Les demoiselles Harvey

As a lover of musicals and of Judy Garland, I watched The Harvey Girls and I really liked it on the whole. The plot though is cardboard especially in the second half and John Hodiak for my liking gives a rather lacklustre performance. Still it is worth seeing. The film with its beautiful costumes, scenery and photography does look gorgeous, the music is fantastic particularly the climatic set-piece On the Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe, the choreography is magnificent and the first half is great fun. The film is directed lovingly by George Sidney, and while Angela Lansbury and Ray Bolger are excellent, this is Judy Garland's film and she is absolutely wonderful. Overall, a lovely film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Very appealing MGM musical with wonderful songs, colorful production, Judy Garland at the peak of her feisty charms. In the burgeoning days of train transportation, women are needed to work the eateries scattered throughout the Southwest; in a small New Mexico town, Judy decides to ditch her mail-order marriage for a waitressing job, but she soon finds love again. "On The Atchinson, Topeka and The Santa Fe" won a Best Song Oscar, and deservedly so; this grand number gets the full treatment, and is so exuberantly staged it becomes a classic by itself. The picture does runs short of ideas and inspiration near the end, leading to a poorly-staged romantic finale, yet the supporting cast is excellent, particularly Angela Lansbury as a jealous showgirl. *** from ****

Ah...The Harvey Girls!

What can I say? In the mood for a little escapism? Do you enjoy classic Hollywood musicals? This MGM extravaganza is not to be missed!

Garland at her winsome best in material specifically tailored to her considerable talents - this is just before everything really started to sour in her professional life, and she never looked better. The material she's given to work with not only gives her the classic "Atchison, Topeka & the Santa Fe" to perform, but some wonderful comedic bits as well.

In the ensemble numbers, you can actually see her, as well as the rest of the cast, enjoying the moment as they filmed.

Beautifully photographed - a superb supporting cast who all get a moment to shine including Ray Bolger, Virginia O'brien, Marjorie Main, a very young Cyd Charisse and a stunning young Angela Lansbury.

MGM at the peak of it's creative and artistic powers - must see viewing for any fan of "The Golden Age" of Hollywood - check it out!

This works quite well as light entertainment. It has a good cast, with Judy Garland giving a lively performance in the lead role. The setting is rather stylized, but it is interesting, and it provides some good story material. The story has quite a few amusing moments, with just enough substance to keep it moving. There is also the top-notch "Atchison, Topeka, & the Santa Fe" number, which would almost make a musical worth watching all by itself.

The story of the conflict between the "Harvey Girls" and their rivals across the road is sometimes a little exaggerated, but it is relatively interesting and it makes for some good sequences. The female cast members get most of the best moments, and they generally use them well. Angela Lansbury seems quite natural as Garland's disagreeable nemesis, Virginia O'Brien has some good lines, and Marjorie Main is quite lively. There's more than enough to make it an enjoyable, if light, feature.

Even though the film starred Judy Garland, what I really enjoyed about The Harvey Girls is that it operates as an ensemble musical, giving features and spotlight numbers to just about everyone in the mammoth cast. This kind of thing is usually reserved for stage musicals only, but back in 1946 MGM's roster of talent was strong, if not yet infamous. Players like deadpan comic Virginia O'Brien and dancer Cyd Charisse were fairly new back then, but this film gives them individual spotlights: not only do they both sing with Garland in the nighttime ballad "It's A Great Big World," but O'Brien gets to sing "The Wild, Wild West" (while assisting blacksmith Ray Bolger in shoeing a horse) and Charisse gets to dance (briefly) opposite Kenny Baker singing "Wait And See." Marjorie Main leads the Harvey waitresses through "The Train Must Be Fed;" Angela Lansbury is featured in two saloon numbers, and Ray Bolger gets to do some of his rubber-legged clowning at the Harvey House party. And, of course, everyone on the planet is assembled for the big, eight minute production number "On The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe." There's literally something for everyone- even the oil-and-water romance between Garland and John Hodiak. And they shine as well, even if Hodiak wasn't the most well-known leading man. Check out this wonderfully scored, written, acted, and costumed tribute to old-fashioned Americana.