ABOUT THE FILM:

Girl Crazy is one of the most celebrated of all the Gershwin musicals. Since its debut on Broadway in 1930, the show has had several film adaptations as well as a wonderful CD adaptation featuring Judy's daughter Lorna Luft.

The original stage production opened on October 14, 1930, starring Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman in her Broadway debut. Merman introduced the song "I Got Rhythm", stopping the show with every performance. Red Nichols' pit band for the show is just as famous, including such future musical greats as Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden, and future MGM music arranger/associate producer (and Judy's mentor) Roger Edens.

RKO Studios produced a film version in 1932, adapting the story to fit the talents of the comedy team (Bert) Wheeler and (Robert) Woolsey and retaining only "But Not For Me", "Bidin' My Time" and "I Got Rhythm". A new Gershwin song "You've Got What Gets Me" was included, and is included (along with several tracks from the 1943 version) on the 1997 2-CD set "George & Ira Gershwin In Hollywood"

This 1943 version is by far the best of the film versions, and in my opinion it's the best of the Mickey/Judy "Let's Put On A Show" musicals. It's also the last. Mickey and Judy would not appear together on film again until Judy's short guest spot 1948's Words And Music performing a duet of "I Wish I Were In Love Again".

Girl Crazy is bit notorious in the "Garland Legend". It's on the set of this film that Judy's health issues from overwork and medications began to cause real, and public, problems. This is famously portrayed in the 2001 ABC-TV miniseries "Life With Judy Garland". The miniseries shows Judy gobbling pills to keep her going under the harassing (to say the least) direction of Busby Berkeley while shooting the "I Got Rhythm" number. Judy (expertly portrayed by Tammy Blanchard) collapses and passes out.

Berkeley did in fact wear everyone to a frazzle when filming "I Got Rhythm" while taking the film $60,000 over budget! It was the first sequence to be filmed, and as musical arranger Roger Edens later stated "We disagreed about the number's presentation. I wanted it rhythmic and simply stage, but Berkeley got his big ensembles and trick cameras into it again, plus a lot of girls in Western outfits with fringe skirts and people cracking whips, firing guns and cannons going off all over my arrangement and Judy's voice. Well, we shouted at each other, and I said, 'There isn't room on the lot for both of us.'"

Hedda Hopper visited the set at one point, and reported: "I saw [Berkeley] work her over. He watched from the floor with a wild gleam in his eye while take after take he drove her to the perfection he demanded. She was close to hysteria; I was ready to scream myself. But the order was repeated again and again: 'Cut. Let's try it again Judy. Come on, move! Get the lead out.'"

Berkeley was fired from the film, replaced by Norman Taurog with Charles Walters handling the musical numbers. On January 29, just a few days after Berkeley's firing, Judy was confined to her bed and ordered by her family physician Marcus Rabwin to not dance for six to eight weeks. True to Garland form, she quickly got better and was back on the set in just a few weeks, at which time she did double duty on Girl Crazy and the new replacement finale for Presenting Lily Mars.

Even though Judy was better, she was still fragile. She would miss many more days due to illness. Location shooting in Palm Springs (including parts of the delightful "Could You Use Me?" number) was cursed by sand storms and equipment failures, as well as a brief absence by Judy when she rushed back to Los Angeles for a romantic tryst (presumably with Joe Mankiewicz).

In spite of all of these problems, the film turned out beautifully. Judy gives a wonderful performance as does Mickey. Her version of "But Not For Me" is one of the best numbers she ever did on film. To quote Clive Hirschhorn from his massive 1981 book "The Hollywood Musical": "Gershwin never had it so good".

