MovieChat Forums > The Harvey Girls (1946) Discussion > John Hodiak

John Hodiak

posted 15 years ago by brianwt
12 replies | jump to latest

The stunning intro of John Hodiak was Bond-like in "The Harvey Girls" when Garland says, "You're Ned Trent" and he turns. He is somewhat lost in all the Garland gush, though well deserved gush it was for the talented Garland.

My first hero was born in John Hodiak. I wanted to look like Hodiak when I grew up. That velvet voice, eyes of fire, pencil-thin mustache, white teeth and a smile as wide as a shark. I'll never forget it. Guys like Hodiak, who never quite reached full stardom, fascinate me. Broadway, of course, later on rewarded him with wonderful reviews for "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" only a few years before he died. So, perhaps, it helped knowing that his early promise was rewarded by his peers albeit circuitously. He died so young, but a cortege that went around the block spoke volumes about the man. Never an unkind word and praise from people like James Garner, Lucille Ball and Angela Landsbury, Even Anne Baxter, his ex-wife, was crushed when he died. A man much loved had passed so prematurely. I don't know about Hodiak, but in the long term, for me, that is better than an Oscar.

[–] Lucaslover 15 years ago

John Hodiak was a very handsome man. I fell a little in love with his character in The Harvey Girls. That movie has one of the most satisfying romantic movie endings I've ever seen.

I've always been fascinated by the parallels between his life and that of Frank Lovejoy (check out their bios here).

A movie I've wanted to see "Sunday Dinner for a Soldier" in which he co-starred with Anne Baxter has never come my way. I need to check to see if it's been released on DVD yet.

"Who's drivin' the car, Ben?" Lucas Buck

[–] ttlontrl 15 years ago

I saw Sunday Dinner for a Soldier a year or two ago on the Fox Movie Network, or whatever its called.
I absolutely loved it. It was an adorable story.

[–] snsurone 15 years ago

It was great to see Judy get a handsome, virile leading man after all those films with Mickey Rooney!

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] dmnemaine 14 years ago

Just being a little nit-picky, but Hodiak is actually introduced in the film before Garland meets him. His first scene is in the Alhambra when Preston Foster comes in to warn him about the Harvey House moving in across the street. His first line is, "There's a lady singing".

[–] gbennett5 14 years ago

I LOVE this Garland musical and deplore the way it was cut. It holds the
rare position of actually suffering in narrative due to the deleted
musical sequences (especially "March of the Doagies").

John Hodiak, like Van Heflin, shared great chemistry with Judy. Hodiak
was a sexy star. He's terrific in "Lifeboat."

[–] dmnemaine 14 years ago

I agree with you about the cut numbers. "My Intuition" brings a depth to the Susan/Ned romance that's missing from the final film. They're falling in love seems somewhat rushed without it. "March Of The Doagies", among other things, explains why no one is at the Harvey House when the fire is lit.

[–] gbennett5 14 years ago

Exactly. That goof is glaringly bad, and so unlike both Freed and Sidney.
There is also dialgue scenes missing. The dialogue leading up to the
"My Intuition" number, as well as the dialogue leading up to "March of
The Doagies." Also, in the scene prior to "Doagies" - after the dance
hall girls leave in defeat - Susan grabs hold of her necklace and starts
to weep. Something there is missing. Why does the necklace hold such
importance? There were also scenes cut of Angela Lansbury, robbing
Em of character development.

When I watch the film now, I reinsert the numbers where they belong.
One of the things I love about "The Harvey Girls" was its then-rare
extensive use of outdoor filming. Virtually every outdoor scene is
really in the sunny outdoors! "Intuition" was filmed in Chatsworth.
And Hodiak had a really pleasant singing voice.

[–] dmnemaine 14 years ago

I think what they were trying to do with "The Harvey Girls" was capitalize on the Broadway success of "Oklahoma!" with a western themed musical with integrated songs and dances. They probably realized that a musical on the scale of "Oklahoma!" was not going to fit into the time frame of the typical MGM musical, hence all the cuts. Another thing that's a little choppy too about this film is that it seems like there was supposed to be a Bolger/O'Brien romance, but it never got really developed. That was more likely due to O'Brien's having to leave the film early because of her pregnancy.

[–] krdement 8 years ago

When the train first arrives and Chill Wills makes eyes and busses Marjorie Main, I expected that to result in romance, too. Marjorie and Chill would be a really fun couple to see linked up! I love Virginia O'Brien and would love to see her get a beau, which never happens in her films - at least the ones with which I am familiar. It always seems incredible to me that her character is always supposed to be homely! I find her attractive and compelling even if she's not pretty in the classical sense.

So much is made about how the civilizing impact of the Harvey girls "ruins" a rough-tough frontier town, that it would be suitably ironic for the story to result in several romances at film's end. The film would be considerably longer, but I for one would not mind the added length to this delightful film.

John 3:16

[–] krdement 8 years ago

What DVD version do you have? Is it possible to insert scenes in such a way that you don't need to pause the film so that a "complete" version runs seamlessly? I just stumbled across thread. I really enjoy this movie as is, so I would love to see a fully "restored" version.

John 3:16

[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

While it's more than possible to insert both "My Intuition" and "March
of the Doagies" in their respective places (merely by uploading all of
it to an editing bay, then downloading a new DVD from your computer),
there is still missing dialogue leading up to both musical numbers.
I wonder if those scenes survived.