THE HARVEY GIRLS [1946 / 2020] [Warner Archive Collection] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] M-G-M’s Magnificent Musical Romance in Glorious Technicolor!
Vittles, songs and dance are amply ladled out when Judy Garland headlines ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS,’ a joyous musical slice of Americana celebrating the restaurants that brought extra helpings of civilization to Old West rail passengers. Highlights include Judy Garland holding saloon patrons at jittery gunpoint to retrieve stolen beefsteaks, Ray Bolgers loose-limbed comic hoofing, Virginia OBrien's sure-shot comic timing, Angela Lansbury’s stylish wickedness as a saloon singer and the On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe romp (which nabbed the 1946 Best Song Academy Award®) that is deservedly famous, one of the most triumphant sequences in screen-musical history (Pauline Kael, The New Yorker). All aboard!
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1947 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Music, Original Song for Harry Warren (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe." Nominated: Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture for Lennie Hayton.
FILM FACT No.2: The role of "Em" was originally intended to be played by Ann Sothern, but because of her personal problems, it went instead to Angela Lansbury, her fourth film role. Despite Angela Lansbury having a good voice – she later became the star of the Broadway musicals “Mame” and “Sweeney Todd” – her voice was dubbed by Virginia Rees. This is the first speaking role of Cyd Charisse in a feature film. Byron Harvey Jr., the grandson of Fred Harvey of the Fred Harvey Company, has an uncredited role as a train conductor. ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ marked the first reunion on film of Ray Bolger and Judy Garland since ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in 1939. The Harvey Girls was conceived by M-G-M as a dramatic vehicle for Lana Turner, but Roger Edens, of the Arthur Freed unit, decided after seeing the musical Oklahoma! they felt the story should be reworked as M-G-M's western musical with Judy Garland as its star. Unfortunately, Garland wanted to work with Fred Astaire on ‘Yolanda and the Thief,’ which was directed by fiancé Vincente Minnelli. Roger Edens convinced her that the part in Yolanda was not large enough for her, and he promised that The ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ would be specifically created to showcase her talents. Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball were slated to have roles in the film, and Edward Arnold was scheduled to play the role of Judge Purvis. The ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ filmed from January 12 through June 4, 1945, a long production period. Studio filming was at M-G-M's Culver City studios, and location shooting took place in Victorville, California; at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth (near Los Angeles); and in Monument Valley. Although Angela Lansbury was a fine singer, her voice was considered unsuitable for her character, a low-class saloon singer. Virginia Rees provided Lansbury's singing voice. Cyd Charisse, who had her first speaking role in the film, also had her singing dubbed by Marion Doenges. Virginia O'Brien, a comic actress known for her deadpan style of singing, was pregnant while ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ was filmed. Several scenes with Ray Bolger were never filmed due to the difficulty in hiding her pregnancy. This accounts for Virginia O'Brien's character disappearing after Virginia O'Brien sings "Wild Wild West."
Cast: Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Ray Bolger, Angela Lansbury, Preston Foster, Virginia O'Brien, Kenny Baker, Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, Selena Royle, Cyd Charisse, Ruth Brady, Jack Lambert, Edward Earle, Morris Ankrum, William 'Bill' Phillips, Ben Carter, Norman Leavitt, Stephen McNally, Jane Allen (uncredited), Arnet Amos (uncredited), Jean Ashton (uncredited), Frank Austin (uncredited), John Barton (uncredited), Eleanor Bayley (uncredited), Phil Bloom (uncredited), Chet Brandenburg (uncredited), Hazel Brooks (uncredited), Rand Brooks (uncredited), Ewing Miles Brown (uncredited), Joan Carey (uncredited), Lucille Casey (uncredited), Ruth Clark (uncredited), Jack Rube Clifford (uncredited), Tex Cooper (uncredited), Victor Cox (uncredited), Georgia Davis (uncredited), Virginia Davis (uncredited), Dona Dax (uncredited), Vernon Dent (uncredited), Gwen Donovan (uncredited), Meredyth Durrell (uncredited), Vivian Edwards (uncredited), Mary Jo Ellis (uncredited), Virginia Engels (uncredited), Kay English (uncredited), Mary Jane French (uncredited), Sam Garrett (uncredited), Vincent Graeff (uncredited), Virginia Gumm (uncredited), Jane Hale (uncredited), Jane Hall (uncredited), Stuart Hall (uncredited), William Hall (uncredited), Byron Harvey Jr. (uncredited), Gloria