The Big Break

In the 1930s, Gene Kelly always knew he was made for fame. He performed on Broadway stages in small roles like Leave it to Me and One for the Money. In 1940, Kelly played the lead in the popular musical comedy Pal Joey. In the audience watching, was MGM executive Louis B. Mayer. Mayer caught Kelly's spectacular performance and offered him a movie contract with his studio. In 1942, Kelly made his film debut, opposite Judy Garland in, For Me and My Gal.

For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American jukebox musical film. The film stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and George Murphy, just to name off a few. The film is inspired by true events on actor Harry Palmer when he gets drafted to War world I.

Gene Kelly was 29 years old at the time of his first Hollywood movie. Kelly's intentions was to return to the Broadway stage a year after the film, but found himself stuck when he didn't find another role opened up for him. Gene Kelly and Judy Garland got along just great on set. Garland helped him adjust to film dancing in between sets and she even said that he was perfect for the role.

For Me and My Gal had an estimate budget of $803,000 and filming lasted around 2 months (May-June 1942). When the film was released the audience wasn't satisfied with the ending, they thought it should of turned out differently. The critiques thought otherwise. The film received two nominations from the Academy Awards and Gene Kelly received best actor from the National Board of Review.

It turned out the Gene Kelly didn't belong back on the Broadway stage, his calling after all was to do film. This was Gene Kelly's first movie and big break! It is what lead him to the many more movies he was apart of and how he transformed the way dancing looked on film compared to a stage.