The Harvey Girls (1946) User Reviews (72)

Splendid example of the well-crafted musicals dished out of MGM's golden bowl

[classicfilmarchives · 8/10 · 17 April 2002]

"The Harvey Girls" is a splendid example of a well-crafted Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical from a time when well-crafted musicals were being dished out in abundance from Metro's golden bowl.

Inspired by the revolutionary success of "Oklahoma" on Broadway and tailored to fit the protean talents of it's young leading lady, Judy Garland, the film tells the story, in words and music, of a group of waitresses brought west in the late 1800's to open another link in the Fred Harvey chain of restaurants. In the process, they encounter all kinds of romantic and dramatic conflicts. The cast is headed by Judy Garland, fresh from her triumph in the blockbuster musical "Meet Me In St. Louis" and her quietly moving dramatic performance in "The Clock". During the filming of "The Harvey Girls", Garland was one of the top box-office draws in the nation, and Hollywood's most versatile actress. She performs the role of Susan Bradley, an adventurous mail order bride who befriends the Harvey girls en route to New Mexico, with a vibrant comic touch. Her ability to combine tongue in cheek humor with her signature vulnerability is very satisfying in this film, and is an early highlight in her already legendary career.

The rest of the cast is first-rate: Angela Lansbury gives a wickedly fine performance as Em, the jaded dance-hall queen with hooded eyes and no-flies-on-me attitude. John Hodiak is the local tough guy and dance-hall owner, and also the object of Garland and Lansbury's affections. Broadway legend (and Garland's "Wizard of Oz" co-star) Ray Bolger does an amusing turn as the town's rubber legged blacksmith, and Preston Foster is the murderous Judge Purvis. The ranks of the Harvey girls are filled by some of Hollywood's most marvelous character actresses, including Marjorie Main and Virginia O'Brien, and the dancer Cyd Charisse in one of her first roles.

The film boasts what New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther appreciatively called "an abundance of chromatic spectacle and an uncommonly good score", the centerpiece of which is the Academy Award-winning song of the year (1946), "On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe". This production number fills the screen with the colorful bustle of singers, dancers, and horses, and in the best Broadway tradition, advances the plot by introducing almost every cast member and giving them the opportunity to tell their story, in song, and their motivation for coming west in the first place. A spectacular bit of Golden Age musical magic, topped off by Garland's star turn entrance and full-throated belting of the Johnny Mercer/Harry Warren song.

The creative team behind this fable is as impressive as the talent in front of the camera. In addition to the score by Mercer and Warren, the film was directed by George Sidney ("Show Boat", "Annie Get Your Gun"), produced by Arthur Freed ("Singin In The Rain", "Gigi"), art directed by Cedric Gibbons ("The Great Zeigfeld", "The Wizard of Oz"), with musical direction by Lennie Hayton, orchestrations by Conrad Salinger, and musical arrangements by "Eloise" children's book author and singer Kay Thompson (a decade before she sizzled onscreen as the fashion magazine editor in the Audrey Hepburn classic "Funny Face").

This film will include restored Technicolor and stereo sound on DVD, and also a few musical numbers which were cut when the film was released due to length, and have been locked away in the MGM vaults. Now they have been restored, and the viewer can enjoy more of what film critic Howard Barnes called "a great big animated picture postcard."

Splendid example of the well-crafted musicals dished out of MGM's golden bowl

[classicfilmarchives · 8/10 · 17 April 2002]

"The Harvey Girls" is a splendid example of a well-crafted Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical from a time when well-crafted musicals were being dished out in abundance from Metro's golden bowl.

Inspired by the revolutionary success of "Oklahoma" on Broadway and tailored to fit the protean talents of it's young leading lady, Judy Garland, the film tells the story, in words and music, of a group of waitresses brought west in the late 1800's to open another link in the Fred Harvey chain of restaurants. In the process, they encounter all kinds of romantic and dramatic conflicts.