Hope (uncredited), George Huggins (uncredited), Virginia Hunter (uncredited), Dorothy Jackson (uncredited), Thelma Joel (uncredited), Joe Karnes (uncredited), Jack Kenny (uncredited), Al Kunde (uncredited), Janet Lavis (uncredited), Vera Lee (uncredited), Maxine Leslie (uncredited), Mitchell Lewis (uncredited), Johnny Luther (uncredited), Peggy Maley (uncredited), Claude Martin (uncredited), Judy Matson (uncredited), Matt Mattox (uncredited), Catherine McLeod (uncredited), John Merton (uncredited), Mary Moder (uncredited), Daphne Moore (uncredited), Edith Motridge (uncredited), Paul Newlan (uncredited), Loulie Jean Norman (uncredited), Robert Emmett O'Connor (uncredited), Shirley Patterson (uncredited), Jack Perry (uncredited), Lee Phelps (uncredited), Tom Quinn (uncredited), Dorothy Raye (uncredited), Charles Regan (uncredited), Al Rhein (uncredited), John Rice (uncredited), Kenneth Rundquist (uncredited), Erin Selwyn (uncredited), Harry Semels (uncredited), Emily Smith (uncredited), Nevada Smith (uncredited), Melba Snowden (uncredited), Ray Teal (uncredited), Al Thompson (uncredited), Joan Thorsen (uncredited), Jim Toney (uncredited), Elinor Troy (uncredited), Dorothy Tuttle (uncredited), Marcia Van Dyke (uncredited), Dorothy Van Nuys (uncredited), Tyra Vaughn (uncredited), Bunny Waters (uncredited), Jacqueline White (uncredited), Eve Whitney (uncredited), Dorothy Wilkerson (uncredited), Herberta Williams (uncredited), Dallas Worth (uncredited) and Katherine Yorke (uncredited)
Director: George Sidney
Producers: Arthur Freed and Roger Edens
Screenplay: Edmund Beloin, Harry Crane, James O'Hanlon, Nathaniel Curtis, Samson Raphaelson, Kay Van Riper (additional dialogue), Samuel Hopkins Adams (novel), Eleanore Griffin (original story) and William Rankin (original story)
Composers: Conrad Salinger (uncredited) and Lennie Hayton (uncredited)
Cinematography: George J. Folsey, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 101 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Archive Collection
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: At the start of the film, we are informed: When Fred Harvey pushed his chain of restaurants further and further West along the lengthening tracks of the Santa Fe, Fred Harvey brought with him one of the first civilizing forces this land had known – THE HARVEY GIRLS. These winsome waitresses conquered the West as surely as the Davy Crockets and the Kit Carson – not with powder horn and rifles, but with a beefsteak and a cup of coffee. To these unsung pioneers, whose successors today still carry on in the same tradition, we sincerely dedicate this motion picture.
The film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ [1945] opens on a train; with Susan Bradley [Judy Garland] singing wistfully of her hopes and dreams of a new life out West. Susan Bradley’s meeting the mystery man who wrote her beautiful love letters in reply to her answering a newspaper matrimonial advertisment, which lured her away from Ohio to start a new life in Arizona. In the same car, a bevy of beauties studies the Fred Harvey way, preparing to join up with the famed company for reasons ranging from opportunity to adventure.
Once arrived, Susan Bradley soon learns she is an early victim of catfishing, orchestrated by the roguish proprietor of the town’s saloon, Ned Trent [John Hodiak.] With her future now up in the air, Susan Bradley joins up with the friendly gals who shared their sandwiches with her on the train. After what very well may be cinema’s peppiest training montage, Susan Bradley soon finds out that being a Harvey Girl involves a little bit of gun-slinging, barroom brawling, arson, a witty war of attrition with the crown jewel dancing girl Em [Angela Lansbury], and, just maybe, romance.
One of the things ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’really has going for it is its sense of humour. From Judy Garland storming across the street with two colt .45s in her hand preparing to take on the Ahlahmbra to the brawl between the Harvey Girls and the dance hall girls, it's a wild ride of good humour and entertainment. Yep, it's also at the same time a wonderful musical, especially with the terrific songs like “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” “The Train Must Be Fed,” “It's a Great Big World” and “The Wild, Wild West” just to name a few. Angela Lansbury was sadly dubbed, but I guess I'm not surprised since Hollywood loved to dub their stars if their singing voices weren't up to scratch.
The film musical ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ is centred around the famously sunny waitresses the Harvey Girls and sounds like just the kind of slight concept that could faintly work as some forgettable 1940’s studio-era filler, but considering that ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ was originally intended to be a Clark Gable starring western that was based on the book by Samuel Hopkins Adams, it’s a wonder this picture works at all.
