Las chicas de Ziegfeld

Very odd MGM musical that mixes huge production numbers with depressing, heavy-handed melodrama. The main characters are played by Judy Garland (great and full of life), Jimmy Stewart (looks and acts miserable), Hedy Lamarr (incredibly beautiful but vacant), and Lana Turner (pretty good until she goes bad and REALLY overdoes it). Everybody looks fantastic...even Turner when she falls apart.. The production numbers are astounding with unbelievable costumes (this film really should have been in color). They're very long but never dull...the standout numbers are "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows". The one problem is the melodrama is really overwrought and overdone. It drags the movie down and makes it seem much longer than it is (there's no reason for this to be dragged out over 2 hours). Still, see this for the songs and costumes.

As somebody who loves musicals and would see the likes of James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr and Lana Turner in anything, checking out 'Ziegfeld Girl' was definitely something that held my interest in viewing.

'Ziegfeld Girl' is a decent if uneven film, after viewing it. It is less than great but a long way from a disaster. Where 'Ziegfeld Girl' particularly falls down is in the paper thin and preposterous story that is often little more than an excuse to string along the musical numbers and such and the very over the top melodrama that belongs in a leaden and out of date soap opera.

Love Stewart to bits, in fact he is one of my favourite actors but somehow this role didn't seem right for him and Stewart just seems too amiable and clean cut for a character that is somewhat more than that. Lamarr is breath taking in beauty but has little to do and looks lost for some of the film. Tony Martin sings beautifully but is pretty mannered and wooden.

However, the production values are very pleasing on the eye, it isn't Technicolor (and one at times can't help thinking that 'Ziegfeld Girl' could have been even better with it) but still beautifully photographed and the costumes are just splendid. The musical numbers are lovely and full of energy, with the ones making the most impression being "You Stepped Out of a Dream", "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" and "Minnie from Trinidad". The choreography is graceful and exuberant, particularly in "Minnie from Trinidad".

Judy Garland steals the show here in a role that suits her like a glove. Lana Turner has the meatiest role and performs the heck out of it, emoting believably while resisting temptation to overdo it. Nice to see Charles Winninger and Edward Everett Horton.

All in all, not great but with much to enjoy. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Three girls get a chance to being new Ziegfeld girls. Elevator girl Sheila Regan (Lana Turner) with boyfriend Gilbert Young (James Stewart) finds herself pursued by a millionaire. Susan Gallagher (Judy Garland) has to abandon her vaudeville act with her father. Sandra Kolter (Hedy Lamarr) is a mystery woman from overseas.

The cast is filled with legendary names. That alone makes this an interesting movie. Each girl's story is compelling to some extent. At least, it's interesting to watch the legendary beauties. The least interesting is the actual Ziegfeld Follies. It's only a line of beauties walking down the stairs in costumes. The song and dance for the three is mostly walking around. It's not much of a song and dance play. Judy Garland doing vaudeville with her show business father is far more interesting. Of course, she is perfectly comfortable with that. Lana Turner gets to play opposite Jimmy Stewart and has the juicier story. Hedy Lamarr has the least compelling story which ends with simply walking away. All in all, it's a great star watch and a functional musical.

My grandparents saw the original Ziegfeld Follies back in the old days and always raved about the showmanship and glamour that was demonstrated. Both the Great Ziegfeld from the mid-1930's and this film give some depth and insight into the days of the glorification of women. "You Stepped Out of A Dream" had more beautiful women in one production number than I have ever seen and probably will ever see. Oh, to have lived when the Ziegfeld shows were popular. And who can even begin to approach the beauty of Hedy Lamarr!

I first saw this film at the old Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan back in the Sixties. The theater was showing a triple Ziegfeld feature: The Great Ziegfeld, Ziegfeld Follies and Ziegfeld Girl. It ran over 8 hours and I was blinded by the sun as I emerged from the darkened theater.

It was all worth it because as the cliché goes, they really don't make them like that any more.

Seeing it today or even in 1967 one probably wonders why one doesn't see Mr. Ziegfeld in this film. He's a shadowy genius and his two aides Paul Kelly and Edward Everett Horton are in operational charge of his shows in Ziegfeld Girl.

My answer is that William Powell who made such an impression as the great Broadway producer in The Great Ziegfeld five years earlier was probably not available for this film, that Louis B. Mayer had him committed to other projects. And Mayer probably decided that no other player would stand comparison.

Anyway this film is the story of three women who are picked for the Ziegfeld Follies. Three beauties as it were; Lana Turner, Judy Garland, and Hedy Lamarr.

Lamarr has her fling with success and a fling with married singer in the show, Tony Martin. After that she decides to work on her own marriage to violinist Philip Dorn.

Garland of course has real talent and she has the success similar to what she normally has in her 'let's put on a show' movies with Mickey Rooney. Like in her own life, her character is a child vaudeville trooper and her dad is played by Charles Winninger. The family name for Garland and Winninger is Gallagher. And this plot device allows Al Shean to revive his old vaudeville act with Winninger. Shean himself was a Follies veteran with his late partner Ed Gallagher and the two of them had a great patter number, Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean and it was revived very nicely here with Winninger pinch hitting.

Turner is the quintessential girl from Brooklyn who's discovered while operating an elevator for the Follies. She's a girl with a taste for the material things that her truck driver boyfriend James Stewart can't provide. She gets them though, fame, wealth, expensive grown up toys for girls; but at a big price.

Except for the Gallagher and Shean number the musical chores here are carried out by Garland and Martin. Judy's numbers are nice, especially Minnie from Trinidad. But the hit of the film was sung by Tony Martin with You Stepped Out of a Dream. That song was the last lyric written by Gus Kahn who was one of the great Tin Pan Alley lyricists back in the day. Kahn died after this film was completed.

Fans of Judy Garland who are still legion will love this film. Fans of musicals in general will find it very entertaining.