Judy Garland Fans

[DarrellH]

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html?tz=est&sdate=2012-06-10

Here's the online listing for that date.

 

[Wyliefan]

Indeed she was. She was battling demons and addictions all through "Summer Stock" and it took FOREVER to film, but there were times when the director Charles Walters and Gene Kelly managed to get through to her and turn the scenes and routines into a kind of challenge for her, and she just did brilliant dancing in the "Portland Fancy" number particularly.

She and Gene had a great friendship. She helped him through his first movie, For Me and My Gal, when he was the nervous young Hollywood newcomer and she was already a movie veteran, and he was forever grateful. He always said that he owed her big time and would do anything for her, and he proved it during Summer Stock.

(Total Gene fanatic here, in case you couldn't tell. )

 

[taf2002]

Too bad Gene didn't pay it forward to Debbie Reynolds when she was a newcomer. I'm speaking of Singin' in the Rain where he was reportedly very mean & impatient with her. (I still love him though.)

 

[my little pony]

did gene have any say in casting debbie? i assume he did. for me, she's asexual and a scene killer.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

did gene have any say in casting debbie? i assume he did. for me, she's asexual and a scene killer.

I believe that Debbie was cast against Gene Kelly's and Stanley Donen's objections - they (particularly Gene) wanted a trained dancer, and Debbie was not that.

Fred Astaire, on the other hand, was very kind to Debbie when he found her crying one day resting under a (I guess grand) piano. According to her story, he invited her in to watch him work very hard on rehearsing a dance routine, something he didn't let others do. He did that to show her how much hard work goes into making something like his dancing look easy.

She's quoted as saying that Fred Astaire was the classiest gentlemen that she ever worked with.

 

[Wyliefan]

He was really tough on Debbie -- too tough, probably -- but I think there's a big difference between tough and mean. And I don't think I'm just saying that because I'm nuts about Gene. (Well, maybe just a little.) He worked like a slave himself and he expected the same of everyone else. And Debbie didn't hold a grudge; they stayed in touch in later years, and she always said that she learned her work ethic and how to really sell a number from him.

Leslie Caron had a different experience with him on An American in Paris; she said that when she had periods of poor health, Gene would be very considerate and work around them. Maybe because (I'm just speculating here) she was a trained dancer, and he was able to tell that she was doing the best she could. A lot of young performers who got their start working for him have said that he was endlessly generous and good to them and they owed him everything.

There, you got me galloping away on my hobby horse. Guess we'd better get back to Judy.

 

[olympic]

I have an irrational dislike of Anne Hathaway, so I'm not happy to read this.

It's not in this article, but I'd read that the project is being delayed due to 'sensitivities' in dealing with Judy' private life -drug usage and alcoholism

 

[skatesindreams]

Wyliefan, please don't apologize.
I'm crazy for Gene - and Fred, also.

 

[skipaway]

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html?tz=est&sdate=2012-06-10

Here's the online listing for that date.

Thanks for posting this. I have seen a lot of her movies, but not The Clock. I was disappointed it was not to be shown. Also, some of my favorites are in the wee hours of the morning.

 

[my little pony]

Tammy Blanchard played Judy as a teenager into young adulthood, and Judy Davis took over from there.

Each won an incredibly well-deserved Emmy award (for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Actress, respectively).

they are both amazing in this

 

[berthesghost]

I've seen the clock on Tcm before though, so it's in their wheelhouse, so keep an eye out for it in future. I think the last time I saw it was on their Vincent Minnelli tribute day a few months ago. Maybe they felt they'd shown it too recently?

 

[Rex]

I'm happy to watch The Pirate for one reason and one reason only; watching Gene Kelly dance around that bonfire with those tight cutoffs in one of the dance sequences (@ 4:00). There, I said it. It's important to be honest about such things...

 

[taf2002]

Oooh pretty legs! I don't remember him ever showing his legs before.

BTW, why did Judy Garland have rabbit ears on in that dance scene?

 

[Rex]

Oooh pretty legs! I don't remember him ever showing his legs before.

Very impressive. Joubert has similar legs, but any similarity to Kelly ends there.

BTW, why did Judy Garland have rabbit ears on in that dance scene?

They were always that way IIRC. I do know she wore a prosthetic nosepiece because they thought her nose was too flat. Gotta love MGM.

 

[Wyliefan]

It's not in this article, but I'd read that the project is being delayed due to 'sensitivities' in dealing with Judy' private life -drug usage and alcoholism

Really? It's not like the whole world doesn't already know about all that.

