Cheap For Me and My Gal (Video) (Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly) (Busby Berkeley) Price

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Customer Reviews of For Me and My Gal

Very enjoyable!
I am a fan of both Gene Kelly and Judy Garland and together they made three memorable films together. In fact, many consider Gene to be Judy's best partner and vice-versa. "For Me and My Gal" is their first effort together. It is very easy to figure out that this film was made during World War 2. Its simply dripping with patriotism. Its set during the vaudevill days, just prior to WWI. Garland and George Murphy play a vaudeville team. Kelly is another vaudeville performer. He is brash and cocky and Garland hates him at first, but this is a romantic musical of the '40s so you don't have to be Nostradamus to figure out what the outcome may be.
So yes, the plot isn't the greatest but the two stars each give wonderful performances. This is Gene Kelly's screen debut, he was direct from Broadway's "Pal Joey", and though he's not the smooth performer he would become in later films, he still does a phenomenal job. Some say he overacts in this film, but I think he does justice to the character because the character is supposed to be loud and a bit of a ham. He doesn't get as many dancing numbers as I would've liked but what's there is excellent. You can definitely see that he was destined to become a screen legend. Judy Garland is wonderful and gets a chance to sing a couple of songs in that inimitable voice of hers. She also does a good acting job.
So, in conclusion, I gave this movie 4 stars instead of 5 because this movie is not either star's best work (and its hard to top Kelly's "Singin' In The Rain" or Garland's "Wizard of Oz") but it is still very, very enjoyable. A great way to pass the time and watch two legendary stars in their prime.

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A Musical Masterpiece
"For Me And My Gal" was one of the first musicals I saw, and one of the first I bought on video. Judy Garland is great in her first "adult" role. This is also the splashy debut of Gene Kelly to movie audiences. Movie hoofer and later politican George Murphy rounds out the love triangle. It's interesting to note the difference in the stars ages though. Garlandwas 20 when the movie was made. Kelly was 30. And Murphy was 40.

Most movies of the 1940s, let alone World War II movies, dealt with serious issues, but this musical is full of them. Some of the issues include draft dodging and the horrors of war among others.

The music portion of the movie is the highpoint. My personal favorite is Garland's teary rendition of "After You've Gone". Reportedly, she filmed it the day after her divorce from bandleader David Rose. Another memorable scene is the famous Garland-Kelly duet of the title track. The musical numbers are countless and timeless and add to the movie's greatness. If you are looking for a great musical, with dramatic moments, and a tearjerking ending, then "For Me And My Gal" is for you...

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I liked it too
I greatly dislike and resent reviewers who give away plots and endings. Why do they do it? This is one of my all-time favorite musicals. It is not a flag-waver and it does not sugar-coat war (rah-rah-America!), though as one reviewer mentioned, there is a note at the ending saying that war bonds would be sold in the lobby. War is hell. Everyone in it was wonderful, Garland actually kept right up with Kelly in the dancing, and she came across strong, professional and abundantly talented, all of which she is. (Incidentally, before Pal Joey, there was a straight play by Saroyan called The Time of Your Life which I think was Kelly's first big break (he danced), and before that a part in the chorus of a Porter musical called Leave It To Me, more than that I don't know.) The movie is singing and dancing from stem to stern, all wonderful, all Garland and/or Kelly, and I loved every minute of it. The directing was also good, though I'm no judge of that kind of thing, but it struck me as inventive and original while I watched it. I totally abhored Murphy's bit in France when he makes a sap out of the poor dumb foreigner with the fake money. And then his men have a good laugh. I thought it stunk. And on the subject of George Murphy (whose career in movies was about as stellar as Ronald Reagan's), Tom Lehrer said (sang, actually), "Gee it's great! At last we've got a senator who can really sing and dance!" That's about the size of it, folks. And I didn't think he did either of those particularly well. If he'd gotten the girl, I wouldn't have watched the movie a second time. One last note. I cried during this movie when Danny left for duty. And I really cried at the end.