Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Girl Crazy Blu-ray Movie Review

Down and Out in Cody College.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 4, 2020

In the last of their eight shared films -- including three other musicals -- Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland tried to strike gold one more time with 1943's Girl Crazy, co-directed by Norman Taurog and choreographer Busby Berkeley. This round, Rooney plays rich young playboy Danny Churchill Jr., a premise that sounds ridiculous until we realize that everyone else is in on the joke too. But the screenplay drums up quick sympathy for Danny by making him immediately lose his situation: Danny Sr. (Henry O'Neill) puts a stop to the skirt- chasing and sends him to Cody College of Mines and Agriculture, a girl-free zone out West in the middle of nowhere. What, he doesn't want grandchildren?

During the long walk from his train station, Danny bumps into lovely young Ginger Gray (Garland), the college's mail delivery girl who drives the textbook definition of an old jalopy. They get off to a pretty rough start: she's not receptive to his quick advances, but that sure doesn't stop Danny from trying anyway. Once he's brow-beaten and bullied enough times by Ginger's admirer Henry (Robert E. Strickland) and the other students, she begins to see a softer side of the brash young New Yorker. But since most romantic comedies need some sort of extra conflict, it turns out that Cody College -- which Ginger's grandpa built from the ground up -- is in danger of closing, so it's up to the young duo to save the day...with a huge musical performance featuring Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, obviously.

I already admitted in my review of the recently-released Strike Up the Band (the duo's second musical pairing) that I am not the biggest fan of Mickey Rooney, although I can at least respect his unyielding, boundless enthusiasm for... um, high-energy performance. He's much more tolerable this time around...or maybe that's just because his character is knocked down a peg or two every few minutes. Yet as amiable as his presence is, Girl Crazy's paper-thin story doesn't give its characters much to do: sure, there are ample opportunities for Rooney to go full Buster Keaton and Garland gets plenty of time for singing, but this feels like yet another barely-passable reason to string together a few good-to-great songs. The pace is extremely scattershot and, while I did enjoy the "desolate West" location transplant and its much breezier running time of 99 minutes, there's not much of lasting interest here beyond a few indelible performances and excellent choreography. Either way, Girl Crazy was another big earner for the studio and even ended up being one of 1943's highest-grossing movies, but it still pretty much gets by on name value alone.

Even so, Girl Crazy is fitfully entertaining (and more re- watachable than Strike Up the Band) with a few memorable supporting performances by the likes of Rags Ragland, Gil Stratton, and Nancy Walker, later a contributor to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Although I didn't cotton to its patchwork plot, there's some fun to be had here and those who enjoy it more will definitely appreciate Warner Archive''s new Blu-ray, which serves up another top-tier disc with great A/V specs and a handful of DVD-era bonus features that add up to a decently well-rounded package.

Girl Crazy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Although they share story elements and lead performers, all four of the Rooney-Garland musicals were a revolving door of cinematographers and settings. Girl Crazy trades in traditional school halls for the more rustic Cody College and its sun-baked surroundings, which gives it all the crisp detail and texture of your average Western. Even when things move indoors, Girl Crazy retains a respectable amount of clarity while preserving lots of natural film grain.

Warner Archive has sourced this Blu-ray's new 1080p transfer from a recent 4K scan of the best surviving elements, which often indicates an original negative, interpositive, dupe negative, and/or print. It's a remarkably consistent, stable picture that's clean as a whistle with no obvious signs of contrast boosting or excessive noise reduction. The film also runs at a very high bit rate and likewise has no glaring compression artifacts, banding, or other eyesores. This is yet another winner from a studio with perhaps the pest running track record for high-quality transfers.

Girl Crazy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix follows suit with excellent dialogue, strong music cues (which of course include George & Ira Gershwin's songs, as well as the performances by Garland, Rooney, and Tommy Dorsey's orchestra), and a well-balanced sound stage that sporadically feels more full and dynamic than its one-channel source suggests. There are almost no signs of perceptible damage or wear and tear to be found. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature; although garish yellow, they're otherwise formatted and synced perfectly.

Girl Crazy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Like Strike Up the Band, these extras are recycled from the 2007 Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection.

• Song Selection (11 clips)

• Introduction by Mickey Rooney (4:10)

• Audio Commentary by film historian John Fricke

• Hollywood Daredevils (9:21) - A 1943 Pete Smith Specialty short.

• The Early Bird Dood It! (8:51) - An unrestored MGM cartoon directed by the great Tex Avery.

• "I Got Rhythm" Stereo Remix Version (7:31)

• "Bronco Busters" Outtake (Audio only, 2:22)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:13) - Also available here.

Girl Crazy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Norman Taurog and Busby Berkeley's Girl Crazy marks the final big-screen pairing of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and, though fitfully entertaining with great choreography, it's a pretty paper-thin production that exists solely to string a few good-to-great songs together. That said, anyone who loves their other films will likely enjoy the show and Warner Archive's Blu-ray makes for an excellent and very well-rounded package with yet another high-quality 1080p transfer paired with a nice handful of DVD-era bonus features. Recommended, but to established fans only.