Search - Ira Gershwin :: Girl Crazy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

DVD NOW !!

Robert M. Bonnett | towson, md. | 05/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These studios need to release these old musicals on DVD now! We want to enjoy them in all their glory and only remastered DVD will allow that! With a sound track like this its a shame that its not on Dolby Re-Mastered Digital !!!"

The best recording of the best Gershwin show

marknyc | 07/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Put aside any preconceptions about "Mickey and Judy" movies. In fact, just put aside the film entirely. Buy this CD for the music and you'll be glad you did.



Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine, soon to be famous for their score for "Meet Me in St. Louis," gave this Gershwin score (the best of all their shows), the five-star treatment with fantastic vocal arrangements - though I'm sure Roger Edens also had a hand in there.



What you get are versions that make these great songs sound even better. "Bidin' My Time," which can be a sleeper if done badly, turns into a rich counterpoint between Judy and a male quartet. "Embraceable You" is given an easy, lightly swinging full choral arrangement after Judy does the definitive solo version, and "I Got Rhythm" is taken over the top with Tommy Dorsey and the "Six Hits and A Miss" backing Judy perfectly.



But the piece de resistance is Dorsey's arrangement of "Fascinatin' Rhythm," presented first as a typical swing arrangement (and a great one at that), and then with Mickey miming Arthur Schutt's piano solo a la Gershwin's "Variations on I Got Rhythm," complete with hand-crossing and all George's piano tricks - fantastic!



Add to this Judy's painfully tender version of "But Not For Me," June Allyson's debut performance of "Treat Me Rough," and the happily restored "Bronco Busters," and you have one of the best film scores ever.



To top it all off, Rhino dicovered that all the tracks had been recorded in multichannel sound and then mixed down to mono for the film's release. Remix them to stereo and you have state-of-the-art sound, recorded on 35mm film, not on 79 rpm dics, for awesome sound quality - this does not sound like some tinny soundtrack, trust me.



If you are a Gershwin fan, this CD must be in your collection!"

Loads of Fun, Great Cast

Samantha Kelley | USA | 05/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Girl Crazy is the story of a playboy Danny (Mickey Rooney) from New York whose father has had enough of his behavior. He is sent to an all boy's school out in the west where the boys get up promptly at 5:45, rarely shower, and find solace in riding horses all day. Danny certainly doesn't fit in, but he finds he can't complain too much thanks to the presence of Ginger (Judy Garland), the Dean's grand daughter and one of the prettiest girls he's ever seen. When the school is threatened to close, the two join up to find a way to save it.



Rooney is a barrell of fun in this film; his energy is contageous. He's hamming it up in every scene, especially in the "I Got Rhythm" finale. Although he isn't the most handsome of men, he really pulls off being a charming ladies' man, much like he was in life at this time. Garland is breathtakingly gorgeous throughout the film. Her natural charms, heartbreaking voice, and gentle sweetness add up for an amazing character and performance. June Allyson makes her first appearance in an opener that catches the attention quite well. She seems confident, but it is interesting to know that after each song she had to sing on a film, she threw up in the bathroom.



The songs in this film were later compiled for the musical Crazy For You. The lyrics were changed slightly to fit the altered plot, so if one is familiar with that show, it is interesting to see this film too."