The Harvey Girls (1946)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Samuel Hopkins Adams (novel) and
Eleanore Griffin (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 January 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Western

Tagline:

It's Blazing, Blistering Romance . . . in the wide open spaces !

Plot:

On a train trip West to become a mail order bride Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Mail Order Bride | Saloon | Restaurant | Gun

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 18

8:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Judy Garland	...	Susan Bradley
John Hodiak	...	Ned Trent
Ray Bolger	...	Chris Maule
Angela Lansbury	...	Em
Preston Foster	...	Judge Sam Purvis
Virginia O'Brien	...	Alma from Ohio
Kenny Baker	...	Terry O'Halloran
Marjorie Main	...	Sonora Cassidy
Chill Wills	...	H.H. Hartsey
Selena Royle	...	Miss Bliss
Cyd Charisse	...	Deborah Andrews
Ruth Brady	...	Ethel
Jack Lambert	...	Marty Peters
Edward Earle	...	Jed Adams
Morris Ankrum	...	Rev. Claggett
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	1st Cowboy (as Wm. 'Bill' Phillips)
Ben Carter	...	John Henry
Norman Leavitt	...	2nd Cowboy
Stephen McNally	...	'Goldust' McClean (as Horace McNally)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jane Allen	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Amos Arnet	...	(uncredited)
Jean Ashton	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Rancher (uncredited)
Eleanor Bayley	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Hazel Brooks	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Rand Brooks	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Ewing Miles Brown	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Lucille Casey	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Ruth Clark	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Jack Clifford	...	Fireman (uncredited)
Tex Cooper	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Georgia Davis	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Virginia Davis	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Dona Dax	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Engineer (uncredited)
Gwen Donovan	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Vivian Edwards	...	Specialty performer (uncredited)
Mary Jo Ellis	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Virginia Engels	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Kay English	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Mary Jane French	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Sam Garrett	...	Trick roper (uncredited)
Vincent Graeff	...	Boy (uncredited)
Virginia Gumm	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Jane Hale	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Jane Hall	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
William Hall	...	Big Joe (uncredited)
Byron Harvey Jr.	...	Train conductor (uncredited)
Gloria Hope	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Virginia Hunter	...	Jane (uncredited)
Dorothy Jackson	...	Specialty performer (uncredited)
Thelma Joel	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Joe Karnes	...	Townsman at Saloon (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Al Kunde	...	Rancher (uncredited)
Janet Lavis	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Vera Lee	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Maxine Leslie	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Mitchell Lewis	...	Sandy (uncredited)
Johnny Luther	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Peggy Maley	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Claude Martin	...	(uncredited)
Judy Matson	...	Specialty performer (uncredited)
Catherine McLeod	...	Louise (uncredited)
John Merton	...	Player (uncredited)
Mary Moder	...	Specialty performer (uncredited)
Daphne Moore	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Edith Motridge	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Paul Newlan	...	Station agent (uncredited)
Loulie Jean Norman	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Shirley Patterson	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Player (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Player (uncredited)
Dorothy Raye	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Al Rhein	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Kenneth Rundquist	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Erin Selwyn	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Townsman at saloon (uncredited)
Emily Smith	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Nevada Smith	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Melba Snowden	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Joan Thorsen	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Jim Toney	...	Muleskinner (uncredited)
Eleanor Troy	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Dorothy Tuttle	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Dorothy Van Nuys	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Bunny Waters	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Jacqueline White	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Eve Whitney	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Dorothy Wilkerson	...	Harvey Girl (uncredited)
Herberta Williams	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Dallas Worth	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)
Katherine Yorke	...	Dance-hall girl (uncredited)

Directed by
George Sidney

Writing credits
Samuel Hopkins Adams		novel "The Harvey Girls" and
Eleanore Griffin		story and
William Rankin		story
Edmund Beloin		(screenplay) and
Nathaniel Curtis		(screenplay) and
Harry Crane		(screenplay) and
James O'Hanlon		(screenplay) and
Samson Raphaelson		(screenplay)
Kay Van Riper		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Roger Edens	....	associate producer
Arthur Freed	....	producer

Original Music by
Lennie Hayton		(uncredited)
Conrad Salinger		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey		(as George Folsey)

Film Editing by
Albert Akst

Art Direction by
William Ferrari
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose
Valles		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer
Irma Kusely	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Dorothy Ponedel	....	key makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Dave Friedman	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Rhein	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Mildred Griffiths	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Robert Alton	....	musical numbers staged by
Lennie Hayton	....	musical director
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator
Kay Thompson	....	vocal arranger
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Robert Franklyn	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Wally Heglin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Joseph Nussbaum	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Henri Jaffa	....	associate technicolor color director
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  package design (1990 release)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #10927)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The setting of the story in "Sandrock" and the design of the Harvey House sets that stood on MGM's Back Lot #3 and on the sound stage for this film were inspired by the Castaneda Harvey House in Las Vegas, New Mexico, which still stands as a National and State Historic Landmark of New Mexico, along the old Santa Fe tracks and just to the north of that town's current Amtrak station. Amtrak's Southwest Chief still stops at the station, but the Castaneda is vacant and fenced off. Although the studio sets were constructed of wood, elements from the Castaneda's basic exterior architecture and of the interior dining room were applied to the set designs for this film. A few of the historic incidents that had occurred at the Castaneda were incorporated into the script. A large outcrop of rock such as that where Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) and Ned Trent (John Hodiak) meet can be seen from the Castaneda across a small prairie. The balcony upon which Garland, Cyd Charisse and Virginia O'Brien share a song is a replication of the Castaneda's street-side second-floor balcony. And yes, a saloon once existed directly across the street from the Castaneda in a building which is now abandoned. All of the sets from the The Harvey Girls (1946) were built in Culver City, California; most of them utilizing existing western street buildings on the back lot; using the Castaneda and Las Vegas, New Mexico, only as a blueprint for elements in the script and for set design. However, the Castaneda and much of Las Vegas, New Mexico, would later be used as an actual location in Red Dawn (1984).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: According to the commentary by George Sidney, the railroad didn't extend to Santa Fe when the song was written.

Quotes:

Alma: [singing] Yeah, they say they have hair on their chest, the only thing I've seen is just a fancy vest. Holy smackers, milk and crackers but it's wild in the wild, wild west.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jerry and Jumbo (1953)

Soundtrack:

In the Valley (Where the Evenin' Sun Goes Down)

A weak offering with under-used talent

This movie is a darn shame. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Cyd Charisse and Angela Lansbury in an Old West setting should have been a dream come true. Instead it's a lackluster movie with a forced romance.

All of the songs are weak and forgettable with the exception of The Atchinson, Topeka & the Santa Fe. Knowing that, the filmmakers put strains of it in virtually every other song. Bolger gets one fun (but unspectacular) dance sequence, and Charisse's one dance is more flowery than impressive. The rest of the numbers are mostly a matter of Look At Us Wave!, Look At Our Costumes!, with no dancing and very little singing.

The morality play has not aged well, as a town is divided between "virtue" (the virginal Harvey Girls) and "sin" (the saloon with its "dancers"). Every moment of the plot is permeated with the single unspoken notion that Nice Girls Don't. Puh-leeze. Normally I'm very forgiving of old-fashioned plots in old-fashioned musicals, but in this case, there's simply nothing else there.