Luckily for us, all hands were attracted to the project and its work ethic that was surpassed only by the Hollywood talents, and over 70 years later, ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ still sparkles with its timeless charm that belies its wonderful Technicolor look at the American Southwest in the late 19th century. Everyone is cleanâ — nay, sparklingâ — charming, and in possession of all of their teeth. It has every luxury of the most addictive musicals: sumptuous set design, top-shelf songs that weave effortlessly around the snappy dialogue, and especially the wonderful costumes that accurately reflected the time period.
Truly, you know right away that only love, hijinks, and maybe some low-stake intrigue can happen and this little-musical-that is indeed a safe haven of sweetness for classic film fans.
Let me just say one thing: Judy Garland was born for colour pictures. The woman had so much pizzazz and sparkle that almost nobody stood a chance against her in a colour film, which is probably why M-G-M continually shot her films in colour. ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ is nothing if not lovely, not just because of the bevy of beautiful maidens paying the Harvey Girls, but also because of the gorgeous costuming overseen by a woman credited only as Irene.
If you love Judy Garland, of course you're going to love her in this film. There is everything to love because she is just wonderful in the role of Susan Bradley and I'd say it's my favourite of her extensive roles to date.
THE HARVEY GIRLS MUSIC TRACK LIST
IN THE VALLEY (Where the Evenin' Sun Goes Down) (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Performed by Judy Garland]
WAIT AND SEE (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Angela Lansbury but dubbed by Virginia Rees] [Sung also by Kenny Baker]
ON THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND THE SANTA FE (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Ben Carter, Marjorie Main, Ray Bolger, Judy Garland and chorus] [Danced by Ray Bolger]
THE TRAIN MUST BE FED (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Selena Royle, Marjorie Main and chorus]
OH, YOU KID (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Angela Lansbury and dubbed by Virginia Rees and chorus]
IT’S A GREAT BIG WORLD (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung and Danced by Judy Garland, Virginia O'Brien and Cyd Charisse and dubbed by Marion Doenges]
THE WILD, WILD WEST (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Virginia O'Brien]
SWING YOUR PARTNER ROUND AND ROUND (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by chorus] [Danced by Ray Bolger, Judy Garland, Marjorie Main, Cyd Charisse and chorus]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Warner Archive Collection presents us the film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ in a wonderful and glorious 1080p transfer, as intended and of course it is shown in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio. According to the press release, the picture here underwent a restoration, the transfer taken from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives. The image here looks tremendous, Warner Archive Collection has done another astonishing high definition mastering of a Technicolor jewel from its library with this release with gorgeous, nicely saturated colour, expert sharpness with loads of detail, and beautiful contrast to make the image look wonderfully dimensional with a super clean source print and of course, amazing colours thanks to the Technicolor process. I was stunned by the depth of the image here, as it so clean and sharp; it’s almost like looking through a window, instead of a television screen. The colour reproduction are so rich and vibrant, they bound right off the screen, but don’t become overly so, just to the point of maximum richness, never past that. With the flesh tones and makeup applications are about as true to life as they’ll ever be. No issues with black level either, a terrific overall visual effort from Warner Bros. on this one, is very impressive indeed. The new restoration is a real marvel to view. For a nearly 65 year old film has never looked better.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Warner Archive Collection brings us the film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ with a wonderful 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio which is very clean and more effective than I expected, and seems as though some restoration work has been done, as hiss is minimal and few age related flaws can be heard. This is really good, since this film uses a lot of musical numbers and those have to sound as good as possible. The normal dialogue scenes come across in in a very crisp fashion, while the musical portions also sound terrific; Warner Bros. has done some really top notch work on this track, without question. ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ hyperactive soundtrack is well served here, and the songs ring as clearly as the gunshots. From Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer’s Oscar-winning song “On The Atchison, Topeka, And The Santa Fe” to the dialogue in a crowded saloon, the sound maintains a really lovely, clear balance.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by Director George Sidney: Here we are introduced to director George Sidney and informs us that he really loves the film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ and also informs us that the film was originally going to be a straight western film and the main male character was going to be the actor Clark Gable. This lively audio commentary was recorded in the mid-1990’s for ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ NTSC LaserDisc, and it contains plenty of anecdotes and insights into the Golden Age of Hollywood moviemaking, but sadly George Sidney passed away in 2002 at age 85. It is a real treat George Sidney to hear first-hand his in-depth recollections from one of M-G-M's top directors of the period. George Sidney also informs us that the people at M-G-M tool a very long time to figure out the scenario of the outline of the film and were suggested to hand over everything the Musical department and especially Roger Edens to sort it out once and for all, and as they say, the rest is history. George Sidney talks about Judy Garland's incomparable talent, especially after seeing The Gumm Sisters performing their vaudeville