Presenting Lily Mars


Presenting Lily Mars is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, produced by Joe Pasternak, starring Judy Garland and Van Heflin, and based on the novel by Booth Tarkington. The film is often cited as Garland's first film playing an adult type role. Tommy Dorsey and Bob Crosby appear with their orchestras in this Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production.

Plot

Lily Mars is a small-town girl with big-city ambitions. She contrives to audition for a Broadway producer whose father was the local physician who also happened to tune the Mars’ family piano. However, the producer wants nothing to do with her. She then heads to Broadway hoping to convince him to cast her, but after a series of disappointments, the best she can manage is an understudy job.

Cast

The soundtrack includes:
The finale, "Where There's Music", originally included parts of "St. Louis Blues", "In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree", and "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", which were deleted from the final version.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned USD$2,216,000 in the US and Canada and $1,039,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,211,000.