CMBA Blogathon: THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946)

The theme for this year's CMBA Blogathon is "Planes, Trains, & Automobiles," which makes the 1946 musical, The Harvey Girls, an obvious choice. The movie won an Oscar for its train themed song, "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe," and it depicts, in a fictionalized and colorful way, the importance of the train in bringing women to the American West. Adapted from a novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams, The Harvey Girls stars Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, and Virginia O'Brien as three young women who head West on the train to find new opportunities and romance. While it's not a perfect picture, this is a fun, lively musical that tells an often unknown story about women's part in settling the frontier, made even more entertaining by the presence of outstanding actors like Angela Lansbury, Marjorie Main, Ray Bolger, and John Hodiak.

The Harvey Girls were real people; these young women went West to staff the Harvey Houses that sprang up along the railroad lines in the late 19th century. Fred Harvey recruited young women with good backgrounds and civilized manners to work in his establishments, where train passengers found a short rest and a good meal during their stops. For women of that time, there were few respectable job opportunities out West, but the Harvey Houses provided good wages along with room and board. The crisp uniforms and cheerful manners of the Harvey Girls brought a wholesome, civilized femininity to rough country, and their presence helped to tame wild frontier towns. One notable Harvey House location was the Grand Canyon, where the Fred Harvey Company provided concessions and visitor services until 1968. Today, the El Tovar Hotel at the South Rim includes a display honoring the Harvey Girls and the 1946 film tribute to their legacy. Becoming a Harvey Girl changed the lives of many women who yearned for independence and adventure. Over 100,000 young women took the opportunity that the Harvey Houses offered, and you can learn more about their stories by watching the trailer for the 2013 documentary film, The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound.

In the movie, Judy Garland's character, Susan, doesn't set out to be a Harvey Girl at all. She responds to a call for a mail-order bride, but when she meets the intended groom (Chill Wills) she jumps at the chance to become a Harvey Girl like the other young women on her train. Marjorie Main plays a funny but effective chaperone and manager for the young ladies in her charge, while Cyd Charisse and Virginia O'Brien appear as two Harvey Girls who befriend Susan. The girls encounter a different type of Western womanhood in Angela Lansbury's saloon singer, Em, who doesn't appreciate the competition or the straitlaced morality of the new arrivals. Susan attracts the interest of the bar's owner, Ned Trent (John Hodiak), while Virginia O'Brien's character, Alma, engages in an awkward but entertaining romance with Chris (Ray Bolger). Sadly, O'Brien disappears from the movie in the third act, thanks to shooting delays that made her pregnancy impossible to hide, but she does get in a particularly funny performance with the song, "The Wild, Wild West."

If The Harvey Girls romanticizes the real experiences of the women who staffed the restaurants on the Santa Fe lines, it also depicts women as individuals who went West for many reasons, and not just as daughters, wives, or prostitutes. Women's Westerns have been few and far between in Hollywood history, but when they do come along they reveal fascinating hints at stories that have largely been left untold. As a musical comedy, The Harvey Girls is lighter and sweeter than Westward the Women (1951) or cattle queen dramas like The Furies (1950) and Johnny Guitar (1954), but it does a great job leaving the viewer wanting to know more about the real women who took that chance for a new life out West. Trains made Harvey Houses necessary, and Harvey Houses made a place for young women to earn a living and lead independent lives. That's a theme worth singing about!

You can find a full-length review of The Harvey Girls in my book, Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies Worth Watching, available on Kindle at Amazon.com. For more about The Harvey Girls, try the 1994 book by Lesley Poling-Kempes, The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West.

Classic Films in Focus: SHIP AHOY (1942)

It’s a sad fact that Eleanor Powell isn’t nearly as familiar today as she ought to be, even though male peers like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly have become reigning icons in the classic movie pantheon. Like those more famous stars, Powell is a terrific dancer, leaping exuberantly in numbers that highlight both her figure and her technique, and she’s clearly the star of her own show. You can see plenty of Powell’s talent on display in Ship Ahoy (1942), a relatively modest wartime musical that pairs the elegant star with funny man Red Skelton as a bumbling hack writer who falls for Powell - literally - during an ocean cruise. Ship Ahoy doesn’t pretend to compete with Singin’ in the Rain (1952) or Top Hat (1935), but it does offer laughs, a fun supporting cast, and some really energetic performances from Powell to reward viewers for their attention.

