Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The Harvey Girls. The TCM television channel played The Harvey Girls as part of their 'Summer Under the Stars—Judy Garland' lineup on August 6. Enjoy!
The Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls is a 1946 Technicolor American musical film produced by Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by Samuel Hopkins Adams about Fred Harvey's Harvey House waitresses. Directed by George Sidney, the film stars Judy Garland and features John Hodiak, Ray Bolger and Angela Lansbury, as well as Preston Foster, Virginia O'Brien, Kenny Baker, Marjorie Main and Chill Wills. Future star Cyd Charisse appears in her first speaking role on film.
The Harvey Girls won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer.
Plot: When Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) responded to an ad in New Mexico for a mail-order bride, she had no idea that her would-be husband was a broken-down cowhand. Instead of returning back home, she takes a job at the local Harvey House restaurant. But, the new establishment faces tough resistance from the local saloon owner (John Hodiak) and the town's streetwise showgirl, Em (Angela Lansbury). As Susan works with the Harvey girls to win over the townsfolk, she also searches for a new love.
Acting: Judy Garland played Susan Bradley. Oh, poor Judy. I can't help but feel bad for her because of the way she was treated in the film industry, but at the same time, she treated herself and others badly, too. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Judy missed 11 days of shooting and was late 40 times for shooting. This was not her first or last instance of being late or missing on a set. It doesn't initially sound like a big deal, but film and television run on tight schedules, so I can only imagine the amount of setbacks Judy caused for The Harvey Girls.
Despite being a nuisance on set, she was Hollywood's little angel and moneymaker, which is why she continued getting jobs. Her four most notable titles include The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Star is Born and Judgement at Nuremberg. My favorite will always be The Wizard of Oz.
John Hodiak played Ned Trent, the love interest. I've concluded that he looks best with the hint of a mustache. His four most notable titles are Lifeboat, Somewhere in the Night, The Harvey Girls and Battleground.
Ray Bolder played Chris Maule. He was a fun addition to this movie, though he didn't get as much screen time as he probably deserved, like his cohort Alma. Fun(?) fact: Ray Bolger was burned by steam from the train during production of the "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe" number. Ouch! His four most notable titles include Babes in Toyland, The Wizard of Oz, Sunny and Look for the Silver Lining. My favorite is The Wizard of Oz, where he plays the Scarecrow.
Angela Lansbury played Em. I love Angela Lansbury, and I hate that she seemed to play a lot villainous women in her youth. Even though you're meant to root for Judy's character, I couldn't help but also root for Angela. And honestly, she and we were robbed of her singing voice in this movie. Despite having a beautiful singing voice, Angela's singing was dubbed over by Virginia Rees. The claim was that her voice did not suit a saloon girl's. But, I don't care! Her four most notable titles include: Death on the Nile, The Manchurian Candidate, Anastasia, and the television series Murder, She Wrote. I love a lot of her work, but Murder, She Wrote is probably my all-time favorite.
Virginia O'Brien played Alma. She was robbed! She was so funny and had a great presence onscreen. She was one of my favorite parts of the movie, but she just disappeared in the middle of the movie. Virginia was pregnant with daughter Terri during the filming, but delays caused by Judy Garland made her condition harder and harder to conceal, which is why her character seems to disappear in the second half of this movie. Robbed! Her four most notable titles are Lady Be Good, Meet the People, The Harvey Girls and Du Barry was a Lady.
Technical Aspects: The Harvey Girls was conceived by MGM as a dramatic western vehicle for Lana Turner, but Roger Edens of the Arthur Freed united decided after seeing the musical Oklahoma! that the story should be reworked as MGM's western musical with Judy Garland as its star. Garland wanted to work with Fred Astaire on Yolanda and the Thief which was directed by fiancé Vincente Minnelli. Edens convinced her that the part in Yolanda was not large enough for her, and he promised that The Harvey Girls would be specifically created to showcase her talents.
Principal photography on The Harvey Girls lasted from January 12 through June 4, 1945, a long production period. Studio filming was at MGM's Culver City studios, and the locations were in Victorville, Calif.; at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, (near Lost Angeles); and in Monument Valley.
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 O'Brien's character disappearing after she sings "Wild Wild West."
Byron Harvey Jr., who played the uncredited role of a train conductor who keeps good time, was the grandson of Fred Harvey and President of the Fred Harvey Company at the time of filming.
Final Thoughts: I liked The Harvey Girls move! I made the mistake of starting the researching process before I finished watching the movie though. All that information I read wouldn't leave my mind as I watched the rest of the movie. I had to fight the urge to share the facts out loud. I did not win that fight. The research was interesting, so it was worth it, anyway.
The music was great. My favorite was "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". Everybody seems to feel the same way I do about that song.
The actresses dominated this film, and rightly so. In a way, The Harvey Girls is a Girl Power movie. Who doesn't like that?
If you don't mind musical, I suggest you give this title a watch.
Where to watch it: According to Google, The Harvey Girls is not currently available to watch on any streaming service. However, you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
