Musicals Blog

Girl Crazy - Gershwin Brothers

by Claire J Rottenberg


"Girl Crazy" was written in 1930 by George and Ira Gershwin. It ran for 272 performances on Broadway and starred two young performers, Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman. Included in the orchestra were several well-known musicians, such as Glen Miller, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman. Two of the best-known songs from "Girl Crazy" are "Embraceable You" and "I Got Rhythm."

"Girl Crazy" was made into three different films. The first version, in 1932, retained the score but that is where the resemblance to the Broadway version ended.

The second and best film version of "Girl Crazy" was released in 1943 and it starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. It was co-directed by Busby Berkeley who was responsible for the direction and choreography of numerous Broadway and movie musicals of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and Norman Taurog who, twenty years later, would become the director of many of Elvis Presley's films. "Girl Crazy" of 1943 co-starred June Allyson and Nancy Walker.

The third film version of "Girl Crazy," released in 1965, was repackaged as a 1960s rock and roll film starring Connie Francis and renamed, "When the Boys Meet the Girls." Its only resemblance to the Gershwins' original production is probably the score which includes some of the Gershwin songs, such as "Embraceable You," "Bidin' My Time" and "I Got Rhythm."