Customer Reviews

Ziegfeld Girl

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this movie drags on and on. It seems like it will never end. The acting in it is pretty bad. The actors act like they don't want to be in this movie!

I am a great fan of the MGM musicals. This is an entertaining vehicle and Judy Garland's numbers "Minnie from Trinidad" and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" are stellar!! Judy could do anything!!! They are worth rating the movie 5 stars for them alone. However, those numbers are not all there is to the movie. The film is overlong telling the stories of three girls (Garland, Lamarr and Turner)who enter into the Ziegfield realm. Lamarr is simply there for decoration, Judy, of course is there for the talent, and Turner in a surprisingly good dramatic role is there for the soap opera element. Jimmy Stewart is given top billing here but he is completely wasted and he and Lana Turner have absolutely no chemistry together. His screen time averages to less than 15 minutes. The story drags and is overlong. However, the musical numbers make up for the flaws in the story which is nothing more than trite soap opera drivel.

The DVD is high quality, great picture and sound.

If you're a fan of Garland or Turner, buy this DVD. You won't be disappointed. As I said, Garland is worth anything in anything she does. And Turner proves she can act.

An intriguing, albeit somewhat superficial, look at the lives of three young women destined for stardom in the Ziegfeld Follies. While gorgeous Hedy LaMarr is merely decorative, the radiant young Judy Garland is marvelous in numbers like "Minnie From Trinidad" and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", and Lana Turner is a revelation as the spoiled beauty who succumbs to the darker side of stardom. Unfortunately, James Stewart is wasted in this film and does not pair well with Turner. This aside, the MGM glamour is spectacular, with stunning costumes by Adrian and set design by Cedric Gibbons. What a shame that MGM chose to film this in black-and-white, rather than Technicolor! While the film is overlong and somewhat dated, you'll rarely get the opportunity to see the likes of Garland, Turner, and LaMarr together in one film. For this reason alone, it should not be missed.

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I wanted to read more about this film here on Amazon to determine whether I might like to see it.

I learned two interesting things:

1.The film unfortunately is in black & white, which is a disappointment because I am a technicolor fan.

2. Joel from NYC is gay gay gay!!! He said he started watching these kinds of films when he was only 12. He must be one big queen from Queens by now!

Well, I simply adore gay taste in films and music, so if Joel liked it, I guess I just may have to watch it too!

Thanks Joel!

For sheer 1941 Hollywood glamour and spectacle, "Ziegfeld Girl" is what it's all about. Produced by Pandro S.Berman and with the all out musical numbers staged by Busby Berkeley, it also features the youthful beauty of Judy Garland and Lana Turner with the stunning Hedy Lamarr for extra eye candy. The hackneyed story of three star struck girls chosen as Ziegfeld showgirls and the resulting complications is glossed over by the stars including Jimmy Stewart as Lana's beau and Eve Arden as a been around showgirl watching as the newcomers take over the spotlight. Lana is the one who suffers the most and falls prey to tragedy. The costumes are incredible and the musical numbers very elaborate---especially Judy's tropical "Minnie From Trinidad" and the show stopper "You Stepped Out of a Dream". My only question is why wasn't it in Technicolor instead of b&w? The DVD print shows some wear but overall it's very good. For vintage film and musical buffs (as well as Garland and Turner fans) this is a treasure.

I have loved this movie from the first time I saw it in the fall of 1977 on WCBS-TV, Channel 2, from NYC when I was 15. I was allowed to stay up until the wee hours of the morning as long as my studies didn't suffer. Of course, all of this nonsense of loving classic MGM movies started with "That's Entertainment!" three years earlier.
"Ziegfeld Girl" is a wonderful musical soap opera from start to finish. With a stellar cast headed by James Stewart, Judy Garland, Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr, Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper, Eve Arden and so many more how could you go wrong? You can't! While this isn't "great" movie-making in the "The Wizard of Oz" or "Citizen Kane" sense it's still a terrific example of a Hollywood, or should I say Culver City, empire at its best. The only exception would be the finale of "Ziegfeld Girl" which encompasses interpolations from "The Great Ziegfeld". The original finale "We Must Have Music" wasn't considered grand enough and this was definitely a cost-cutting measure on Metro's part to look more opulent.
Some of the highlights are the musical numbers directed by Busby Berkeley including "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "Minnie From Trinidad". Other highlights are Garland's audition sequence featuring "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", Eve Arden's dry wit and Lana Turner's dramatic turn. She has the most interesting story of the three Ziegfeld Girls. Hedy Lamarr is stunning and Judy Garland was on the cusp of her glamour years at MGM. That would start with her next picture, "Life Begins For Andy Hardy" where she definitely had a new more sophisticated sexy look. She is very glamorous in "Minnie From Trinidad". Adrian's costuming in this movie is spectacular.
The DVD transfer is exceptional. While there are some age-related artifacts, overall the quality is wonderful. This is a HUGE improvement over previous incarnations on VHS and Laserdisc where one could tell every reel change. The sound quality is very nicely balanced and cleaned up which cannot be said of earlier releases.
My recommendation is that you buy this DVD ASAP. If you love classic movies you will enjoy this. It's a lot of fun and Garland, Turner and Lamarr have never looked so beautiful before or at least since 1941.

