Gene Kelly made his film debut in this collaboration between director Berkeley and the producer and sometime lyricist Arthur Freed. Kelly plays Harry Palmer, a song-and-dance man who maims his own hand in order to dodge the World War I draft. His stage partner Jo Hayden (Garland) leaves him in disappointment, and it is up to Harry to redeem himself. Rife with World War II-era escapist patriotism elevated by the chemistry and star power of its leads, For Me and My Gal also features the American screen debut of the Hungarian musical star Márta Eggerth, who performs an unforgettable number in a railroad car.