Powell plays dancer Tallulah Winters, who accepts a secret mission carrying a valuable item for men pretending to be American agents. While sailing to Puerto Rico as part of Tommy Dorsey’s act, Tallulah meets serial author Merton Kibble (Red Skelton), whose hypochondria doesn’t stop him from being smitten by her charms. Tallulah likes Merton, but her friend Fran (Virginia O’Brien) seems less taken with Merton’s pal, Skip (Bert Lahr). Unfortunately, the romantic atmosphere is threatened by misunderstandings and Tallulah’s unintentional involvement in enemy espionage.

The spy plot is unashamedly thin and implausible, taken as it is from one of Merton’s own serials. It does give Red Skelton the chance to do quite a few pratfalls and even play hero a bit, although of course his efforts don’t work out the way he would like. Skelton and Lahr make an oddly amusing comedic pair, both of them pulling crazy faces and having particular fun with a drunk scene inside a well-stocked ship’s hold. Skelton is also appealing enough as a leading man; we like him and want to see him win Tallulah in spite of his clumsy antics. Lahr, on the other hand, seems like the short end of the stick for Virginia O’Brien’s character, since he’s not only older and homely but also an incorrigible skirt chaser.

The comedy shtick winds around the musical numbers, and these are really the reason to see the picture. Powell performs each with tremendous energy, although the best might be the poolside sequence for “I’ll Take Tallulah,” which includes some very sharp drumstick tricks. The matador dance is also a highlight, and it certainly shows off Powell’s impressive legs. Tommy Dorsey’s band gives Powell swinging backup throughout, and you’ll even find Frank Sinatra singing two tunes. Sinatra’s version of “Poor You” gets a typically nutty twist from Virginia O’Brien, which is always fun, and Ship Ahoy might actually be one of the better places to see O’Brien, who made a lot fewer movies than she should have.

Edward Buzzell, who directed Ship Ahoy, also worked with Powell on Honolulu (1939), and his other efforts include the Marx Brothers’ At the Circus (1939) and Go West (1940) as well as the Esther Williams feature, Neptune’s Daughter (1949). For more of Eleanor Powell, see Born to Dance (1935) and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). Powell and Skelton both appear in Lady Be Good (1941), I Dood It (1943), and Thousands Cheer (1943). Bert Lahr is best remembered today as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Virginia O’Brien has a noteworthy, if truncated, supporting role in The Harvey Girls (1946).

Ship Ahoy is currently available for streaming on Warner Archive Instant, along with several other Red Skelton films and a handful of movies featuring Eleanor Powell.

Classic Films in Focus: LADY BE GOOD (1941)

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod and an uncredited Busby Berkeley, Lady Be Good (1941) provides a perfectly entertaining example of the sort of light musical romance that doesn’t get a lot of acclaim these days but still has plenty to offer to viewers who are just looking for a good time. With solid performances from favorite stars like Ann Sothern, Robert Young, and Red Skelton, and great dance numbers featuring the supremely talented Eleanor Powell, Lady Be Good combines the talents of a diverse cast to create a very watchable mix of romantic comedy and musical revue. Appearances by notable supporting players like Lionel Barrymore and Virginia O’Brien add to the movie’s appeal, as does the impressive acrobatic dancing of the fabulous Berry Brothers.

Ann Sothern stars as songwriter Dixie Donegan, whose musical success with partner Eddie Crane (Robert Young) creates problems in their romantic relationship. The two divorce, although Dixie still loves Eddie and continues to work with him on hit songs, including the chart topper, “Lady Be Good.” Dixie’s pal, Marilyn (Eleanor Powell), schemes to get Dixie and Eddie back together by making Eddie jealous of suave singer Buddy (John Carroll), but her plans backfire in a series of comical misunderstandings and confrontations.

The story of Lady Be Good might throw a few more curveballs than are strictly necessary toward the end, but the contrast between Dixie and Eddie’s working and romantic relationships is interesting for its progressive approach. There’s no question of either partner giving up a career; these two need each other professionally as well as personally, but Dixie worries that success is ruining Eddie by making him care too much about social status. He also takes Dixie for granted, which she rightly sees as a serious problem. Eddie’s inability to manage a household is a joke typical of the film’s era, but Dixie becomes furious when he calls her over to the apartment not to apologize for his behavior but to get her to hire new help and straighten up the place. Resolution is only possible when Eddie doesn’t think of Dixie as his wife, as the last lines of the film make clear.