act, and was really impressed by Frances Ethel Gumm and of course later known as Judy Garland, so invited her to the M-G-M studios where George Sidney insisted that Judy Garland have a screen test and because he was impressed by her performance in front of the camera immediately signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. We also find out that Judy garland had a real fear of horses, and also talks about the wonderful women who were hired for The Harvey Girls who came from all parts of America and had a wonderful time filming them. George Sidney recalls the wonderful time he had filming in Monument Valley in California in January 1945 and in his words, “It was bloody cold.” Because they insisted on a train musical number for the start of the film and they searched for a specific train that suited the period set in the film and eventually found the obscure train by accident and in fact it runs of here fuels, coal, steam and electric and they also had a mammoth logistic task of shipping the train out to the actual location you see in the film. When it came to shoot the musical number "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe," George Sidney outlines how he staged the massive musical number, and informs us that Judy Garland was a true professional and did the song in one take. George Sidney recalls how the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt [32nd U.S. President] impacted the shooting schedule as it really upset Judy Garland. George Sidney chuckles about the delays that resulted when actor John Hodiak contracted measles during film production. George Sidney talks about the wonderful costumes in the film, and that the main designed costumes were done by the wonderful Helen Rose Valles and it was her first film project and went onto greater success with other films, that included ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’ [1952], ‘Forbidden Planet’ [1956], ‘Silk Stockings’ [1957] and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ [1958] to name a few. George Sidney informs us that the town that was built on the backlot of M-G-M was eventually demolished when the film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ was approved, they then built a large lake and where George Sidney directed the film ‘Showboat.’ and George Sidney also fondly remembers the studio system, chronicles how he rose through the M-G-M ranks, and explains his filmmaking philosophy and attitude towards film remakes. George Sidney informs us of a little anecdote, where he informs us that in his hand was given a wonderful leather wallet that had gold on each corner, and inside was a lifetime pass to any Harvey Restaurants where he was entitled to any free meal. George Sidney also recalls the filming of ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ is as clear as if it had happened yesterday. George Sidney talks about how loyal he was towards M-G-M and entered the famous gates at the age of 14 and eventually left between the ages of 35 to 40, as in those days you tended to stay with one studio. And working at M-G-M was like working in The Land of Oz, and that is how wonderful it was to work for M-G-M. A few years after ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ was released, George Sidney received hundreds of letters from all over the world in praise of the film, and the correspondence that was written in a foreign language would get someone who knew how to reply back in their language, to make people the letter was written personally by George Sidney. On top of all that, George Sidney informs us that he retired from the film industry at the age of 49, and then decided to pursue his interest in planetology and for 20 years travelled to all the main archelogy sites around the world. When we get to the big fight scene between the two rival women, all the girls were really looking forward to this rough and tumble fight scene, but luckily only a handful of women suffered from small injuries. George Sidney talks about Ray Bolger, who originally started out as an Insurance Salesman and in the evenings did his act and then went into vaudeville and eventually entered the film industry. George Sidney really admired the actress Marjorie Main and thought she was great trooper and a total asset to the film. George Sidney tells about a strange incident that happened to him when directing some previous films, and relates to two extras that appeared in several of his films, and one day two FBI agents turned up and informed George Sidney that he had two of the most wanted criminals on the payroll as extras, and pointed out to him and was totally shocked, so the two FBI agents walked up to the two men, put their hands on their shoulders and told them they were under arrest and were marched off to jail and again the reason George Sidney was so shocked, as these two criminals had been living the life of riley while working on his films as extras. George Sidney feels that if a film is really good, then no way should a remake be filmed again, but if the original film is bad, then definitely a film remake should be given the green light. When we see Angela Lansbury and Judy Garland on the train near the end of the film heading away from Sand Rock, George Sidney again gives high praise about the star quality of Judy Garland, in saying that there is no question that Judy Garland has one of the greatest talents, and it is something Judy Garland had, and that George Sidney felt so lucky to work with great star and he also really enjoyed her talent, but the other side of her personality is that Judy Garland was a very private person, and when we see Judy Garland get off the train and gets reunited with John Hodiak. George Sidney comments that the whole desert area is now a massive housing estate. But most of all, according to George Sidney, he feels the film has a very happy ending, and let’s hope the world takes it cues from Hollywood and live out the privilege that we have been given to live in this world, and no it is not THE END, just the start of the future. So ends this fascinating and very interesting audio commentary by director George Sidney and it is definitely a must listen, as you learn a great deal from this very intelligent director, especially hearing lots of fascinating facts about the making of the film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ and of course what went on behind-the-scenes. This definitely gets a five star rating from me.
