For Me and My Gal

This 1942 MGM musical is Gene Kelly's first film and the first time Judy Garland's name appeared above the title. It is set in 1915: two vaudeville performers tie their act and their lives together, and then the First World War arrives. Kelly's Harry Palmer does something morally heavy to avoid the draft and keep his shot at the Palace Theatre, and the film does not hand out forgiveness cheaply. Under Busby Berkeley the numbers are plainer than his famous kaleidoscopic set pieces, with the weight resting on the pairing of the two dancers. It was a substantial hit and drew an Academy Award nomination for its musical scoring. Who it's for: viewers who want classic Hollywood musicals and the moment two stars first met on screen. Who it's not for: anyone who will find the wartime patriotic register, and the ease of the ending, hard to take.