• Girl Crazy was the last Judy Garland musical filmed in black and white.
• Charles Walters, who provided dance direction on the film, also partnered Judy in part of the "Embraceable You" number. He also partnered Judy in revised finale to Presenting Lily Mars.
• This was June Allyson's film debut. She, Nancy Walker, and Gil Stratton were also filming the movie version of their Broadway show "Best Foot Forward".
• Prior to coming to MGM, Roger Edens was Ethel Merman's vocal coach. He helped refine Judy's voice when she first came to MGM in 1935 and continued to mentor her, write special material for her, and be a bit of a father figure for the rest of her life.
• Total cost for the "I Got Rhythm" number (which became the big finale) was $97,418.99.
• Vocal arrangers Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane were also concurrently working on the movie adaptation of their show "Best Foot Forward", followed by their timeless score to 1944's Meet Me In St. Louis.
• Peter Lawford has an unbilled bit as a student at the school.
• Girl Crazy was the first of three very successful Garland/MGM "cast albums" originally released on 78 by Decca Records. The other two were Meet Me In St. Louis and The Harvey Girls. Soundtrack albums were still a few years away, but Decca had most of the principals from the films record new studio recordings (with similar to identical arrangements) of songs from these scores for release in special 78 album sets. The Decca Records Girl Crazy album was released on April 6, 1944.
• Judy's character "Ginger Gray" was "Molly Gray" in the original stage production.
• In his book "M-G-M's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit" Hugh Fordin explains that the reason parts of the film were shot in Palm Springs was because Mickey wanted a trip to the desert!
• When planning the 1951 musical An American In Paris featuring an all-Gershwin score, star Gene Kelly was reluctant to include "I Got Rhythm" because he felt that Judy's version was the definitive film version. He changed his mind when the idea arose to have him perform the song in a completely different way and with a group of children.
• The story was remade again in 1965 as "Where The Boys Meet The Girls" starring Connie Francis. Several of the Gershwin songs were kept (and updated to a more 60's sound) including: "Embraceable You", "Bidin' My Time", "But Not for Me", "Treat Me Rough", and "I Got Rhythm".
  
  
• TIMELINE AT A GLANCE:
  
  • November 30, 1942: Pre production begins.
  • December 22, 1942: Judy took a break to record her solo guest spot in Thousands Cheer.
  • December 29, 1942: First recording session for "I Got Rhythm".
  • January 2, 1943: Recording session for "Bronco Busters" and "I Got Rhythm".
  • Early to mid January 1943: Filming of "I Got Rhythm".
  • January 26, 1943: Busby Berkeley is fired.
  • January 29, 1943: Judy is confined to bed rest for exhaustion caused by the "I Got Rhythm" number.
  • Early February 1943: Judy resumes filming Girl Crazy, with new director Norman Taurog.
  • February 22, 1943: Official announcement made that Judy and first husband David Rose had separated.
  • February 20 through March 16, 1943: Judy takes break to rehearse, record and film the new finale for Presenting Lily Mars.
  • March 17, 1943: Judy resumes filming Girl Crazy.
  • March 29, 1943: Judy records "But Not For Me".
  • April 14, 1943: Judy records "Bidin' My Time".
  • April 15, 1943: Judy records "Embraceable You", and with Mickey records the ultimately deleted reprise of the song.
  • April 28, 1943: Judy and Mickey record "Could You Use Me?".
  • May 2, 1943: Judy leaves Los Angeles for Palm Springs location shooting.
  • May 11, 1943: Judy leave Palm Springs for her tryst in Los Angeles, but is back in Palm Springs a few days later.
  • May 19, 1943: Last day of filming.
  • June 9, 1943: Recording/post scoring session (Judy hummed her bit for the post-"Embraceable You" "Walking In The Garden" sequence, Roger Edens provided the whistling for Mickey's character).

* Much of the data on this page is provided Hugh Fordin's fantastic book ""The World Of Entertainment" (now available under the reprint title "M-G-M's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit"); the excellent liner notes and producer's notes in the Rhino CD soundtrack booklets by John Fricke; and the many Garland biographies both in and out of print, including the wonderful book by Scott Schechter "Judy Garland - The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend".

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SONGS:

Treat Me Rough
(June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, The Music Maids, The Stafford Trio, Kathleen Carns, Ruth Clark and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra)

Bidin' My Time
(Judy Garland, The King's Men and the MGM Studio Chorus)

Could You Use Me?
(Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland)

Embraceable You
(Judy Garland, Henry Kruze, P. Hanna, G. Mershon, H. Stanton, E. Newton, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra and the MGM Studio Chorus)

Fascinating Rhythm
(Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with piano solo by Mickey Rooney)

But Not for Me (Judy Garland)

I Got Rhythm
(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)

Outtakes:
Bronco Busters
(Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Nancy Walker and the MGM Studio Orchestra and Chorus

Embraceable You (reprise finale)
(Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland)