IMDb plot summary: On a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) meets a cheery crew of young women travelling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.
Directed by George Sidney. Starring Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Ray Bolger, and Angela Lansbury.
This one just kind of wanders around, huh? The only song that has much of any pep to it is the one that won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1946 -- the rest of the score leans *very* heavily on ballads, none of which are interesting. (Particularly lifeless is the women's trio about how they'd better find a man soon, which has some of the most bizarrely lethargic dancing I have ever seen.) There's certainly no lack of songs in the movie, but the songs they do have barely stick and I found myself wishing that some of those had been pushed out to make way for some character development and dialogue. Judy Garland is, as always, an enjoyable performer, but the movie does no favors to the rest of the cast. I also found myself slightly horrified during the finale at Garland's tearful concession of going into sex work if that was what her leading man wanted of her. Overall, while I loved how many women there were in this movie, it's just not a very engaging musical overall.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The Harvey Girls > Waxwork
The Harvey Girls < Victor/Victoria (1982)
The Harvey Girls > The Crying Game
The Harvey Girls < Men in Black
The Harvey Girls < Mrs. Brown
The Harvey Girls < Now You See Me
The Harvey Girls < If Beale Street Could Talk
The Harvey Girls < Marjorie Prime
The Harvey Girls > Hotel Rwanda
The Harvey Girls > The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Harvey Girls < Brick
Final spot: #1181 out of 3175, which feels unexpectedly high, but I guess even a lackluster musical can do pretty well on my chart!
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