The other cast members contribute mostly to the comical or musical elements of the picture, sometimes both at once. Lionel Barrymore makes a sympathetic judge for both of Dixie’s divorce hearings, and Red Skelton is affably funny as one of the couple’s friends. As Skelton’s invariably hungry girlfriend, Lull, Virginia O’Brien has few lines and only one real song, but she makes the most of what she gets, and her musical performances are always a hoot. The Berry Brothers get more opportunities to strut their stuff, including a segment of the big “Fascinating Rhythm” production number; they do some amazing physical feats and will appeal to fans of the similar - but not identical - Nicholas Brothers. Eleanor Powell gets the best of both worlds as Dixie’s loyal pal and a featured performer for the musical scenes. Her duet with the dog, Buttons, is absolutely adorable, and her finale number in “Fascinating Rhythm” showcases her ability to hold the screen as a solo dancer. Powell is no floating accessory to a male dancer’s show; she taps with all the exuberant energy of Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, and if you haven’t seen her before then this picture offers an excellent introduction to her signature style.

Look for brief appearances by Phil Silvers and Dan Dailey, and stop to appreciate Tom Conway’s marvelous voice in his scenes as Dixie’s lawyer. Lady Be Good won the Oscar for Best Original Song for “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” although the catchier Gershwin title number will linger in the viewer’s ears long after the movie ends. For more of Ann Sothern, see A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and the many Maisie films; Sothern earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her final screen performance in The Whales of August (1987). Robert Young also stars in Stowaway (1936), The Canterville Ghost (1944), and The Enchanted Cottage (1945). You’ll find Eleanor Powell in Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), Born to Dance (1936), and Honolulu (1939). Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, Virginia O’Brien, and the Berry Brothers all reunite with director McLeod for Panama Hattie (1942), while Skelton, Powell, and O’Brien reteam for Ship Ahoy (1942).

Lady Be Good is currently available for streaming on Warner Archive Instant.

Classic Films in Focus: ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1945)

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. and his legacy captivated Hollywood, especially once the rise of the talkies made Ziegfeld style entertainments possible onscreen. Most classic Hollywood musicals opt for a narrative framework to hold their production numbers together, but others, like Ziegfeld Follies (1945), take the master’s approach to the musical and comedy revue. If you’re looking for a plot or any real meaning, you certainly won’t find it here, but you will find a charming collection of sketches and musical numbers performed by some of the biggest stars of the day, including Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly.

The revue opens as a kind of sequel to The Great Ziegfeld (1936), with William Powell reprising his role as the Broadway producer, now relocated to heavenly quarters. As Ziegfeld looks back on his career and ponders the kind of show he would make if he were still alive, the film transitions to a series of comedy bits, dances, and songs, mostly featuring MGM stars of the 1940s with a few nods to the old days thrown in.

The retrospective segment is done with stop-motion animation, which gets the picture off to a quirky start that kids might appreciate more than adults. Several of the other sequences also favor oddity over artistry, especially the comedy sketches with Fanny Brice and Red Skelton, but both of those stars know their way around a laugh, and Brice’s appearance brings some real Ziegfeld history to the film. Less successful is the pink circus number that sees Lucille Ball inexplicably cracking a whip at a crowd of sexy cat ladies; it would make more sense if this number were also played for laughs, but Ball is presented in full glamor mode, and the sequence seems to take itself seriously, even if the audience can’t. The Virginia O’Brien song, however, is lovably offbeat, just like the singer herself. O’Brien counters the opening song’s tribute to lovely ladies by singing the praises of manly men; the performance prefigures her memorable “Wild, Wild West” number in The Harvey Girls (1946), which would come out the next year.

Fans of Fred Astaire will find a lot to like in Ziegfeld Follies because he appears more often than any other performer in the film, but the highlight is a rare dance duet with Gene Kelly, which offers a first-rate opportunity to contrast the physical styles of the two stars. Other memorable performances include Lena Horne singing “Love” and Judy Garland giving a mock interview as a great dramatic actress. You’ll also find Cyd Charisse, Kathryn Grayson, Lucille Bremer, James Melton, Marion Bell, and Esther Williams in the revue’s more serious numbers, while Edward Arnold, Hume Cronyn, Victor Moore, William Frawley, and Keenan Wynn all appear in the comedy sketches.

Different directors worked on various segments of the picture, including Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney, Lemuel Ayers, and Charles Walters. If you enjoy the musical revue format, try Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) and That’s Entertainment! (1974). For more Ziegfeld films, see The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and Ziegfeld Girl (1941). Ziegfeld also appears as a character in many Broadway star stories, including The Jolson Story (1946), The Story of Will Rogers (1952), The Eddie Cantor Story (1953), and Funny Girl (1968).

You can currently see Ziegfeld Follies in HD on Warner Archive Instant.