Girl Crazy (1943)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Directors:

Norman Taurog
Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Guy Bolton (musical play) and
Jack McGowan (musical play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 November 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

LOVE OR LUNACY? It's the wild cry of a "girl-crazy" cowboy...but one clear-eyed daughter of the west ropes and ties him!

Plot:

Rich kid Danny Churchill (Rooney) has a taste for wine, women and song, but not for higher education...

Plot Keywords:

College | Dean | Male Female Relationship | Party | Radio Broadcasting

Cast

Mickey Rooney	...	Danny Churchill, Jr.
Judy Garland	...	Ginger Gray
Gil Stratton	...	Bud Livermore
Robert E. Strickland	...	Henry Lathrop
Rags Ragland	...	'Rags' (as 'Rags' Ragland)
June Allyson	...	Specialty Singer
Nancy Walker	...	Polly Williams
Guy Kibbee	...	Dean Phineas Armour
Frances Rafferty	...	Marjorie Tait
Henry O'Neill	...	Mr. Danny Churchill, Sr.
Howard Freeman	...	Governor Tait
Tommy Dorsey	...	Himself - Bandleader Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	...	Themselves - Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra
Six Hits and a Miss	...	Themselves - Vocalists
The Music Maids	...	Themselves - Vocalists
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irving Bacon	...	John (uncredited)
William Beaudine Jr.	...	Tom (uncredited)
Vangie Beilby	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
William Bishop	...	Radio Man (uncredited)
Karin Booth	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley	...	Governor's Crony (uncredited)
Hazel Brooks	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Jess Lee Brooks	...	Buckets (uncredited)
Jimmy Butler	...	Student (uncredited)
Sally Cairns	...	Checkroom Girl (uncredited)
Georgia Carroll	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Fred Coby	...	Radio Man (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Inez Cooper	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Linda Deane	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Harry Depp	...	Short Nervous Man in Nightclub (uncredited)
Helen Dickson	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
Natalie Draper	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Mary Elliott	...	Southern Girl (uncredited)
John Estes	...	Student (uncredited)
Mary Jane French	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Carole Gallagher	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Joe Geil	...	Student (uncredited)
Julia Griffith	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
Aileen Haley	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Dick Haymes	...	Himself - Member of The Pied Pipers (uncredited)
Rose Higgins	...	Indian Squaw (uncredited)
John Huddleston	...	Himself - Member of The Pied Pipers (uncredited)
Virginia Hunter	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Frank Jaquet	...	Roly-Poly Man in Nightclub (uncredited)
Richard Kipling	...	Dignified Man in Nightclub (uncredited)
Peter Lawford	...	Student (uncredited)
Peggy Leon	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
Bob Lowell	...	Student (uncredited)
Chuck Lowry	...	Himself - Member of The Pied Pipers (uncredited)
Frances MacInerney	...	Checkroom Girl (uncredited)
Chief Many Treaties	...	Indian Chief (uncredited)
Roger Moore	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
Sandra Morgan	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
Aileen Morris	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Buddy Morrow	...	Himself - Musician with Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra (uncredited)
Noreen Nash	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Spec O'Donnell	...	Fiddle Player (uncredited)
George Offerman Jr.	...	Governor's Messenger (uncredited)
The Pied Pipers	...	Themselves - Vocalists (uncredited)
Victor Potel	...	Station Master (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore	...	Fat Man in Nightclub (uncredited)
Blanche Rose	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
The Stafford Sisters	...	Themselves - Vocalists (uncredited)
Jo Stafford	...	Herself - Member of the Pied Pipers (uncredited)
Ken Stewart	...	Student (uncredited)
Don Taylor	...	Student (uncredited)
Melissa Ten Eyck	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
Charles Walters	...	Student (uncredited)
Frances Ward	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
James Warren	...	Radio Man (uncredited)
Lillian West	...	Committee Woman (uncredited)
Eve Whitney	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Kay Williams	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Clark Yocum	...	Himself - Member of The Pied Pipers (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Taurog
Busby Berkeley		("I Got Rhythm" number)

Writing credits
Guy Bolton		(musical play) and
Jack McGowan		(musical play)
Fred F. Finklehoffe		(screenplay)
Dorothy Kingsley		contributing writer (uncredited)
William Ludwig		contributing writer (uncredited)
Sid Silvers		uncredited

Produced by
Arthur Freed	....	producer

Original Music by
Conrad Salinger		(uncredited)
George Stoll		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)
Robert H. Planck		(director of photography) (as Robert Planck)

Film Editing by
Albert Akst

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph Boyle	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Mac Alper	....	associate set decorator
Harry McAfee	....	associate art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
William Steinkamp	....	sound (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	costume supervisor
Irene Sharaff	....	associate costume supervisor (as Sharaff)

Music Department
Ralph Blane	....	vocal arranger
Roger Edens	....	music adaptor
Hugh Martin	....	vocal arranger
Sy Oliver	....	orchestrator
Merrill Pye	....	musical presentations
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator
George Stoll	....	musical director (as Georgie Stoll)
Axel Stordahl	....	orchestrator
George Bassman	....	composer: title music (uncredited)
George Bassman	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Ted Duncan	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Richard Hayman	....	additional orchestrator (uncredited)
Fletcher Henderson	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Joseph Nussbaum	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
David Raksin	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
David Raksin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Arthur Schutt	....	musician: piano dubbing for Mickey Rooney (uncredited)

Other crew
Charles Walters	....	dance director
Jack Donohue	....	dance director (uncredited)
Sheila Rae	....	assistant dance director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Loew's (as Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

When the Girls Meet the Boys (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #9139) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Judy Garland's character's name, Ginger Gray, is a tribute to Ginger Rogers, who played the part on Broadway when the character was named Molly Gray. Ginger Rogers wrote that one night onstage in the play, her costar Allen Kearns accidentally said: "Ginger, I love you" instead of "Molly". The mistake got such a huge laugh from the audience that they decided to continue to do that in subsequent performances, pretending it was a mistake. (Source: "Ginger: My Story". New York: Harper-Collins, 1991)

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Ginger arrives at the college and sees Danny get put onto a horse by some of the students to ride off to a campfire, there seems to be a trainer squatted behind an abandoned carriage cuing the horses.

Quotes:

Ginger Gray: Were you always out of your mind?
Danny Churchill, Jr.: No, no just lately.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: George Gershwin Remembered" (1987)

Soundtrack:

When It's Cactus Time in Arizona

Busby Berkeley

The plot's ridiculous. Garland and Rooney are young and magical. Seeing Tommy Dorsey's orchestra at work is wonderful.

The movie's finale is a musical number, "I Got Rhythm", directed by Busby Berkeley. As with all the great Berkeley musical scenes, it's a unique vision. The camera moves and staging are masterful. Transcendent, even. I'd love to be a fly on the wall while this scene was being thought up and worked on.

Something I haven't seen commented on: Rooney's radio impressions, given while he and Garland wait to see the governor. Kinda fun. Mickey channels his inner Robin Williams.

Despite the plot absence, put this on your must-see list if you're serious about developing cinematic literacy.