The story itself flounders between drama and musical, but that can be forgiven since the whole business is a backstage story of the Ziegfeld dynasty. (The film's predecessor "The Great Ziegfeld" was presented the same way: a biography proper, but it integrated on-stage musical numbers throughout the film.) In this case the girls of the title are exotic beauty Lamarr (in love with her own husband and devoid of ego, but involved in the standard 'domestic-bliss-or-stardom' dilemma), working-girl Turner in the campier role of fortune huntress (who repeatedly spars with blue-collar beau James Stewart), and vaudeville baby Garland- devoted to dad Winninger, but who quietly matures throughout the film after finding her niche as a singer (beautifully staged in the audition piece "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"). Art imitates life in this film: Garland was historically insecure about her looks- especially when bookended by Turner and Lamarr- and desperately wanted MGM to show her grown-up and beautiful (and while she is quite beautiful, it is more inner and vulnerable than outer and glamorous). The film progresses with these plots nicely but much too slowly- and paints itself into a corner with the Turner plot near the end (although that might've beeen on purpose). But the performances themselves are marvelous, and the film is a great springboard for its three distaff leads as well as future stars Jackie Cooper, Dan Dailey, and Eve Arden. Check out not only 'Rainbows,' but showpieces "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "Minnie From Trinidad" and a marvelous comic bit featuring Winninger called "Gallagher and Shean."

Tous ces films m'intéressent au plus haut point, mais je ne peux les acheter, car il n'y a pas de trame sonore en français. Je cherche depuis des semaines un endroit ou je pourrais faire un commentaire sur cette anomalie qui m'empêche de jouir de ces magnifiques films. Tous les films de Doris Day entre autres. Tous les films des années 50 et bien d'autres. Je dois prendre mes renseignements sur le site américain et commander mesure le site canadien. Le site canadien indique que les films sont en anglais, même s'ils sont aussi en français. C'est une erreur importante. Vous perdez beaucoup de vente. J'ai répertorié une centaine de films que j'aurais achetés s'il y avait eu une trame sonore en français.
Voulez-vous faire parvenir mon commentaire à la personne qui s'occupe de ces choses.
Merci.
Marcel Lamothe
m.lamothe@hy.cgocable.ca

"Ziegfeld Girl" is not one of MGM's greatest musical achievements so much as it is one of their biggest rip offs. The plot wreaks of faint formaldehyde right down to its stolen montage sequence from "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936) that supplants Virginia Bruce from the top of that film's revolving staircase with Judy Garland in a blonde wig. What a sham! If the film had absolutely no merit at all this would be an easy review to write. However, "Ziegfeld Girl" is a blessed with a stellar cast including Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr and Ms. Garland, as well as Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper and Edward Everett Horton. The film also has two lavish set pieces all its own, the rather maudlin, though eye-popping "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" with the entire cast parading down a gigantic spiral staircase and "Minnie From Trinidad", a Garland standout with a tropical theme that is both light, humorous and melodic. Garland also has the outstanding solo ballad, "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" though this is sung with only modest accompaniment and an uninspired stage backdrop.
THE TRANSFER: In keeping with Warner's commitment to the classics, "Ziegfeld Girl" looks remarkably pristine on DVD. The gray scale is perfectly balanced. Contrast and black levels are right on. Some scenes suffer from age related artifacts. There are also minute traces of edge enhancement but nothing that will terribly distract. The audio is mono but nicely balanced.
BOTTOM LINE: "Ziegfeld Girl" is for fans of Judy Garland. It's not an outstanding musical but will nevertheless entertain.