YOU’VE GOT A DATE WITH THE GIRLS FROM THE “FOLLIES”!
In the 1920s, three girls (Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr) join the Ziegfeld Follies and handle the challenges of stardom in different ways. Originally meant to be a sequel to Robert Z. Leonard’s The Great Ziegfeld (1936), this was turned into a story that stands on its own. The portrayal of the three Broadway starlets and their problems with love, fame and alcohol is clichéd, and James Stewart isn’t very convincing as the Flatbush boyfriend, but the film still has strong points. Garland shines the brightest, especially in one of the movie’s best Busby Berkeley numbers, “Minnie from Trinidad”.
1941-U.S. 131 min. B/W. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Songs: “Minnie from Trinidad” (Roger Edens), “You Stepped Out of a Dream” (Nacio Herb Brown, Gus Kahn). Cast: James Stewart (Gilbert Young), Lana Turner (Sheila Regan), Judy Garland (Susan Gallagher), Hedy Lamarr (Sandra Kolter), Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper… Edward Everett Horton, Eve Arden.
Trivia: At one point, Eleanor Powell and Joan Crawford were allegedly considered for roles. This was Stewart’s last film before his five-year-long absence when he served in WWII.