Special Feature: Deleted Musical Outtakes [1946] [1080i] [1.37:1] [9:11] We are informed that major changes were made to ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ screenplay during production. Four musical sequences were dropped as a result. The unused “Hayride” only survives in audio form and you can hear it with this disc’s Scoring Stage Sessions tracks special feature. “March of the Doagies” and “March of the Doagies” Reprise number was filmed over several evenings on the M-G-M backlot. The footage was unseen for nearly 50 years until it surfaced and was included in the 1994’s ‘That’s Entertainment III.’ The following three deleted musical outtakes are the complete original numbers and the reprise one was intended to occur later on in the film. With the musical song “My Intuition,” composer Harry Warren and lyrist Johnny Mercer wrote this lovely duet to advance their relationship of Susan Bradley [Judy Garland] and Ned Trent [John Hodiak]. So in the then-barren locale of Chatsworth, California, the sequence was thought to slow down the film and was excised after the first preview. Here we get to view the three deleted musical outtakes and they are as follows: March of the Doagies [3:26], March of the Doagies Reprise [1:58] and My Intuition [3:47]. As usual, you can either watch each deleted musical outtakes separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Scoring Stage Sessions [Audio only] [1946] [1080p] [1.78:1] [90:00] With this audio only special feature, we get to hear 27 individual Scoring Stage Sessions songs, and they are as follows:
It's a Great Big World
It's a Great Big World [Pick-Up]
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe [Take 4]
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe [Take 5]
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Part Two
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Part Three
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe [Complete Version]
Training Montage [The Train Must Be Fed]
Training Montage [Alternate Take]
The Wild, Wild West [with Piano]
The Wild, Wild West [Synch with Orchestra Track]
Ray Bolger Dance Sequences [On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe]
Ray Bolger Dance Sequences [Take Two]
Oh, You Kid
Wait and See [Incomplete]
Wait and See
My Intuition
In The Valley [Where the Evenin' Sun Goes Down]
In The Valley [Choral Reprise]
March of the Doagies
March of the Doagies [Reprise]
Hayride
Swing Your Partner Round and Round Parts One and Two Swing Your Partner Round and Round Part Three
Swing Your Partner Round and Round [Complete Version]
In the Valley [Rehearsal] [with Judy Garland and kay Thompson]
As usual, you can either listen to each Scoring Stage Sessions songs separately or Play All.
Special Feature: On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe in Stereo Remix [1946] [1080p] [1.37:1] [9:00]. The films signature production number packs even more of a punch in this remixed stereo version. Since the early 1930’s, M-G-M pre-recorded much of its film music using multiple microphones. Long before traditional stereophonic recording became the norm, this enabled the studio to manipulate vocals, chorus and specific portions of the orchestra to fashion the best – balanced monaural soundtrack. ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ recordings were made via the technique, although not all have survived in that form. The sessions for the mammoth production number did indeed survive in multiple-microphone form, enabling the classic sequence to be presented in true stereophonic sound.
Theatrical Trailer [1946] [1080p] [1.37:1] [2:51] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS.’
Finally, ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ we find out that as railroads started bringing scores of passengersâ —most importantly, businessmen and families with money, into the southwestern United States, it quickly became apparent to enterprising sorts that catering to those weary commuters would be good business. Fred Harvey did just that with his Harvey House Restaurants in the late 19th century, promising good food, a clean place to relax, and efficient yet polite and attractive servers, which sounded like heaven to anyone stuck on a train for lengthy periods. So named The Harvey Girls, these young women tweaked the adage of “Go west, young man” before taking it to heart. They were able to make an honest living on their own and stay in a safe, chaperoned home with other women, which was no small thing for unmarried ladies during the transition away from the “wild” part of the Wild West. With their matching aprons, pioneering spirit, and near-religious attention to customer service, The Harvey Girls became a pert part of America’s modern mythology. Author Samuel Hopkins Adams wrote about them in 1942, renewing their popularity, and Hollywood soon came a calling. Transformed into a lush, Technicolor musical in 1946 from director George Sidney, M G M’s classic ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ is once again ready to be rediscover thanks to Warner Archive Collection new release, but most important is that ‘THE HARVEY GIRLS’ remains one of MGM's most entertaining musicals. Judy Garland leads a fine cast in this tuneful salute to an army of intrepid women who helped tame and civilize the Old West. Plenty of muscular action, colourful pageantry, and a witty script complement the sparkling score and top-notch performances of this endlessly appealing film. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