The cast is headed by Judy Garland, fresh from her triumph in the blockbuster musical "Meet Me In St. Louis" and her quietly moving dramatic performance in "The Clock". During the filming of "The Harvey Girls", Garland was one of the top box-office draws in the nation, and Hollywood's most versatile actress. She performs the role of Susan Bradley, an adventurous mail order bride who befriends the Harvey girls en route to New Mexico, with a vibrant comic touch. Her ability to combine tongue in cheek humor with her signature vulnerability is very satisfying in this film, and is an early highlight in her already legendary career.

The rest of the cast is first-rate: Angela Lansbury gives a wickedly fine performance as Em, the jaded dance-hall queen with hooded eyes and no-flies-on-me attitude. John Hodiak is the local tough guy and dance-hall owner, and also the object of Garland and Lansbury's affections. Broadway legend (and Garland's "Wizard of Oz" co-star) Ray Bolger does an amusing turn as the town's rubber legged blacksmith, and Preston Foster is the murderous Judge Purvis. The ranks of the Harvey girls are filled by some of Hollywood's most marvelous character actresses, including Marjorie Main and Virginia O'Brien, and the dancer Cyd Charisse in one of her first roles.

The film boasts what New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther appreciatively called "an abundance of chromatic spectacle and an uncommonly good score", the centerpiece of which is the Academy Award-winning song of the year (1946), "On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe". This production number fills the screen with the colorful bustle of singers, dancers, and horses, and in the best Broadway tradition, advances the plot by introducing almost every cast member and giving them the opportunity to tell their story, in song, and their motivation for coming west in the first place. A spectacular bit of Golden Age musical magic, topped off by Garland's star turn entrance and full-throated belting of the Johnny Mercer/Harry Warren song.

The creative team behind this fable is as impressive as the talent in front of the camera. In addition to the score by Mercer and Warren, the film was directed by George Sidney ("Show Boat", "Annie Get Your Gun"), produced by Arthur Freed ("Singin In The Rain", "Gigi"), art directed by Cedric Gibbons ("The Great Zeigfeld", "The Wizard of Oz"), with musical direction by Lennie Hayton, orchestrations by Conrad Salinger, and musical arrangements by "Eloise" children's book author and singer Kay Thompson (a decade before she sizzled onscreen as the fashion magazine editor in the Audrey Hepburn classic "Funny Face").

This film will include restored Technicolor and stereo sound on DVD, and also a few musical numbers which were cut when the film was released due to length, and have been locked away in the MGM vaults. Now they have been restored, and the viewer can enjoy more of what film critic Howard Barnes called "a great big animated picture postcard."

A List Of Passengers That's Pretty Big Who All Want Lifts To Brown's Hotel

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 10 June 2009]

The Harvey Girls, a film to celebrate the first of the fast food chains which quite frankly would be what the Harvey Restaurant chain was back in the modernizing west. There are folks in the town who don't want to see the Harvey Restaurant established and thereby hangs the tale of this film.

Preston Foster is the town boss and John Hodiak runs the saloon. These guys thrive on the town being in the Wild West accent on the wild. Foster's a rather shrewd villain, he realizes that the clean cut virginal Harvey girls who are servers might make the men forget the loose women of the saloon and that if they court and marry them and start raising families, they might demand a little law and order. That would be a disaster for Foster. Better to cut the problem off at the root.

Hodiak however is a jaded sort and bored with the loose women of his establishment. In a cinema not under the Code influence, Angela Lansbury and her crew would be prostitutes. He kind of likes the idea of the Harvey Restaurant coming to town and likes it better when Judy Garland comes to town.

Judy's come to town as a mail order bride, but when she sees Chill Wills is the prospective groom, both of them decide they're not suited for each other. Hodiak has been writing Wills's letters, a plot device that was used in the Joseph Cotten-Jennifer Jones film Love Letters. If you know about that film, you know how The Harvey Girls turns out.

The Harvey Girls has come down in cinema history because of the famous On The Atchison, Topeka, And The Santa Fe number. The song itself won an Academy Award in 1946 for best original song and the number as staged by MGM is one of the longest and most complex in the annals of film. It runs about 20 minutes and just about every member of the cast except Hodiak and Foster get a line or two in the song. Of course it ends with Judy as well it should have.

