solo displays. The dancing perfectly complements the music written by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren. The song “On the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe” actually became a big hit after the film’s release winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Black film actor Ben Carter has a brief role in the film along with a solo in this spectacular number. He was the first Black actor to have a seven-year contract with a major studio and is most known for booking many of the black extras in Gone with the Wind.
It’s understandable that this film is not mentioned nearly as much compared to other MGM musicals, particularly Garland-centric MGM musicals. One might interpret it as a clear cash grab, and true, the story itself is sort of facile. But it functions well as a vehicle to propel the spectacle of cinema, which at the time had to compete with the small screen as well. The colors and the talent and the spectacular eye-popping hues of the period costuming were a major draw. It's a scrumptious feast for the eyes, a sweet blend of genres, just the epitome of a Hollywood movie musical.
A gun-slinging Judy Garland and no-nonsense Angela Lansbury
