For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly – in his screen debut – and George Murphy, and featuring Martha Eggerth and Ben Blue. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F. Finklehoffe and Sid Silvers, based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers inspired by a true story about vaudeville actors Harry Palmer and Jo Hayden, when Palmer was drafted into World War I. It was a production of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM. In the heyday of vaudeville, on the verge of America's entrance into World War I, two talented... performers, Jo Hayden and Harry Palmer , set their sights on playing the Palace Theatre on Broadway, the epitome of vaudeville success, and marrying immediately after. Just weeks before their plans are to be realized Harry gets a draft notice. Intending to obtain a short delay before reporting for duty, he intentionally smashes his hand in a trunk. That same day Jo is notified that her brother, who had been studying to be a doctor, has died in the war. When she realizes what Harry has done, she rejects him and leaves the act.
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| Release date: | 1942 |
| Directed by: | Busby Berkeley |
| Runtime: | 104 Minutes |
| Producer: | Arthur Freed |
| Editor: | Ben Lewis |
| Music by: | Roger Edens, Georgie Stoll |
| Cinematography: | William H. Daniels |
| Screenplay by: | Richard M. Sherman, Fred F. Finklehoffe, Sid Silvers |
| Estimated budget: | $803,000 |
| Genre: | Musical |