One thing I don't understand though is the under use of both Ray Bolger and Kenny Baker. Bolger of course had co-starred with Judy in The Wizard Of Oz, but he was far more known for being a Broadway star than a film player. He had just come off a big run in the last Rodgers&Hart musical By Jupiter. Kenny Baker was a famous radio singer who also had starred on Broadway in Kurt Weill's One Touch Of Venus with Mary Martin. Why these guys got the supporting roles they did is a mystery to me. I suspect both of them had a lot of their parts end up on the cutting room floor.

MGM editing mastery was at its best in The Harvey Girls. The film was partially done on location and partially done at Culver City. The editing is so smooth you really can't tell.

Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer wrote the score for The Harvey Girls and while the Atchison number dwarfs the rest, there's a song called It's A Great Big World that gets sadly neglected. It was sung by Judy Garland, Virginia O'Brien, and someone dubbing Cyd Charisse who first got noticed in this film for her dancing.

As I said before if done today if some gazillionaire would finance a remake, Angela and her saloon girls would be portrayed more frankly as working girls. But that would also cause the film to lose some of its naive charm. And this film holds up quite well for 63 years and counting.

The "Oklahoma" influence is felt on this western musical...

[Doylenf · 10 May 2001]

With Broadway still under the spell of musicals like "Oklahoma", MGM's Arthur Freed was inspired to make a western musical. Originally designed for Lana Turner, the script was altered and songs added to make it a perfect vehicle for Judy Garland. The songs by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren included two standouts: "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" and "It's A Great Big World".

Judy gives an inspired performance and belts out her songs with gusto, particularly effective in the big set piece, "Atchison", which is photographed and choreographed with great precision to produce a dazzling show-stopping number. The film opened to great reviews and was a big box-office hit in the summer of '46.

Don't believe the "sour grapes" reviews claiming the film is dated and mediocre. It's anything but that. If you enjoy MGM musicals at the height of their popularity with film-goers, you'll enjoy this one! Marjorie Main is a treat, Selena Royle is dignified, Kenny Baker does wonders with a ballad and Cyd Charisse has a couple of nice numbers. It's nice to see Ray Bolger sharing scenes with Judy again, their first reunion since "Oz". The big surprise is Angela Lansbury as the garishly costumed dancehall hostess--a far cry from her "Murder She Wrote" image.

Understandably, "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" won the Academy Award for Best Song, as well as a nomination for Best Scoring of a dramatic or comedy film.

Judy Garland at full steam...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 1 October 2005]

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 ****

No Vincente Minelli -- and it shows

[TuckMN · 7/10 · 4 August 1999]

The first person you see is Judy Garland singing an infinitely forgettable song.

For the most part it goes up from there.

This is a film that Vincente Minelly did not direct and even though it shows Judy at her demure best he had a knack for bringing out the best in her performances.

Surprisingly enough, this is not an entirely inaccurate history of the women that opened up the West -- just as much as the men did.

For those that do not know -- Fred Harvey was a railroad tycoon and visionary that realized that the United States could only expand Westward -- and he was there to help fulfill that dream.

His chain of "Railroad Hotels" (some of which still exist) and the women that staffed them, helped to civilize parts of the United States that were raw and uncultured.

This is one of those incredible films that has every face you have ever seen in a movie -- even if you do not always know their names: Ray Bolger, Preston Foster, Virginia O'Brien, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Marjorie Main, Chill Wills and even Cyd Charisse.

This is cameo paradise and there is a character and face there for everyone.

The songs, the costumes, the sets and everything BUT the dialogue and story are top notch. But who needs a good script when you have a cast of STARS! (Especially Judy Garland.)

Take the good parts from this movie and try to pretend the rest never happened.

Good, not great MGM musical

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 27 February 2012]

This is a good, but in my view, not great, musical. In it, a group of "Harvey Girls" (of the real and quite famous Harvey House restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad lines) get off at the New Mexican town of Sandrock to open a new Harvey House. Among them are mostly young beauties, but also Marjorie Main, who is a hoot in this film, and Selena Royale, a once possible flame of Spencer Tracy's in his theater days. They meet up with Judy Garland, who is on her way to meet and marry a man whose flowery love letters overwhelmed her after answering a "lonely hearts" ad. Of course, the man turns out to be rather unsuitable -- it's cowboy Chill Wills...who turns out perfect for Marjorie Main (of course). But, she falls in hate and love and hate and love (you get the picture) with John Hodiak, the owner of a saloon. Garland becomes a Harvey Girl, and their defacto leader in their fight to maintain the restaurant. Who's the bad guy? Well, primarily a bad girl -- Angela Lansbury, along with the local judge. In the end, Lansbury turns out to be rather sweet, and Garland and Hodiak get married in the flowering desert.

