It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Little Nellie Kelly (1940) – Musical #238

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Judy Garland, George Murphy, Charles Winninger, Douglas McPhail, Arthur Shields, Rita Page, Forrester Harvey, James Burke, George Watts, Joseph Crehan (uncredited), Milton Kibbee (uncredited), Sidney Miller (uncredited), Addison Richards (uncredited), John Raitt (uncredited), Mel Ruick (uncredited)

Plot:
Nellie (Garland) and Jerry (Murphy) want to marry and move to the United States from their home country of Ireland, but her father Michael (Winninger) doesn’t think Jerry is a proper suitor for his daughter. Nellie goes against her father’s wishes and marries Jerry anyways. All three move to the United States, where they become citizens and build a life, but with Jerry and Michael still at odds. Years later, when Nellie and Jerry’s daughter, little Nellie (also Garland) is a teenager, history repeats itself when Michael once again has strong opinions about the young men in his granddaughter’s life.

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