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Little Nellie Kelly
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Little Nellie Kelly is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog.
Synopsis
Judy Garland, fresh after The Wizard of Oz, performs her only on-screen death scene in this film. However, Garland soon reappears as the daughter of the character (Nellie Noonan) she was playing in the film's first reels, set in Ireland. Now a girl of 18, Garland has fallen in love with Douglas McPhail, much to the dismay of her father George Murphy (who later in real life had a successful career as a United States Senator) and Grandfather (Charles Winninger). However, Murphy and Winninger are too much at odds with each other to give proper attention to Garland. Going into her Miss Fixit act, Garland patches up the differences between pop and grandpop, and gets to keep her beau in the bargain.
General Information
Based on the stage play by
Irish American George M. Cohan, Little Nellie Kelly affords Judy Garland ample opportunity to
sing a swing version of "Singing in the Rain", as well as several newer songs, including the
traditional "
A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow" sung partly in
Irish-Gaelic with an updated swing delivery and two entertaining production numbers one at the
New York City Policeman's Ball which shows Garland off at her prettiest and the other written especially for Garland to belt out by
Roger Edens, "
It's A Great Day for the Irish" that is set while marching up New York's famed
5th Avenue during the
St. Patrick's Day Parade. This song became one of Garland's biggest hits. Songs cut from the film include: "Rings on Your Fingers and Bells on Your Toes" (used in Garland's later film
Babes on Broadway), "
Danny Boy" and "How Can You Buy
Killarney". The film also stars
George Murphy,
Irish Actor
Arthur Shields (older brother of actor
Barry Fitzgerald) and
Douglas McPhail. The early part of the film set in Ireland is quite similar to the story line of
The Quiet Man, based on the short story by
Maurice Walsh. In both, a man wants to marry a pretty local girl, but meets with strong family opposition and the fight ensues.
On the back of the success of
The Wizard of Oz, the film was a 'test' by
MGM to evaluate both Garland's appeal to audiences as well as her physical image. It was rumoured at the time that
George M Cohan sold the rights expressly as a vehicle for the young Garland. The film gave the 18 year old Garland the opportunity to grow-up as in the first half of the picture set in Ireland, she plays Nellie Noonan, the mother of Little Nellie Kelly. Although dubbed a bit of 'Blarney', overall the film was well received and has become a classic
St Patrick's Day film. Critics noted
"she (Judy Garland) gets prettier with each picture" [1].
