BUSBY BERKELEY

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 1942.  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Story by Howard Emmett Rogers, Screenplay by Richard Sherman, Fred F. Finklehoffe, Sid Silvers.  Cinematography by William H. Daniels.  Produced by Arthur Freed.  Music by Roger Edens.  Production Design by Cedric Gibbons.  Costume Design by Robert Kalloch, Gile Steele.  Film Editing by Ben Lewis.  Academy Awards 1942.  

Gene Kelly‘s film debut came about in this delightful period musical starring him and Judy Garland (of trivial note: it’s the only film she was ever in where she was the sole name billed above the title). They play vaudevillians during World War I who are thrown together in love but pulled apart by ethics when the war comes to figure in their business decisions. Chock full of fantastic musical numbers, including the title song.