Ziegfeld Girl (film)
Ziegfeld Girl | |
---|---|
Directed by | Robert Z. Leonard |
Screenplay by | Marguerite Roberts Sonya Levien |
Story by | William Anthony McGuire |
Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
Starring | James Stewart Judy Garland Hedy Lamarr Lana Turner |
Cinematography | Ray June Joseph Ruttenberg |
Edited by | Blanche Sewell |
Music by | Herbert Stothart |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 132 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.5 million[1] |
Box office | $3.1 million[1] |
Ziegfeld Girl is a 1941 American
Set in the 1920s, the film tells the parallel stories of three women who become performers in the renowned Broadway show the Ziegfeld Follies. It was intended to be a 1938 sequel to the 1936 hit The Great Ziegfeld, and recycled some footage from the earlier film. Unlike that film and the later Ziegfeld Follies, Ziegfeld himself does not appear as a character.[2]
Plot
As happens every year,
Sandra, a European beauty, is spotted and recruited while accompanying her violin virtuoso husband Franz to his audition for the show's orchestra. Franz is rejected because his musical skills are too good for the job, and Sandra becomes a showgirl over Franz' objections in order to earn needed income, causing a rift between the couple. Sandra quickly becomes a star and attracts the attentions of her singing co-star, Frank Merton. But after learning that Frank is married to a wife who loves him, Sandra reconciles with Franz and abandons her career to support him on a concert tour.
Susan, a seventeen-year-old from a theatrical family, is discovered performing a vaudeville act with her aging father. Although Susan is less physically beautiful than the other showgirls, her enormous singing talent lands her a featured role. Her father, not wanting to thwart her career, encourages her to stay in the Follies while he continues traveling on the vaudeville circuit alone. Susan worries about her father and eventually convinces the producers to give him a part in the show, where he proves to be a surprise hit.
Sheila, a former elevator operator from
Cast
- James Stewart as Gilbert Young
- Judy Garland as Susan Gallagher
- Hedy Lamarr as Sandra Kolter
- Lana Turner as Sheila Regan
- Tony Martinas Frank Merton
- Jackie Cooper as Jerry Regan
- Ian Hunter as Geoffrey Collis
- Charles Winninger as "Pop" Gallagher
- Edward Everett Horton as Noble Sage
- Philip Dorn as Franz Kolter
- Paul Kelly as John Slayton
- Eve Arden as Patsy Dixon
- Dan Dailey as Jimmy Walters
- Al Shean as Al
- Fay Holden as Mrs. Regan
Musical numbers
- "Overture" – played by Orchestra and sung by Chorus
- "Laugh? I Thought I'd Split My Sides" (music and lyrics by Roger Edens) – sung and danced by Judy Garland and Charles Winninger
- "You Stepped Out of a Dream" (music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Gus Kahn) – sung by Tony Martin and Chorus
- "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (music by Harry Carroll, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy) – sung by Judy Garland
- "Caribbean Love Song" (music by Edens, lyrics by Ralph Freed) – sung by Tony Martin and Chorus
- "Minnie from Trinidad" (Edens) – sung by Chorus and danced by Antonio and Rosario, then sung and danced by Judy Garland and Chorus
- "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean" – performed by Charles Winninger and Al Shean
- "Ziegfeld Girls/You Gotta Pull Strings" (Edens) – sung by Judy Garland and Chorus
- "You Stepped Out of a Dream (reprise)" – sung by Tony Martin
- "You Never Looked So Beautiful" (music by Walter Donaldson, lyrics by Harold Adamson) – sung by Judy Garland and Chorus
Deleted song
A musical number sung by Garland, "We Must Have Music", was deleted from the final film. Only a fragment survives, as it was used in the MGM
Box office
According to MGM records, the film earned $1,891,000 in the US and Canada and $1,210,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $532,000.[1]
Accolades
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated[6]
References
- ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ISBN 0-634-00765-3page 102
- ^ Early Judy Garland Rarities on YouTube; see 9:35 time mark
- ^ Judy Garland - We Must Have Music (deleted from Ziegfeld Girl, 1941) on YouTube
- ^ We Must Have Music (documentary of movie music) on YouTube
- ^ "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
External links
- Ziegfeld Girl at IMDb
- Ziegfeld Girl at AllMovie
- Ziegfeld Girl at the TCM Movie Database
- Ziegfeld Girl at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Ziegfeld Girl at Rotten Tomatoes