A Date with Judy
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Movie Reviews of A Date with Judy
Movie Review: "Date"-not Great!
Summary: 3 Stars
After viewing this movie for the first time in over 40 years,I can safely say that it has not changed a bit.It's a very stale tale of life amongst the well to do kids and folks of the late 1940s.
The story concerns the story of two families the Pringles and the Fosters.The Pringles are father Lucien(Leon Ames),his daughter Carol(Elizabeth Taylor)and his son Ogden"Oogie"(Scotty Beckett-former Little Rascal).The Fosters are father Melvin(Wallace Beery),his wife(Selena Royle)and their daughter Judy(Jane Powell).The movie takes place in Santa Barbara a very urban and prospering town as the voice over tells us,in a very reassuring and calming tone.The voice over also tells us that the Pringle family is just a bit more prosperous financially than the Fosters but the Foster household makes up for this gap because Mr Foster makes more time for his family than does Mr Pringle.The movie continues with this overly civil/polite tone that(irritatingly)carries into every conversation whether it be between the teenagers,adults and/or both.It actually works against the film for try as one might one cannot seem to empathize with anyone in the piece as it is SO unrealistic.Judy is a singer(MGM trying to make another Deanna Durbin!)with a local band led by her best friends' brother "Oogie" Foster.Both are around 16 and have been in love for a while now.But Judy keeps falling in and out of love with him more times than the front door opens and shuts.During an "off" time Judy "falls" for one tall and handsome Stephen Andrews(Robert Stack).But Stephen has his eyes on her friend Carol who he tells point blank she is spoiled and quite conceited(truth be told Carol AND Judy are both spoiled-but in a nice and polite way of course!).This doesn't sit well with Carol which allows Judy to try her luck with him...on and off.This see-saw continues throughout the film until Carol and Stephen and Judy and "Oogie" FINALLY come together...surprise!
When it all wraps 113 minutes later,one is thankful it's all over.The sub-plot of one father spending more time than the other established during the opening moments of the picture is barely touched on,and then well into the picture as if it was an after thought.
The ONLY light and spark in this film is Carmen Miranda.She unfortunately doesn't appear until about 40 minutes in and it is in one of about three or four brief scenes showing her teaching the Rhumba to Mr Foster(Carmen tries so hard but trying to play off a stiff like Beery was a losing proposition).Carmen gets a bit more film time when later she has to defend herself against Carol and Judy who think she's been fooling around with Mr Foster and still later she FINALLY gets to sing a couple of nice numbers,one being Cuanta La Gusta(sans The Andrew Sisters).Other than Carmen this film is a totally sanitized snooze-fest.Everyone is always ultra-polite and this wears thin after the first 20 minutes.These aren't your average families;they are upper middle class to upper class folks and they failed to create that quick spark of empathy and interest between characters and the audience right off the mark.The very important "why should we care?" question was not addressed;we are just told to care,which worked against the film and was its' downfall.
If I was to rate this film seperately I would give it only a two and half star rating.It's because of the following that I'm giving it three stars.First of all the print used here is beautiful in colour.It is very crisp and clean throughout and the opening shots of Santa Barbara(1947)look like they were filmed yesterday.Also along with the trailer is a 1948 Hanna-Barbera Tom and Jerry cartoon"Professor Tom".Also,and more importantly,is a real time capsule of bigband music in a short called "Musical Merry-Go-Round".It is an excuse to showcase the bigband stars of the day hosted by Martin Block,one of the most influential DJs and a great friend/booster to bigbands,out of New York in the 30s and 40s.Here he introduces bandleader Ray Noble and singer Buddy Clark who showcase some of the music that made both of them famous while Block also sits and chats with them.Simply wonderful stuff.
If you are looking for a santitized,sqeaky clean,sickly sweet but awfully darn boring movie,then this one is for you.Except for a very innocent peck on Stephen's cheek by Judy....well,that's as "bad" as it gets!If you are a Carmen Miranda fan you also might want to see the latin beauty and talent strut her stuff.But other than that,I recommend you give this a WIDE pass.
Movie Review: Corny but very cute!
Summary: 3 Stars
A 40's teen movie starring a young Jane Powell and a blossoming beautiful Elizabeth Taylor! Jane has a wonderful voice and sings "Love Is Where You Find It" and "It's A Most Unsual Day" while having a massive crush on older man Robert Stack. Her fanciful ways along with Carmen Miranda, Xavier Cugat, and Wallace Beery antics add to the charming confusion but all misunderstandings evetually get cleared up for a happy musical ending.