The problem with this film are some of the actors chosen for key roles. I've been impressed with John Hodiak in some films, but here...well, not quite. And, Ray Bolger was disappointing here. Virginia O'Brien, who is usually quite good, disappeared halfway through the film because she became noticeably pregnant.

That's not to say there are not some good performances, as well. Judy Garland is super, as is Angela Lansbury (though her singing is dubbed). Marjorie Main and Chill Wills do nicely, too.

As I indicated, this is a good MGM musical, but not one of its best. Worth a watch, but except for fans of Garland, probably not one to reserve a spot for on your DVD shelf. Although the color is fantastic!

A fully-balanced musical film with something for everyone.

[movibuf1962 · 8/10 · 28 August 2006]

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.

Lovely film and worth seeing

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 23 June 2011]

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

Not bad

[zetes · 6/10 · 10 April 2011]

Okay, if unmemorable, Western-based musical starring Judy Garland. The main reasons to watch it are for her and the Oscar-winning song, "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", which, even if the name doesn't ring a bell, if you heard the tune, you'd recognize it. Ray Bolger reunites with Garland as the town's new blacksmith. He has some amusing dance numbers. Also, a very young Angela Lansbury. There's nothing much else to the film. The other songs are forgettable. They must have known this, since the Oscar winner keeps reappearing in the underscore throughout the picture. John Hodiak is a terrible choice for Garland's enemy-but-soon-to-be-beloved. I could never get past that shark grin. Marjorie Main annoys with her scratchy voice. For some reason, the filmmakers think it's hilarious to have her contribute to several of the musical numbers. It sounds like she underwent torture. All in all, it's amiable, but not really worth the time.

Almost perfect. Gorgeous, Funny and Delightful

[alun-williams · 9/10 · 12 July 2022]

This film came as complete and wonderful surprise to me, as somehow or other I've never come across it or even heard of it before watching it on DVD recently.

Right from the off it's American self-mythologising at its best, with a light-hearted tongue in cheek humour that suggests British rumours that Americans have no sense of irony are not just exaggerated but downright lies. If you're wondering how the West was won, watch "The Harvey Girls" and you'll learn it was won by waitresses with spotless aprons and fanatical devotion to duty and attention to detail. I hope that's not a spoiler as its more or less the premise of the film from the opening scene, and if that's not enough to captivate you then just wait until you see Judy Garland eat a sandwich!

This film is a joy to watch, not just for Judy Garland, for its lavish and colourful costumes, or its precision controlled big song and dance numbers, but for its witty script, and its excellent supporting cast, which includes Ray Bolger as a blacksmith with a fear of horses, Cyd Charisse as a wannabee dancer, and Virginia O'Brien as a self-deprecating and supposedly unattractive best friend and room mate to Judy. It's not often I find myself wishing a film were longer, particularly a musical as lavish as this, but I was left wanting more, especially of Ray Bolger and Virginia O'Brien.

So, I'd have given this film 10/10 for its glorious use of Technicolor, its unusual scenario, its perfect execution, and wonderful acting., but was sorry we didn't get to see a happy ending for Judy Garland's friends as well as Judy herself. I was especially puzzled by the unaccountable disappearance of Virginia O' Brien, after a wonderful scene with Ray Bolger, so good and so quirky it may live longer in my memory longer even than the deservedly Oscar winning number "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe". It turns out that Virginia O'Brien was pregnant at the time of the shoot and some of her scenes had to be cut. Apparently some footage from some of these scenes is included on some DVDs of this film, so I'll certainly look out for them.

I should also give a mention to Angela Lansbury, who is also excellent, and glamorous enough to fully merit her role as prime female rival.

I realise I've hardly mentioned this film's leading men. That's not because there isn't anything nice I could say about them, but because they're not what makes this film special for me. That's not to criticise their performances.

