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The Ziegfeld Follies were a popular form of entertainment during the 1910s. They featured many types of entertainment from low-brow vaudeville humor to high-class musical numbers featuring glorified women in elaborate costumes. This film is about the women who are privileged enough to be chosen to be a Follies girl and how their lives change when fame hits.


Lana Turner plays the lead, a beautiful elevator girl turned showgirl. Her performance is understated perfection from the beginning when she feels gorgeous and wonderful to her decline into alcohol and ill-health (with a hint of worse).

Jimmy Stewart plays her boyfriend, a sweet man who idealises his relationship with Turner. When she begins to flake, his heart breaks, and he becomes a bootlegger with dreary hopes of striking it rich and feeling worthy of her.

Judy Garland is outstanding as a young, energetic hopeful trained in vaudeville. She is never annoying; her energy is cute and admirable. She had anxieties being cast with such beautiful women; she felt she would be ugly in comparison, but Garland is glamorous and attractive in her own right.

Hedy Lamarr is gorgeous as one of the most striking Follies girls. Her character joins because she and her husband are desperate for money since he is a struggling musician. Her role is smaller than the other women's, but her love for her husband is deeply moving.

The songs in this film are both beautiful and fun. "Laugh? I Thought I'd Split My Sides" features Garland and her father performing in a vaudeville show. The two are quite remarkable together; they are funny and well synchronized.

"You Stepped Out of a Dream" is a softer melody which features the Follies girls "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" is sung both fast and slow, and both versions are great which is only testimony to Garland's amazing musical talents. "Minnie From Trinidad" is also a Garland song, a fun story song with many Busby Berkley visual effects. The great thing about this film is that it is realistic. Instead of the actors randomly bursting into song to show their emotions, the songs are part of a Ziegfeld show. The only musical numbers are during practice or during the shows.

"You Stepped Out of a Dream" is one of the great songs from this outstanding motion picture. This number alone will give you chills and even if you're a guy you would wonder what it would be like to descend on a glamour staircase. It's the production number you don't want to have end. It is just beautiful.

The whole entire film is also outstanding but the last scene before the final number in true Lana Turner fashion steals the film. In this scene she is fatally ill and leaves the theatre while Tony Martin is singing "You Stepped Out of a Dream." In her trademark gestures at the top of the stair case without any dialogue only music, she thinks of being that beautiful Ziegfeld Girl again and descends down the stairs. The music builds and then she collapses. Oh...what a dramatic scene. This entire film will make your heart pound and only wish that Hollywood could produce something like this again.

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from http://www.thejudyroom.com/ziegfeldgirl.html

Ziegfeld Girl is a rarity in the film catalogue of Judy Garland.  Its one of the few post Oz films that isnt a vehicle for either her alone, or her and a co-star (Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire) and one in which she's really more of a supporting player.  Ziegfeld Girl is really Lana Turners film.

Originally scheduled in 1938 for Joan Crawford, Eleanor Powell (MGMs Queen Of Taps), Margaret Sullivan, and Virginia Bruce, Ziegfeld Girl ended up starring Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr, Judy Garland, and Eve Arden in the main female leads.  This was probably done because, at the time the film was finally in pre-production, Joan Crawford and Eleanor Powells careers were already declining.  In addition, the studio was giving Lana, Hedy, and of course Judy, big build-ups to make them the "new" stars at MGM.  Judy had already proven herself in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Babes in Arms (1939), and she had just finished Little Nellie Kelly (1940).  Lana was the studios obvious new sexpot and Hedy had recently made a big splash as well.  With her exotic looks and accent Hedy would become MGMs Bird Of Paradise while Lana would be more "American" and therefore more "accessible". Lana would end up staying at MGM for almost 20 years and would become one of the studio's most enduring stars, with a career that would last over 30 years.

