GIRL CRAZY

Girl Crazy
MGM, 1943, B/W, 100 minutes, ***½
Released November, 1943

Wealthy newspaper magnate Dan Churchill (Henry O'Neill) thinks his son Danny Junior (Mickey Rooney) is gaining a reputation as a playboy. So he sends him to his own Alma Mater Cody College in Arizona - an all-boys college with no co-eds! But no sooner has Danny arrived at Cody when he encounters the Dean's granddaughter (Judy Garland) and falls head-over-heels in love. All he has to do now is to get her to fall in love with him! Highlights include Judy's definitive rendition of "Embraceable You," and Mickey and Judy's "Could You Use Me."

Original director Busby Berkeley went way over the top (and way over-budget and schedule) with the "I Got Rhythm" finale. But other than that, it's a fun film. June Allyson appears for the first time in an MGM film (though not her first film nor her "official" MGM debut), and Nancy Walker is on hand for some great laughs.

Produced by: Arthur Freed
Directed by: Norman Taurog
Screen Play by: Fred F. Finklehoffe
Music by: George Gershwin
Lyrics by: Ira Gershwin
Based Upon Musical Play "Girl Crazy" by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan
Musical Adaptation: Roger Edens
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Orchestration: Conrad Salinger, Axel Stordahl, Sy Oliver
Vocal Arrangements: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane
Dance Direction and Solo Dance with Miss Garland by: Charles Walters
"I Got Rhythm" Number directed by Busby Berkeley
Musical Presentation: Merrill Pye
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Mac Alper
Costume Supervision: Irene
Associate: Sharaff
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Directors of Photography: William Daniels, Robert Planck
Film Editor: Albert Akst

Cast: Mickey Rooney [Danny Churchill, Jr.], Judy Garland [Ginger Gray], Gil Stratton [Bud Livermore], Robert E. Strickland [Henry Lathrop], Rags Ragland ["Rags"], June Allyson [Specialty], Nancy Walker [Polly Williams], Guy Kibbee [Dean Phineas Armour], Frances Rafferty [Marjorie Tait], Henry O'Neill [Mr. Churchill, Sr.], Howard Freeman [Governor Tait], Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra [Themselves], Additional Cast: Sidney Miller [Ed], Eve Whitney [Brunette], Carole Gallagher [Blonde], Kay Williams [Blonde], Jess Lee Brooks [Buckets], Roger Moore [Cameraman], Charles Coleman [Maitre d'Hotel], Harry Depp [Nervous Man], Richard Kipling [Dignified Man], Henry Roquemore [Fat Man], Alphonse Martell [Waiter], Barbara Bedford [Churchill's Secretary], William Beaudine Jr. [Tom], Bess Flowers [Committee Woman], Peter Lawford [cameo as student], Six Hits and a Miss, The Music Maids, The Stafford Trio, The King's Men [vocals]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "I Got Rhythm" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:04] Treat Me Rough (sung and danced by June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, The Music Maids, The Stafford Trio, Kathleen Carns and Ruth Clark with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra); [0:25] Bidin' My Time (sung by Judy Garland, The King's Men and the MGM Studio Chorus); [0:36] Could You Use Me? (sung by Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland); [0:40] Happy Birthday to You (sung by Rags Ragland and Chorus [students onscreen]); [0:41] Embraceable You (sung by Judy Garland and Chorus [students onscreen], danced by Judy Garland, Charles Walters and Boys); [1:11] Fascinating Rhythm (instrumental arrangement played by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Mickey Rooney at the piano); [1:24] But Not for Me (sung by Judy Garland to Rags); [1:30] I Got Rhythm (big production number sung and danced by Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Six Hits and a Miss, The Music Maids, Hal Hopper, Trudy Erwin, Bobbie Canvin, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra and The MGM Studio Chorus); [cut] Bronco Busters (Outtake: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Nancy Walker and the MGM Studio Orchestra and Chorus)