For Me And My Gal (1942)

Gene Kelly took a risk playing an unsympathetic, draft-dodging song and dance man for his screen debut but he pulls it off in For Me And My Gal, a dramatic musical vaudeville set during World War I but made during World War II. Judy Garland is heart-breaking and endearing as the distaff half of the team; on stage and off she exudes the stuff that dreams are made of. Black and white photography and an adult script make this grittier than the usual 40s musical but the many classic songs and dances with direction by Busby Berkeley are fun and involving and it all works together.

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Myra Breckinridge (1970)

Raquel Welch (looking breathtaking and showing some real acting chops as a transsexualvestite) and Mae West (hootworthy, singing songs and vamping with Tom Selleck) are the reasons to see Myra Breckinridge. A lot of other names show up as actors (John Huston, Farrah Fawcett, Rex Reed, John Carradine) and icons in black and white film clips (Judy Garland, Laurel & Hardy) and there's male rape, lesbian seduction, dirty medicine and a whole bunch more that, though interesting to see in a historical context, just doesn't add up to a good movie. What made the thing watchable is knowing that no major Hollywod studio would ever make a film like this again; it's a moment in time.

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...A Star is Born (1954)

A Star is Born is an absolutely perfect musical drama starring Judy Garland as an amalgam of Esther Blodgett, Vicki Lester and...um...Judy Garland. She, the music, the script,and James Mason are phenomenal. Take a look at the artistry (as directed by George Cukor) and see for yourself.

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