Audiences queuing up for this expensive MGM mega-production expecting a sequel to that studio's Best Picture-winner of 5 years earlier must have gone into toxic shock when confronted with what unravelled on the screen. Was Louis B. Mayer asleep at the dailies? What in God's name is poor Jimmy Stewart doing in this farrago, looking like he has ulcers the few times he appears on screen during the interminable 132-running time? But for sheer gall, or studio lunacy run amok, "Ziegfeld Girl" certainly merits watching. The lugubrious tale of 3 young beauties hand-picked by Flo Ziegfeld (mercifully off-screen) to be groomed for Ziegfeld Girl stardom, the film isn't even a musical (a few lavish production numbers occasionally intrude on the histrionics, but the only truly magical musical moment occurs when Judy Garland, in one of her first "adult" roles--and stealing the film with a warm and endearing performance--sings the evergreen "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" as it has never been sung before or after). Instead, "Ziegfeld Girl" seems to be (I'm not quite sure about anything regarding this loopy extravaganza) about the personal perils and pitfalls awaiting talented but naive young ladies trying to make it into show business. Viewed from this perspective (and certainly NOT L.B.'s intention), the film's moralistic warning seems to be--stay home! Only one of the girls makes it to the top with her sanity intact (ironically, the role played by Garland, who would go on to become MGM's prime mistreated sacrificial lamb), another (Hedy Lamarr, at her most ravishingly gorgeous) chucks it all and goes back to her husband, and the third, high-strung emotionally-unstable shopgirl Lana Turner (also at the peak of her beauty, and delivering a touching, subtle performance) can't handle the pressures of stardom, takes to the bottle, and comes to a tragic end (I think--evasive editing makes it unclear whether she dies at the end or just keels over from the battering inflicted on her by the invisible Mr. Ziefeld). In retrospect, in real life, Garland & Turner should have switched roles. This curio must have run way over its considerable budget when the grand finale is shiftily edited to incorporate the conclusion of the most lavishly eye-popping spectacle from "The Great Ziegfeld." A definite curio--was this Louis B. Mayer's subconscious warning to all his female contract players what working for MGM ultimately had in store for them? More stars than there are in hell? Worth watching (and scratching your head over).
Review of Ziegfeld Girl
