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The Harvey Girls Movie Review

The Harvey Girls is a 1946 western musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury. It’s one of the better musicals of the decade.

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“We ought to be able to lick a bunch a women

with our hands tied behind our back“

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On a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women travelling out to open a Harvey House restaurant at a remote whistle-stop. Apparently somewhat historically accurate, this movie was a rare case of the mixing between the musical and western genres that were hugely popular at the time but rarely mixed together. It mostly worked and it was such a pleasant watching experience.

The plot is serviceable and by that I mean exactly that – it serves its purpose, which is just to set up the scene for the songs to kick in. The music should always be the most important factor in determining the quality of a musical and here the soundtrack was absolutely phenomenal, which is why the movie itself ended up being so strong.

It’s a Great Big World is such a beautiful number that functions as a sweet, lovely lullaby. It’s gorgeously sung by Garland. The Wild, Wild West is a well sung, upbeat and enjoyable ode to the Old West. Swing Your Partner Round and Round is not the greatest number, but the choreography and infectious energy sold it in this instance. In the Valley started off the film in a terrifically grandiose, poetic fashion.

But the highlight is clearly the standout number called On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe. Judy’s singing here is absolutely perfect, the melody itself is very catchy and she was further helped out by terrific choreography from the entire town who joined in. The backup vocals, the swell music and the phenomenal imagery made for one hell of a musical number that is timeless and infectiously enjoyable. It undeniably deserved its Oscar win.

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The Harvey Girls has a terrific score, but it also has gorgeous costumes, amazing production design and strong editing, though the directing is only okay. It’s a technically polished marvel of musical Hollywood production that stood the test of time gloriously. Judy Garland’s acting, singing and dancing were all on-point and she simply radiated off the screen. Angela Lansbury was also superb as this very memorable, well developed rival character for the protagonist. The male characters were wholly disposable and the plot was only okay, but it is worth seeing for the incredible music alone.