☰
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Presenting Lily Mars

Play trailer Poster for Presenting Lily Mars Released Apr 29, 1943 1h 44m Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 1 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Lily Mars (Judy Garland) is a girl who has grown up dreaming of starring on Broadway. When she happens to meet producer John Thornway (Van Heflin), she believes it's fate and begs him to cast her in his latest show. But Thornway rejects her, insisting he doesn't cast amateurs. Not to be deterred, Lily follows him to New York City, where she desperately auditions all over town. Despite his tough exterior, Thornway's heart begins to melt for this determined ingenue.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Presenting Lily Mars

Critics Reviews

View More (1)
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Is filled with enough cliches to fill all the potholes in Manhattan. Rated: C+ Jun 10, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (26)
Horror fan 4 Judy lights up the screen as usual. It could've been funnier but still a worthy part of her filmography. Tim Treakle Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/21/25 Full Review Audience Member A fair Judy Garland movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/10/21 Full Review ashley h Presenting Lily Mars is an okay film. It is about small-town girl, Lily Mars, who dreams to be a stage actress. Judy Garland and Van Heflin give decent performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Norman Taurog did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the music and romance. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member How did I never see this movie before. I know some may see this movie as cliched or hackneyed but to see Judy Garland a few years after the Wizard of Oz, it’s easy to see that she was going to be more than just a “child star”. I will also add that despite the personal issues that kept her sidelined in her career I think about how wonderful she would have been in “Annie Get Your Gun” and later, if it had been in the cards, what a phenomenal Mama Rose she could have been in “Gypsy” Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/18 Full Review Audience Member There is no recreating the glamor in movies such as Presenting Lily Mars......thoroughly enjoyed watching the young Judy Garland in this film before all the fame and hard lived life took its toll on her. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Judy is always wonderful but the plot is predictable and the songs aren't that great, either. Best scene: Garland's duet with Connie Gilchrist to "Ev'ry Little Movement." Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Presenting Lily Mars

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Norman Taurog

Director

Judy Garland

Lily Mars

Van Heflin

John Thornway

Fay Bainter

Mrs. Thornway

Richard Carlson

Owen Vail

Spring Byington

Mrs. Mars
View All

Presenting Lily Mars

Presenting Lily Mars (1943) Presenting Lily Mars (1943) Presenting Lily Mars (1943) Presenting Lily Mars (1943) Presenting Lily Mars (1943) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Lily Mars (Judy Garland) is a girl who has grown up dreaming of starring on Broadway. When she happens to meet producer John Thornway (Van Heflin), she believes it's fate and begs him to cast her in his latest show. But Thornway rejects her, insisting he doesn't cast amateurs. Not to be deterred, Lily follows him to New York City, where she desperately auditions all over town. Despite his tough exterior, Thornway's heart begins to melt for this determined ingenue.
Director
Norman Taurog
Producer
Joe Pasternak
Screenwriter
Richard Connell, Gladys Lehman
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 29, 1943, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 44m
Most Popular at Home Now