Judy and Mickey in Girl Crazy

Updating this article!

I love Mickey and Judy Garland together and Girl Crazy from 1943 is by far my favorite. It’s mostly due to how spunky Judy is and the chemistry that the two have together. Her character here is much stronger than in most of the others and that makes it more fun to watch.

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Playboy Danny is running around with the girls and getting in too much trouble. Because of the poor publicity, his dad sends him off to an all boy school. Turns out, the dean’s daughter hangs out there a bunch too and Danny is immediately taken with her. She is one girl who doesn’t fall for his flattery and is more concerned with the school closing. They do join together to put on a show and she eventually falls for him too.

Mickey Rooney

I find Mickey pretty fun to watch in this. His character development also sucks me in as well. His character enters with two girls on his arms, so you know that he likes his playboy lifestyle and makes no attempt to hide it. The number below is what causes his dad to send him off to an all boys college. I find June Allyson’s cameo here so cute and funny.

Judy Garland

While “I Got Rhythm” gets a lot of attention {I’ll talk about that later}, this scene is my absolute favorite in this movie and in Rooney/Garland history. They are just so cute and as I mentioned earlier, Garland’s character, Ginger, is so strong and spunky. Even though you know she’s going to fall for him eventually, she tells him like it is. This number is so fun to watch.

This is my next favorite and in true Garland fashion, she breaks your heart. Her ballads are so powerful.

Peter Lawford Cameo!

I also recently learned that Peter Lawford snuck past my eyes! He’s actually in this movie in an uncredited role as a student. I set out to find him and document it since I couldn’t find a picture with him from this movie. Many of his roles up to this point had been uncredited. The beginning of his more well-known roles {It Happened in Brooklyn and Good News} wouldn’t come out until 1947. Then, he starred with Garland in Easter Parade in 1948.

Here he is in the upper left! Hi Peter!

Background Trivia

I really don’t enjoy the finale of “I Got Rhythm.” Garland had such a hard time and clashed with director, Busby Berkeley. Her energy looks so forced and it kind of makes me cringe. Plus, the segment is just so long. It is my least favorite part in an otherwise enjoyable movie.

There is also a part with guns going off around them that Garland was terrified to do. Ultimately, Rooney had to coax her into it. Again, I just feel bad for her. She and Mickey work so well together that you almost can’t tell how miserable she was. Knowing it, I can see that she’s distracted.

Check out these cute posters btw!

What if…?

Judy hadn’t gotten Busby Berkeley fired?

After the “I Got Rhythm” number was complete, producer Arthur Freed fired him. Some sources say it was because he was over budget and behind schedule, but Freed himself said that Judy requested he be dismissed. It was the first time she did something like that and with Mickey’s support, they replaced him with Norman Taurog.

She was exhausted and taking more drugs to get through that number, so she probably would have been in even worse shape if she’d had to deal with Buzz for longer than she did.

If she had fallen further apart here, it would have had lasting impact in that she may not have been cast in Meet Me in St. Louis the following year. Could we have missed out on the magic of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and the union of her with Minnelli?

We may have also missed out on the adorable simplicity of the “Could You Use Me?” number that was directed by Taurog. Buzz probably would have gone over the top with it and it’s charm would have been lost.

It had been made 10 years earlier?

Ginger Rogers and Allen Kearns played the main roles when the story was on Broadway in 1930. So instead of this being a vehicle for Judy and Mickey, it may have stared those two. It would have definitely had a different feel, but Ginger would have been fun to watch. Her originating the role is why Judy’s character is named Ginger here too! I don’t know enough about Allen Kearns to say one way or another, but I do know Judy and Mickey have undeniable chemistry and we would have missed out on Judy’s great character and spunk if this had been different.

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