Summer Stock (1950)

Everyone who knows of Judy knows the story behind Summer Stock - no point in repeating it yet again. And of course everyone knows of "Get Happy," which has, with changing times and tastes, probably become her signature song even more than "Over the Rainbow." What isn't as known is the movie itself, a putting-on-a-show feature that on the surface seems more than a little ramshackle, and out of date even for 1950, but is actually an interesting, touching, more than worthy showpiece in Judy's film canon, and in movie musicals in general. It is, along with In the Good Old Summertime, my favorite of her films.The cast is of high quality - other than Phil Silvers (who seems out of place at times, although he has his moments) hamming a bit for my tastes, this is a really solid group. Both Silvers and Eddie Bracken add something different to the usual style of this genre. Bracken is both nerdy and oddly endearing, and in spite of only having a small number of scenes with Gloria DeHaven (pretty and polished in a very underwritten role), they have believable, sweet chemistry that makes you happy for them at the end, rather than just wanting to get them out of the way. Marjorie Main adds her usual impeccable comic timing and warmly rough touch. Ray Collins offers strong support and character work as Bracken's father - he has one of those so distinctive voices characters actors had back then.Then we have our leads, who are both superb. Judy looks a bit poorly made up at times, and is stuck in some unflattering getups that remind me of what she wore in her earliest MGM days, but she is in this film a perfect blend of neurosis and confidence. You aren't frightened for her, the way you often are in her later films. Yet she isn't as pulled together here as she sometimes was in her biggest '40s pictures. She's more open. She's a blend of everything that made her an enduring icon. And she, in spite of her legendary difficulties, throws herself into everything - singing, dancing, comedy, dramatic acting. Even if she may have only filmed a small amount of time a day, you wouldn't know it from watching her work. She makes this picture a worthy farewell to her time at MGM in a way that a glossier, "bigger" picture, the kind she'd regularly made before being burnt out, would not have been. This is Judy saying - take my flaws and love me for them. And we do. Gene is simply fantastic in a role that could have easily been a throwaway, but becomes so much more thanks to his earnest portrayal. Even the name (Joe Ross) is generic, but you get caught up with this decent guy who just wants to put on a show and never expects to fall in love. One of my favorite moments is the pure ache as he listens to Judy plaintively singing "Friendly Star" - letting us see just how much he treasures her and how much her own obvious angst over their love for each other is weighing on him.Indeed, it's the angst in this film that sets it apart from many of Judy's adult MGM musicals, where she and the leading men fell for each other in large part because that's what the script called for. Summer Stock is oddly modern in that it really lets us see the process and the pain of a love story. This works in large part because Judy and Gene Kelly have incredible, all-encompassing chemistry. This is a love story first, a musical second.The numbers are, for the most part, pretty good. Some seem a bit cheap by Judy standards, although that can add to their charm ("Howdy, Neighbor!" for instance). The Portland Fancy dance sequence is a great deal of fun. And "Friendly Star" is in many ways the high point of the film, and one of Judy's most tender performances. "Get Happy" is, of course, a marvel, but one that has been shown so many times it's difficult to react today.There are lots of small bits to enjoy as well, my favorite being the moment where Silvers and Bracken crash into each other and end up accidentally wearing the other's glasses. Of all the Judy movies, this is the one I have the fondest memories of and want to rewatch (some parts more than others, admittedly) most often. As a final note on a brilliant legacy, and on a charming genre of film, a wonderful and ageless romantic pairing - it's perfectly imperfect.

Sadly, this is the last film before MGM fired Judy Garland. Its sad that her life was getting shaky around this time due to the toll her drug addiction was having on her. And I think it's even more sad that it was never Judy's fault that she got addicted to pills in the first place since it was MGM and Judy's mother that forced her to start and to keep taking these pills years earlier. They made her take these addictive stimulants so she could keep working long energetic hours at the studio. Then she became addicted to barbiturates cause the stimulants gave her insomnia. She and the other MGM stars were given some barbiturate pills half hour before bed, then fell asleep, then got woken up only 4 hours later and given their first stimulants of the day, a little breakfast (they were never allowed to eat that much so to keep their weight down), then back to work. Judy worked such long hours, slept those short 4 hour nights, and ate such a low calorie diet for so many years, that it all had taken such a toll on her by this time period, around 1950. And she wasn't as up to scratch at work anymore and was missing work all the time. That's why MGM fired her. Its all so unfair. Judy Garland was one of the most wonderful gifts we ever had in this world.Anyway, this film was pretty good but it wasn't one of the best like many of Judy's earlier films, but it was not Judy's fault. Some of the script is rather corny with the whole "goofy actors barging unannounced into Judy's barn" deal. I didn't care that much for the Phil Silvers character since he was too goofy and sorta a "bull in a China shop" kinda character. He destroys Judy's tractor, but not to be destructive, it's because he's clumsy and not smart enough to stay off a machine that he didn't know how to operate. Gene Kelly was good here but not quite as good as he was in "Me and my gal", "Anchors aweigh", and "Singin in the rain". And he and Judy, even though they are good together, did not have as much wonderful chemistry and magic together that they had in "Me and my gal". He still had a very good dance number where he kept ripping newspaper on the floor into smaller pieces with his dance moves. Judy still had some wonderful shining moments, especially when she sang including a very good song " Howdy neighbor, happy harvest" while she was riding home on her tractor. And also great in her famous "Get happy" song. Judy was engaged to Eddie Bracken, who was also sort of a goofy character, who was always irritating his dad. I liked Gloria Dehalivand as Judy's acting school sister who was the one who had the idea to stage production in her and Judy's barn to begin with. I didn't care for Judy's short hairstyle in this film as much as all her hairstyles in her previous films, but I still love Judy Garland very much. She was really one of the greatest things in Hollywood's already golden golden age.

