"It Never Entered My Mind," sung by 'Betty Garrett (I)', was deleted from the movie. Miss Garrett's vocal is not contained on the soundtrack CD from Sony.
Judy Garland was scheduled only to sing with Mickey Rooney in this film, and producer Arthur Freed offered her $50,000 (or half of what she owed the studio for medical bills) to do one take. At the first public screening, the fans asked for more of her, so Freed offered her another $50,000 to do a second song. By the time her scenes were filmed, she had paid back the studio but had made nothing.
Judy Garland's two songs "I Wish I Were in Love Again" and "Johnny One Note" are sung at the same party, but they were filmed four months apart from each other. You can tell based on the longer length of her hair in the second number and the thicker, belt-less waistline (from a slight weight gain) in the dress she is wearing.
Richard Rodgers reportedly disliked every aspect of this film except for the casting of Janet Leigh as his wife.
Lena Horne's prerecording of "Where or When," a standard first heard in the 1937 Broadway show, "Babes in Arms," contains the verse, which was not used in the release print. Her complete rendition was first presented on the MGM Records soundtrack album. In the CD era, there are two offerings of Lena's full version: the soundtrack from Sony and a collection from Rhino, "Lena Horne at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: Ain' It the Truth."
Among the film's many, many anachronisms is the seeming inclusion of the song "Mountain Greenery" (here sung by Perry Como) in 1925's Garrick Gaieties. The song was not featured in the production.
Cut from the film was the Perry Como rendition of "Lover." However, in the movie trailer, Mr. Como partially sings the waltz. The MGM Studio Orchestra plays "Lover" as the movie's opening credits run. Bonuses on the 2007 DVD, issued by Warner Home Video, include the trailer and footage of Mr. Como's two deleted songs, "Lover" (in a reconstruction of the film's opening) and four takes of "You're Nearer." Audio-only numbers on the DVD include Betty Garrett's complete rendition of "Way Out West (On West End Avenue)," which was shortened in the release print; "My Funny Valentine," sung by Miss Garrett; "My Heart Stood Still" and "I Feel at Home With You," sung by Mr. Como; "Falling in Love With Love," sung by Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen (probably dubbed by Anita Ellis); an extended version of "Manhattan," sung by Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake and Marshall Thompson; plus an extended version of the sequence comprised of "On Your Toes/The Girl Friend/This Can't Be Love," sung by Eileen Wilson (who dubbed Cyd
Four Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart songs from the 1937 Broadway production of "Babes in Arms" which were showcased in this film hadn't been used in the 1939 Rooney-Garland-Busby Berkeley backyard musical. The numbers are: "I Wish I Were in Love Again," a duet by old pals Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland (I)' in the party sequence; "Johnny One Note," Miss Garland's spirited follow-up at the party; Lena Horne's exuberant "The Lady Is a Tramp," which became a signature song for her; and finally, "Way Out West (On West End Avenue)," a comic ditty sung partially by 'Betty Garrett (I)', whose full prerecording can be found on the soundtrack CD from Sony.
In supplementary material included on the DVD it is noted that Lena Horne's performances in most of the movies of the day, as in this one, are included in a way that permitted them to be cut from the films without damaging the story. This was so that the films could be shown in the American South.
In the marketplace, Judy Garland had two discs of the comically cynical "I Wish I Were in Love Again" - the first recorded at her final Decca session on November 15, 1947, a solo accompanied by the husband-and-wife piano duo, Eadie and Rack; Judy's second on MGM Records, her soundtrack duet with Mickey Rooney, prerecorded on May 28, 1948. Judy's Decca side can be compared to an alternate take on her CD box set from MCA, "The Complete Decca Masters (Plus)." The Rooney-Garland match-up shines on two CD releases: the soundtrack from Sony, along with a Rhino collection, "Romantic Duets From M-G-M Classics."
Rodgers and Hart had been working on Broadway successfully since 1919 (their first collaborative production, "A Lonely Romeo" ran for an impressive 222 performances). This film, historically speaking, is wildly inaccurate. The innumerable anachronisms include clothes, cars, musical numbers are attributed incorrectly to various productions, an unmentioned 7-year age difference between Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, Hart's homosexuality is obviously not addressed (conflict seemingly changed to anxiety over his height), strange leaps in time (The Garbo poster from Camille is shown soon after their 1925 hit revue Garrick Gaieties. One of the main productions depicted is 1927's hit musical comedy "A Connecticut Yankee" that shows up on screen long after the Garbo poster. More oddly, Perry Como's character Eddie Anders incongruently shifts to Perry Como (!) in the last minutes of the film. Although entertaining, the film is so riddled with inaccuracies (even more so than the oft criticized - - but strangely similar - - Night and Day) that it should be considered completely fictional.
The song "I Wish I Were In Love Again" was the last time Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney appeared on screen together.
The vocals by Perry Como and Mel Tormé were not permitted to be included on the MGM soundtrack album. Mr. Como's record label, RCA Victor, issued a single with his commercial recordings of "The Blue Room" and "With a Song in My Heart." Mel, under contract to Capitol Records, waxed another rendition of "Blue Moon." On the Rhino CD, "Mel Tormé in Hollywood," his soundtrack version now is found.