I can only sum up by saying this: Watch this film, you won't regret it!

Looks great, but way too much singing and not enough plot or dialog.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 27 February 2010]

"We ought to be able to lick a hand full of girls with our hands tied behind our backs!". This amazing quote, surely the thing of double-entendres, actually sums up the plot quite well. A train filled with waitresses come to a western town to work for one of many restaurants run by the Harvey chain--and some powerful folks in the town will do practically anything to get them to leave as this restaurant is competition to the bar/whorehouse. However, despite this dangerous story, it's not all seriousness as this is a Judy Garland musical--filled with many bright and peppy production numbers. In fact, this is THE problem with the movie. Even for an MGM musical, there are too many song and dance numbers and this made it seem as if dialog and plot were, at best, secondary. It's a shame, as the film looks dynamite---with its intense 1940s color, wonderful costumes and HUGE song and dance numbers that you just have to see to believe.

For lovers of musicals, I'd rate this one an 8. For folks like me that love classic films but don't love every musical, a 6. And, for folks who aren't familiar with or don't like older films (they must be crazy), I'd say it's better just to avoid this one. I really wanted to love the film--as I do love Judy Garland in "Meet Me in St. Louis" and "In the Good Old Summertime". Plus, Garland is wonderful in the film--and she gives it her all. However, this one, clearly, is not in the same league as these great films.

Just watch the famous song

[HotToastyRag · 4/10 · 21 June 2018]

Unless you absolutely love Judy Garland, you can save yourself 100 minutes and just watch the famous song "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe" from The Harvey Girls. I like her, but I'm not in love with her; I haven't watched every one of her films I can get my hands on.

If you do love her and decide to watch the full movie, you'll see lots of beautiful costumes by Irene and Helen Rose Valles as Judy travels by train to the Wild West to become a mail order bride. The female travelers on the train have a different goal once they arrive: they want to open a restaurant and boarding house for respectable girls. And by that, I mean they want to have lots of chorus numbers.

Ray Bolger, Judy's gangly pal from The Wizard of Oz joins the cast, as does the pouting Angela Lansbury, crotchety Marjorie Main, and willowy Cyd Charisse. It's up to you if you want to sit through this mediocre musical, or if you want to get the gist by watching the three-minute song.

They just don't make 'em like this anymore

[IStillAmBig · 6 July 2003]

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!

Too much music: not enough action

[coreybryant59 · 6/10 · 26 December 2007]

Arthur Freed is noted for his musical productions, but this movie is choked with too many songs and lack of story content. One can learn to like it, though, and I particularly like the performance of Judy Garland and Virginia O'Brien. John Hodiak sort of reminds me of Clark Gable in GONE WITH THE WIND---his easy-going nature and good humor. It's refreshing to see Angela Lansbury as a young woman and there are some hilarious moments, such as when Judy Garland gets the Harvey House's beef back with her errant Colt pistol. But, as I said, this movie is too full of songs and not enough story content. In all fairness, I have to put a fair rating for it.

very pretty indeed.

[ptb-8 · 7/10 · 21 December 2006]

If Technicolor MGM finesse is enough to stun you (and it easily can be enough) then THE HARVEY GIRLS is 3D color heaven. As a musical and as a movie, I found it weirdly flat. In Australia where these films were huge box office successes, MGM reissued many of their 40s and 50s musicals right up to the late 60s. The few that were not on the reissue list included THE HARVEY GIRLS. ... whether it was too American (!?) or whether it just did not have the pizazz or the fantasy we in Oz seem to love, I am not sure but I can feel my reasons why I became bored with it. On the plus side, I was constantly enchanted with gorgeous Garland aged 22, the breathtaking Technicolor photography and any close up of Angela Lansbury, clothed to the dazzling hilt. I can see how and why this film went through various changes during production and it feels like an overdressed version of another more ordinary western gussied into being a 1945 musical. OKLAHOMA's 1943 stage success is quite evident. Research shows that MGM saw a chance to emulate OKLAHOMA'ssuccessful stage result and contrived a western on the production conveyor belt into a pseudo OKLAHOMA - ish movie by wrangling THE HARVEY GIRLS into the form it is now. This explains why the film seems disjointed and pieced from different imagery and ideas. I found John Hodiak creepy with his odd teeth/mustache (that scary grin!) and no leading romantic man for Judy. I don't know what a Doagie is and I can't for the life of me see how the Joan Of Arc style bonfire number could have ever fitted into the finished film... which to me is startling in its exorcist/hell imagery with Judy looking like she is about to scream and melt. It is another weirdness in/out of a film full of off kilter ideas that seem to have been added as afterthoughts. Marjorie main has a great 'setting the table' number, and silly Ray Bolger again flips and wiggles out of place... looking like another weird addition among the rest. The big number at the start is fantastic, the set wonderful, the train line through the main street eye catching, and again the costume design and color photography superb. There is great use of the colour orange... whether as oleanders or with black and white stripes, but it is a keen colour featured throughout. It's all like a mosaic tile floor that is a movie.

