Music from the Harvey Girls - CD cover
In a long string of MGM musicals, director George Sidney brings together the old west, beautiful girls, comedy and drama that is the Harvey Girls.
On Broadway people were flocking to see a new musical called Oklahoma. MGM sensing a blockbuster and inspired by the book The Harvey Girls written by Samuel Hopkins Adams, MGM wanted a musical, like Oklahoma set in the dusty west. They came up with the Harvey Girls, starring one of the biggest movie icons of the 20th century - Judy Garland. Garland's character, Susan Bradley is a mail order bride. She sets off on a train en route to the man that she thought would be the one who would marry her, only to find out it was a joke all along. At one stop to a western town called Sandrock, she is intrigue by a bunch of ladies that were hired to be "Harvey Girls," which at the time where basically waitresses who worked at Fred Harvey's eating houses along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe rail road stops (among other stops). The song, "On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe" by Johnny Mercer/Harry Warren is a show stopper in the film and became a musical standard right after. It won the Oscar for Best Song in 1947.
The prim and proper Harvey Girls - with Miss Garland's character Susan in front and center.
It should be noted that the real Fred Harvey started these chain restaurants because Mr. Harvey had strict standards for high quality food and first class service. It was when he was unhappy with the way the male service staff treated the customers that he invented the well mannered and educated ladies he would call "Harvey Girls." They had to wear prim and proper black dresses with white aprons, and their hair tied up in a white ribbon.
Besides the versatile Garland, is the ravishing Angela Lansbury as Em. Garland's rival for the local tough guy Ned Trent's heart played by John Hodiak. Lansbury, who was 19 years old at the time of the making of Harvey Girls plays Em with sass and vigor. While Trent's tough guy exterior softens when he gets to know Garland's character. Garland re-teams with her Wizard of Oz co-star, Ray Bolger, who brings comic timing and his trademark rubbery dancing to play the town blacksmith. The rest of the cast are Marjorie Main, Virginia O'Brien and Cyd Charisse as the Harvey Girls that befriend Garland's character.
Sassy, beautiful and knows what she wants, Miss Lansbury plays Em with confidence.
Next weeks Movie Monday will be another Judy Garland movie, Easter Parade costarring Garland and Fred Astaire.
No comments:
Post a Comment