Summer Stock
by Charles Walters, Dave O'Brien, Tex Avery
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eddie Bracken, Gene Kelly, Gloria DeHaven, Judy Garland, Marjorie MainDirector: Charles Walters, Dave O'Brien, Tex Avery
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Dave O'Brien
Writer: Edgar Allan Poe
Writer: George Wells
Writer: Joe Ansen
Writer: Rich Hogan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Summer Stock
Movie Review: the good and the not as good
Summary: 4 Stars
SUMMER STOCK was Judy's final film for MGM. She made it for the Pasternak unit, as the folks in the Freed unit had all but given up on her after she couldn't re-team with Fred Astaire for BARKELEYS OF BROADWAY and was forced out of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. Her last two complete films for the studio (GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME and this one) were for producer Pasternak who made decidedly lower budget, less high brow fare. This is not the material Judy should have been forced into, but her last years at MGM were tough and she was locked in a dizzying downward spiral due to health woes, a deteriorating marriage, the addiction and a studio that was less than generous or understanding with one of their greatest talents.
As a film, it's merely OK. It's not worthy of Judy's talents and Gene Kelly did it as a favor because he never forgot how good Judy had been to him on his film debut in FOR ME AND MY GAL, 9 years earlier. The plot is quite similar to the old Mickey/Judy barn musicals (yes, there's literally a barn here, too) and the whole affair is a bit tired. The sequence of Judy on the tractor singing "Happy Harvest" is telling enough...I've read stories about Judy up on the tractor, exhausted and unsteady, and asking them to summon "Vincente so he could take her home." In watching that sequence, she looks fine and all, but the coverage doesn't match up between shots and I think they simply got what they got and moved on.
All of that said, the film does overcome its story, script and plot points and succeed because of the talents of Judy & Gene. They shine. They're consummate professionals and they can take the tired material and raise it up 20 notches. Judy's solos are all good. Gene's work is its usual terrific. And together, in "You Wonderful, You" or the dance they do, they once again elevate the whole affair.
The finale, of course, contains the now legendary "Get Happy." Shot after production had wrapped weeks earlier, Judy had taken a long-needed vacation, she'd shed some pounds (at 4'11", even losing 5 pounds showed up on her) and she came back fit and relaxed. They decided they needed one more solo for Judy (she had opted out of the Hillbilly number that Gene and Phil Silvers ended up doing) and someone suggested Harold Arlen's "Get Happy" and the rest is history. It goes through four key changes and Judy learned the song and the dance routine in short order and it was shot. She was sexy and very grown up and sophisticated (not in keeping with the plot because, honestly, her character couldn't have done ALL THAT...but who cares...it's an MGM musical after all!).
In the voiceover during "That's Entertainment," Liza herself said, "Summer Stock was mama's final film for MGM and her last days of shooting here were devoted to this number, which a lot of people, including myself, feel was one of her very best." She's right. Everyone who loves this number is right.
Judy went out with a bang and her 15-year stint at MGM was over. It would four years before she made another movie and in the months after leaving MGM, her reputation was such that she found it difficult to find work. She had no recording contract, no movie contract and hadn't yet returned to the concert stage. Bing Crosby had her on his radio show numerous times in those months (those songs are terrific) and she worked to re-build her image and her career, culminating with the huge successes in London and at the Palace in New York, before returning to Hollywood to make "A Star is Born" over at Warner Bros.
Summary of Summer Stock
An entrepreneur tries to turn a New England farm into a theatre.Judy Garland managed to subdue her ongoing medical problems long enough to make Summer Stock in 1950, her last film with MGM and longtime collaborator Gene Kelly. In a throwback to Garland's "let's put on a show" films with Mickey Rooney, Kelly plays a theater director who sets up in Garland's barn to prepare his musical, but Garland has other ideas. Romantic entanglements ensue, of course, and Eddie Bracken, Phil Silvers, and Marjorie Main are on hand to lend comedic support. Following his mostly forgettable score in 1949's The Barkleys of Broadway, Harry Warren contributes another mostly forgettable score, though it's complemented with a few ringers from other songwriters. There are many enjoyable moments, however, including a lot of tap from Kelly. He and Garland share a tap duel at a square dance turned lindy hop, and Garland performs her classic "Get Happy" routine in a black jacket and fedora. Kelly also performs a solo number to "You Wonderful You" with no gimmicks--just a darkened stage, a squeaky floorboard, and a sheet of newspaper. --David Horiuchi
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