Judy garland as beautiful as always

[RedRainbowUnicorn23 · 7/10 · 17 January 2015]

I just saw this movie today for the first time on TcM and I must say it was as beautiful as I hoped it would be. I am a huge fan of Judy garland and watched a lot of her movies ex.The wizard of Oz,a star is born,summer stock.meet me in st Louis and for me and my gal loved all of them. Now back to the Harvey girls the song are cheery and you can sing along easily. It's your typical love triangle movie 2 girls are in love with the same man one popular and one clumsy the one girl new him for years and the other just met him. What would overrule popularity or Love find out by watching this stunning musical with a unforgettable Judy garland

A musical masterpiece

[lgoodman · 10/10 · 16 March 1999]

While the non-subtle male chauvinism in this movie becomes a bit much in places, the lovely songs, particularly 'The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,' sung by Judy Garland, make up for it all. The historical Harvey Girls probably didn't sing that well, but this is a sweet movie in tribute to one of the few female presences in the Old West worthy of commemoration. The spark between Judy Garland and John Hodiak is tangible, and makes this movie really worth watching.

Pleasant, if not especially memorable, MGM big-budget musical...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 25 June 2020]

Starring Judy Garland. This musical Western is from her mid-pushing-to-late years at the studio. Her romantic lead, John Hodiak, is not an actor I've come to know very well, although he had some other high-profile appearances in Lifeboat and Battleground. He came to prominence at least partly because so many big-name actors were off at war. The same thing happened with Gregory Peck, but he made a much more substantial career out the opportunity. I think it didn't help he and Preston Foster were both wearing similar mustaches. The first couple of times I saw the movie, I had a bit of trouble telling them apart! I did like the bit where he lets Garland know he's aware the story she's telling is Longfellow, that he's not just some hick rube.

Angela Lansbury transitioned very quickly from semi-sexpot roles like here and Gaslight to matronly roles. She played Elvis' mother in Blue Hawaii when she was in her mid-30s and only about eight years older than him! They dubbed her singing voice for some reason, though I'm sure she would have been just fine.

Interesting to see Ray Bolger appearing prominently alongside Garland in the "Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe" number, although their characters barely interact for the rest of the film, given of course, that he's the Scarecrow, and she's Dorothy. I wonder if the powers that be knowingly placed them together in a couple of closeups as a kind of Easter egg, or if the same people worked together so often in MGM's Golden Age, that nobody even thought twice about it.

And you feel bad about Chill Wills' character having to beg Garland NOT to marry him, because ... why? Because it would make her look like a heel if she was the one doing the begging? Although they do establish that Hodiak wrote the letters she fell in love with, so by old movie tropes, that made him her soul mate.

Garland is as gallant as ever, and the colour is gorgeous

[jem132 · 8/10 · 26 February 2009]

I really enjoyed this one, perfect hot lazy Saturday afternoon entertainment for me. Judy Garland as always is a treat to watch. This time the songbook isn't too memorable (apart from that great ensemble number near the beginning), and John Hodiak is sort of creepy as her leading man (his teeth and moustache look weird--he has none of the earthy sexuality of "Lifeboat"), but nevertheless I thought it was pretty good. It had enough humour, spots of melodrama and light musical numbers to keep me interested throughout. Plus, the colour is gorgeous, looking fantastic there on my HD TV. A young Cyd Charisse plays one of the "Harvey Girls", and she doesn't really get much of a chance to display her dancing talents, but she's still lovely to watch. Hard to believe Angela Lansbury was so young when she made this movie (early 20's I believe). Why did they turn her into a madam before her time? George Sidney, reliable MGM hand, directs and it's some of the best work I've seen from him yet. Apart from the ballads, the musical numbers are very fluid.