The story is very slight.  Its the typical 3 Girls trying to make it backstage story.  One achieves stardom (Judy), one achieves happiness via marriage (Hedy), and one falls for the glitz and glamour and ends up dead from alcoholism (Lana).  Pure melodrama!  But, packaged by MGM's professionalism, with musical numbers directed by Busby Berkeley, Ziegfeld Girl would become an extravaganza of glitz and corn and music and melodrama! This is the movie that proves, "they don't make 'em like they used to". Just to film the opulent musical numbers today, with the chorus girls, chorus boys, costumes, music, and all the trimmings, would cost a fortune. But MGM had the resources to make Ziegfeld Girl one of the most opulent films of the day. Or any day!!

James Stewart and Jackie Cooper play the main lead male roles.  Stewart was fresh off the double success of  Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) and his Oscar winning role in The Philadelphia Story (1941). 

NOTE:This is the only film in which Judy starred with James Stewart and even though they both get top billing, they never share a scene together! Years later, James Stewart would talk about the magical days during the late 1930's when he and several other stars and contract players would take their breaks and sit outside the music building and listen to Judy rehearse with Roger Edens.

Ziegfeld Girl is something of an oddity for Stewart.  His character is far below the actors abilities.  Hes merely a plot device for the Sheila Hale (Lana Turner) character.  But Stewart gets top billing anyway, based solely on his recent successes.  A reflection of her star status, Judy gets second billing, even though her role is much smaller than Lana or Hedys roles.

Lana really handles her scenes well.  Shes given the melodramatic plot line of the pretty chorus girl falling prey to the Stage Door Johnnies and booze.  Its really her picture from beginning to end.  Her handling of the decent down the stairs one last time (even though shes close to death!) is wonderfully done and shows that Lana could actually act.  This is the film that would cement Lana Turners star status.

Judys part is basically a supporting role, but she gets several great numbers.  Theres the vaudeville routing with Charles Winninger Laugh, I Thought Id Split My Sides ­ a throw away number that Judy handles nicely due to her real Vaudeville background.

Im Always Chasing Rainbows is the ballad standout for Judy.  Beautifully sung. No one has ever given a better rendition.  It would become a classic Garland film moment.  When watching her sing this, one can see why Lana Turner said to Judy (during the making of this film) You know, Id give all of my beauty for just half of your talent ­ the look on your face when you sing.  Thats praise indeed.  NOTE: The Judy Garland The Golden Years At MGM laser disc contains the existing recording session tracks for Ziegfeld Girl.  Included are several takes of Judys Im Always Chasing Rainbows proving just how amazing Judy was in each take.

Minnie From Trinidad is the big Busby Berkeley extravaganza showcasing Judys characters ascent to stardom.  Its completely over the top ­in a good way!  Judys voice is well suited to this type of number (actually her voice is well suited to any style).  Shes able to take the tongue-in-cheek lyrics and make them fun.  At the end of the number, shes lifted up and down on what are supposed to be large bamboo-type sticks.  Ive always wondered how they got away with putting Judy on something like that ­ something that could possibly seriously injure one of MGMs biggest stars.  Its possible that its really not Judy until they do a close-up.  Hard to tell!

Judy also gets to appear in the other big musical number You Stepped Out Of A Dream.  Judys character is not yet a star, so that after each girls segment, poor Judy/Susan is stuck behind Tony Martin, Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr for the final shot of the number.  This probably didnt do much for Judys insecurities about her looks. Dream is a dream alright.  Eye popping costumes and huge sets add to Tony Martins wonderful rendition of this standard.  The song is really just an excuse to show the typical Ziegfeld number of beautiful girls wearing outlandish costumes descending down a long flight of stairs.Lana and Hedy both get their turn coming down the stairs.  Lana proves that she can navigate stairs better than anyone.  What a beautiful walk she had! Judy doesnt just walk down the stairs, she dances down as the head of a line of sequined clad chorus girls.  Very effective!

The film is also contains one of Dan Dailey's earliest roles as "The Champ" Jimmy Walters who is first spurned then used by the Sheila Hale (Lana Turner) character. Dailey who would go over to 20th Century Fox and star in several musicals with Betty Grable.

Ziegfeld Girl was incredibly opulent, even for the "Golden Years" of Hollywood. The melodrama works because the entire film is packaged with the talent and professionalism that only MGM could achieve. It contains a few of Judy's best numbers on film and shows that in any setting (with any dialog), the talent of Judy Garland would still shine!

So sit back, relax, and lose yourself in a fantasy world that never really existed in the first place. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

 Poster from http://imagecache2.allposters.com/
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LANA TURNER:  One of the most glamorous superstars of Hollywood's golden era, Lana Turner was born February 8, 1921, in Wallace, ID.  At the age of 15, while cutting school, she was spotted by Hollywood Reporter staffer Billy Wilkinson in a Hollywood drugstore; enchanted by her beauty, he escorted her to the offices of the Zeppo Marx Agency, resulting in a bit part in 1937's A Star Is Born. [Zeppo being one of the Four Marx Brothers, of course - Groucho, Chico, Harpo & Zeppo). Rejected by RKO, Fox, and any number of other studios, Lana Turner next briefly showed up in "They Won't Forget". Mervin LeRoy, the picture's director, offered her a personal contract at 50 dollars a week, and she subsequently appeared fleetingly in a series of films at Warner Bros......

Lana Turner's most sultry and effective turn to date as a femme fatale in 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice. The film was a tremendous success, and it made Turner one of Hollywood's brightest stars.

(extracts from http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800018057&cf=biog&intl=us )


The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) is one of the best film noirs of all time - and one of the earliest prototypes of today's 'erotic thrillers.' The screenplay (by Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch) was based on the controversial first novel/pot-boiler (1934) of the same name by notorious writer James M. Cain. Cain was known for novels with forbidden lust, love triangles, brutal, raw sexiness, and adultery-motivated murder.

Two previous, sexually-charged classic film noirs adapted from Cain's novels had met with both critical and box-office success: MGM's Double Indemnity (1944) and Warner Bros.' Mildred Pierce (1945).This fatalistic film from director Tay Garnett is best known for one of the hottest portrayals of a sultry and seductive femme fatale - it is one of Lana Turner's finest performances. The film was advertised with posters that described the illicit passion between a drifter (Garfield) and a married-unsatisfied waitress (Turner) in a roadside cafe: "Their Love was a Flame that Destroyed!" Their killing of the woman's husband ultimately leads to their mutual destruction in unexpected ways. This great and sexy film noir, however, received not even one Academy Award nomination. This dark melodrama was the third screen adaptation of James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice - the previous two were Pierre Chenal's Le Dernier Tournant (1939) (French) and Luchino Visconti's first feature - the unauthorized Ossessione (1942) (Italian) with the setting transferred to Fascist Italy. A fourth, present day re-make, with cruder sex scenes between drifter Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, was director Bob Rafelson's 1981 rendition.

The film begins with a MAN WANTED sign at Twin Oaks, a California roadside diner/luncheonette and gas-station, and voice-over narration..... (from http://www.filmsite.org )



 

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from http://www.perfectpeople.net/
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Ziegfeld Girl (1941)

In this enjoyable Black/White movie above, about 21½ minutes into the story, the big song scene starts with an evening-suited Tony Martin singing "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" to a procession of lovely girls. The gorgeous Lana Turner is strongly associated with the song in this film.

Part of the 1941 movie footage also appears with a special montage of MGM's stars in the movie "That's Entertainment! III" (1994).

If I may, I would like to again dedicate the movie song "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" to the late lovely Lea De Mae, of the beautiful blue eyes, for whom it could have also been written.




YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM  (Nacio Herb Brown, Gus Kahn)

I've had a million dreams
that never came true
Until that lucky day
I discovered you

You stepped out of a dream,
You are too wonderful
To be what you seem.

Could there be eyes like yours?
Could there be lips like yours?
Could there be smiles like yours,
Honest and truly?

You stepped out of a cloud,
I want to take you away
Away from the crowd,

And have you all to myself,
Alone and apart.
Out of a dream
Safe in my heart.

                    Could there be eyes like yours?