 

[taf2002]

Very impressive. Joubert has similar legs, but any similarity to Kelly ends there.

They were always that way IIRC. I do know she wore a prosthetic nosepiece because they thought her nose was too flat. Gotta love MGM.

I didn't mean her actual ears. She had some kind of kerchief tied around her head with the ends sticking up like rabbit ears. Strange.

 

[skatesindreams]

It's not in this article, but I'd read that the project is being delayed due to 'sensitivities' in dealing with Judy' private life -drug usage and alcoholism

Her children probably have - or want - "control" over content/portrayal of these issues.

 

[snoopysnake]

I love The Pirate! (I also love Boitano's skate to it!)

I love Judy's costumes, except maybe for "Be a Clown!"

Not only do we get Gene, but also the Nicholas Brothers!

 

[Wyliefan]

I didn't mean her actual ears. She had some kind of kerchief tied around her head with the ends sticking up like rabbit ears. Strange.

If you watch starting about the 3-and-a-half minute mark, Gene is dancing around a mule or a horse or something, with big sticking-out ears. When the dream sequence starts, Judy imagines herself in its place -- hence the kerchief sticking up like that. Not exactly a flattering comparison!

 

[Simone411]

I love just about every movie that Judy has been in. I remember in the later 60's watching Judy perform at the Palladium on TV. Several shows were reruns, but I never tired of hearing her sing.

I can't believe I actually found this footage of Judy singing with Barbra Streisand on YouTube. The duet sings Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3e-Csp7oNE

 

[skatesindreams]

Here's more - amazing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gErIoFGjwes&feature=related

 

[Simone411]

Oh my gosh, that was awesome, skatesindreams. Thanks for sharing. That particular broadcast was on my brother's birthday. He was 7 and I was 5.

 

[chipso1]

I haven't seen In the Good Old Summertime, but this performance is classic Judy.

 

[Grannyfan]

I haven't seen In the Good Old Summertime, but this performance is classic Judy.

In the Good Old Summertime, if I'm not mistaken, is a musical version of the same story that's in The Shop Around the Corner and You've Got Mail. I'll take Judy over Margaret Sullavan or Meg Ryan any day.

 

[berthesghost]

*shrug* to each his own. Musical remakes are rarely better than the original non-musical movies, and SATC is way better imho and (not to be sacreligous) but I also prefer Gaynor's version of A Star is Born. Sorry.

 

[skatesindreams]

That particular broadcast was on my brother's birthday. He was 7 and I was 5.

I was 9.
My parents had already "hooked" me on Judy!

 

[duane]

Judy Garland is my favorite celebrity after Marilyn Monroe.

My favorite Garland films are Wizard of Oz, Zigfield Girl, Meet Me In St Louis, In The Good Old Summertime, and Summer Stock.

Judy looked her most beautiful in Presenting Lily Mars and Girl Crazy.

Favorite movie songs are Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart, Over The Rainbow, Merry Christmas (from In The Good Old Summertime), You Gotta Have Me Go With You, and The Man That Got Away.

In regards to the tv movie, both Blanchard and Davis did AWESOME jobs (the actor who played Mickey Rooney was also amazing), but I think Davis was brought in too early. Blanchard should have played Judy up to when she was fired from MGM.

 

[Wyliefan]

*shrug* to each his own. Musical remakes are rarely better than the original non-musical movies, and SATC is way better imho and (not to be sacreligous) but I also prefer Gaynor's version of A Star is Born. Sorry.

I agree that Shop is better. However, there's another musical version of the same story, She Loves Me, that is FANTASTIC. I don't believe it was ever filmed, but it's a great stage show.

 

[skatesindreams]

Wyliefan, I love that show!

A TV movie version was made in 1979.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458477/

Does anyone remember it?

 

[kylet3]

Le sigh* I'm only 25 and yet I absolutely adore Judy Garland and her line of work. From Wizard of Oz to A Star Is Born and Meet Me in St. Louis.

Planet Hollywood Resort in Vegas has everyone of their rooms decked out in a tribute to movies, celebrities, etc. As it so happens by complete sheer randomness I stayed in the Judy Garland Room with all kinds of old photos and memrobilia, and as it happens in a display case in my room was a jacket that she wore all the time from her variety show in the 60's. So it was like I slept next to the spirit of Judy for a week

That old footage of Babs and Judy together is worthy.

She lead such a tragic life from her nightmare of a stage mother, to the drugs and the failed marriages. I can only hope she's found her eternal peace after her untimely passing.