Great Talents In An Otherwise Conventional Musical

[gftbiloxi · 7/10 · 28 July 2005]

A fine cast, charming score, and excellent production values highlight this otherwise conventional musical inspired by real-life adventures of Harvey restaurant waitresses during the 1880s. Perhaps best described as Americana at its most milk-fed wholesome, the film concerns the clash between the influence of "good girl" waitresses (led by Judy Garland) and "bad girl" saloon hostesses (led by Angela Lansbury) as they square off over both customers and beaus in an Old West frontier town.

THE HARVEY GIRLS is justly famous for the production number "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe," an extremely complex and exciting bit of work; other memorable moments include Garland, Virginia O'Brien, and Cyd Charisse's trio on "It's A Great Big World" and O'Brien's drop-dead witty "Wild Wild West." The enjoyable cast also includes charming performances by Ray Bolger, Chill Wills and Marjorie Main. Even so, the film seldom seems to rise above tepid, and THE HARVEY GIRLS lacks the inspiration of a truly great musical--particularly so when compared with such Garland classics as MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and THE PIRATE. Recommended, but don't expect too much.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Great Spoof with Wonderful Music

[LeonardKniffel · 10/10 · 11 April 2020]

This musical seldom makes anybody's top-10 list, but it is perfect in almost every way, except for the sappy ending when Judy Garland and John Hodiak fall for each other, literally, and also fall almost completely out of character. Not only is the movie full of romantic songs, it is also funny as all get out. Watch Virginia O'Brien teach a queasy Ray Bolger to shoe a horse as she sings about "The Wild, Wild West." "Swing Your Partner Round and Round" showcases the comedic skills of Chill Wills and Marjorie Main. Angela Lansbury (with one of the most durable careers in show business history) is delightful as the tough bordello madam with a heart of gold, singing "Oh You Kid" (although why she was dubbed by Virginia Rees is anybody's guess). This is a perfect antidote to the serious film westerns that assert guns tamed the West, whereas this film makes a convincing case for classy waitresses. Garland's scene with a pair of six shooters shows her gift for comedy and her ability to switch to romance in a flash. My particular favorite is "It's a Great Big World," sung by the dancing trio of Garland, O'Brien, Cyd Charisse. The Oscar-winning "On the Atcheson Topeka and the Santa Fe" is one of Garland's finest moments on the silver screen. On YouTube, you can watch her singing "March of the Dogies"; this scene was cut from the film and is far better than many songs left in most other movies. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

GOOD SHOWCASE FOR GARLAND...!

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 4 July 2019]

Judy Garland stars in this musical from 1946. Garland is a mail order bride heading out west w/a carload of Harvey girls (women trained to be waitresses in a string of restaurants created to tame the wilder side of the Wild West). When the marriage goes kaput, she opts to become part of these comfort hostesses only to fall in love w/the local hotel owner which steams the head dancer, played by Angela Lansbury, further fueling the divide between the original townsfolk who appreciate the raunchiness of their hard living & the gentler additions out to tame the encroaching expanses. A good time to be sure w/Garland reuniting w/her Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger who gets a couple of great tap dance sequences. Look for Cyd Charisse as of Lansbury's dancehall girls.

East is east and west is west.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 2 August 2003]

Evocative of the well directed costume musicals of the era. George Sidney directs this western mixed with song and laughter. As the population moves west there is a need for Fred Harvey's railroad station restaurants, and prim and proper waitresses try to influence the rowdy citizens they encounter. Ensemble cast includes:Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Preston Foster, Angela Lansbury and Chill Wills. Garland is the proper city girl and Lansbury is the rowdy dance hall girl the story gravitates around. Highlight is the Oscar winning tune "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe".