Ziegfeld Girl (1941)

Black and white / 132 minutes

The lives of three different talented ladies cross in the musical extravaganza "Ziegfeld Girl", directed by Robert Z. Leonard. I actually consider this to be one of my favorite Judy Garland movies, even though her part isn't huge, because the musical numbers and the plot are just so great.

In the 1920's, Florenz Ziegfeld basically created Broadway-style shows with the "Follies" at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The show glorified the American girl with elaborate costumes and scenery (though now Ziegfeld's use of girls as sexpots would definitely be considered inappropriate). The smokiest, most seductive girls would be featured gracefully walking down stairs, while standout singers, dancers, and comediennes such as Fanny Brice and Marilyn Miller rose to stardom through musical numbers. It was the American dream in every way: any pretty girl could be discovered for the shows, and the stars made millions in the days before income taxes.

It happens just this way in "Ziegfeld Girl". Sheila (Lana Turner) is discovered as an elevator operator; Sondra (Hedy Lamarr) is practically forced to join while she is waiting for her violinist husband to finish his audition; and Susan (Judy Garland) is signed after Ziegfeld sees her vaudeville act.

Throughout the film, the girls undergo different struggles. Sondra, whose husband leaves her when he finds out she's going to be a showgirl, fights temptations that arise when she befriends star crooner Frank Merton (Tony Martin). The pair doesn't have outstanding on-screen chemistry, but Lamarr's glamour makes it all right. She seems to be there for decoration, floating through her Ziegfeld scenes like someone who has been hypnotized, and she's sometimes a little one-dimensional in her mooning for her husband. However, Lamarr's performance is solid, and she serves the purpose of being a desirable woman who rises above it all to settle in once more with her husband and lead a normal life.

Though James Stewart and Judy Garland take the first two credits, the film really belongs to new MGM-signee Lana Turner. After playing in a series of small roles, she rises to fame playing Sheila Hale in "Ziegfeld Girl", a diva who never has had the chance to live richly. After she is discovered as an elevator operator in Brooklyn, she becomes mad for the good life, pushing even those out of the way that are meaningful to her. Since she is exceptionally beautiful and poised, she quickly earns a large paycheck and a host of admirers. She moves into a luxurious apartment and begins a love affair with Geoffrey Collis (Ian Hunter), ignoring her loyal suitor Gil (Stewart), whose truck-driving career can't provide her with all the frills that she needs. Sheila eventually has to hit rock bottom before she can put her life into perspective and settle down.

Judy Garland has a comparatively small role in this movie, shining in musical numbers but having by far the simplest plot of any main character. Unglamorous to the max, she pines after her father (Charles Winninger), from whom she has been separated due to the Follies, and she seems very one-dimensional as she reads his letters in a dreamy, childlike fashion. She is stuck in her usual stereotype: plain, gabby, and unsophisticated, but a good friend and a great talent. Rather than rejecting or succumbing to any serious temptations as a star, she innocently grabs a couple of sodas with Sheila's kid brother, which can hardly be called a romance.

"Ziegfeld Girl" has one of the most interesting and quick-moving plots I've seen in any Judy Garland movie, and having three stories incorporated in it makes for some variety. As a man backstage says, "the Follies is real life, sped up", and we see three possible outcomes of a Follies draftee: a wife, a star, and a terribly fallen star.

The songs themselves are rather unmemorable, with the exception of "You Stepped Out of a Dream", sung by Martin, which would later be covered by numerous jazz artists, and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", which Garland would sing throughout her career (perhaps a response to "Over the Rainbow" of two years before). Another one that sticks out is the throwaway vaudeville number "Laugh? I Thought I'd Split My Sides", a cute father-daughter routine of Garland and Winninger's that gives Garland a chance to showcase her talents from her childhood days with the Gumm family act.

If you like amazing, outstanding, lavish musical numbers, this film is definitely for you. Busby Berkeley did an amazing job of bringing the Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920's to life. Even in black and white and without fantastic songs, every number was glitzy, glamorous, and polished. Girls walked up and down stairs in inventive, flowing outfits, and a couple of exceptional dance numbers were included. Garland had two good "Follies" scenes, and every bit of coverage I've ever viewed of the Follies convinces me that Berkeley did a good job of staying true to the style of the original shows.

You'll like this if you want: outstanding musical numbers, lots of glitz and glamour, an interesting plotline, and you're interested in old-time Broadway.

This may not be for you if: you don't like Lana Turner (she's in practically every scene with a crybaby sort of attitude), or you aren't very interested in Broadway.

Rating: ****
Judy Score: **