While it is not one of the best films of either Judy Garland (in her last MGM musical) or Gene Kelly, Summer Stock nevertheless is a treat for fans of either of them or both and it showcases their talents well.One shouldn't expect an awful lot from the story (true this said for a good deal of musicals before and during this period), it's certainly not disposable because Summer Stock does such a good job in entertaining and moving the viewer but it is rather weak in how thin as a wafer and trite it is, some parts also could have been developed longer to help them and some of the characters' motivations (particularly in the case of Gloria DeHaven) ring true better. Bumbling Phil Silvers is an acquired taste, some will find him funny, others annoying. For me he was a mixed bag, because at some points he was very amusing and then there were other points where he did grate (his accent in the Dig, Dig, Dig number is not for the easily offended either) and didn't seem necessary. The number Heavenly Music will also evoke mixed reactions, it will induce laughs for some and an equal share of cringes from others, for this viewer the campiness of the number got overly-silly to the point it got irritating and jarred with the rest of the film.However, Summer Stock looks fabulous, being shot in gloriously colourful Technicolor (clearly loving the ever photogenic Garland) and having good use of lighting, lavish costumes and handsome and never cheap sets. The film is very energetically and whimsically scored, the swinging Happy Harvest , restrained Friendly Star and particularly the characterful and sweet You Wonderful You instrumental arrangements standing out, and the songs apart from Heavenly Music are great, deserving a better distinction of having only two memorable songs or something like that. Especially good are the rousing Get Happy (an instant classic and one of Garland's signature tunes for very good reason), the charming You Wonderful You and the incredibly heartfelt and intimately filmed Friendly Star. Summer Stock boasts equally strong choreography, Portland Fancy perfectly shows what made Garland's and Kelly's partnership here click so well and is one of the finest dance duets in a Garland film and Kelly's newspaper routine is some of his best solo work. A large part of Kelly's appeal was how he did things that don't seem all that special or interesting and turned them into something truly extraordinary.The script is good-humoured and warm-hearted with a great deal of witty humour and charm, and while the story is not perfect in any shape or form it's at least breezily paced and cheers one up after a hard day complete with some nice emotional investment. Summer Stock is directed beautifully, and while there are reservations about Silvers the cast are very good indeed, Garland and Kelly in fact wonderful. Unlike some viewers, while a little jarring in Get Happy Garland's fluctuating weight didn't bother me because she is so charming, emotive, is exquisitely photographed, copes with ease with the dancing and sings an absolute dream, especially in Friendly Star. Kelly is at the top of his game with the dancing, he sings pleasantly and he's a dashing leading partner. His and Garland's partnership is a joy. Gloria DeHaven does make a real effort bringing some charm to a character that is quite shallow and doesn't have an awful lot to her and her voice is radiant, and Eddie Bracken is admirably more restrained than usual. Hans Conreid doesn't have an awful lot to do but is suitably smarmy.All in all, in her last MGM musical Judy Garland went out on a high in a film that even with its faults is very easy to 'get happy' to. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Summer Stock was the third and last pairing of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland by MGM. It's sad to think that there were no others because of Judy's personal problems. She would have a breakdown and would not be before the cameras again until four year later with A Star Is Born.Judy barely got through Summer Stock. She had been replaced in Annie Get Your Gun by Betty Hutton and had not started Royal Wedding yet, but was also replaced there by Jane Powell. It was Gene Kelly's patience with her that got her through this film. Interesting also because Kelly was not known as the world's most patient man when working.It was worth it because Summer Stock contains some of Judy's best musical moments. Most of the score was written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, but someone was inspired at MGM to give Judy Get Happy by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. That is half of the team that wrote Over the Rainbow for her. Get Happy became another song identified with Judy Garland the rest of her life and into her legend.But a favorite of mine is Howdy Neighbor. I do so love how that number is staged with Judy riding on a tractor through the fields and on the road near her farm. Catch her at the very end of the song and you can visibly see her breathing heavy. She was obviously under a strain doing this number and in fact the whole film.Kelly doesn't do too bad either with a song that became identified with him, You Wonderful You. I still remember him singing it to Miss Piggy when guesting on the Muppets.Summer Stock is another variation on a backstage romance and the discovery of hidden talent. Judy's sister Gloria DeHaven invites the cast and crew of her show to stay at their farm in Connecticut. But Judy's not happy with it. Of course Kelly charms her and discovers along the way who has the real talent in the family.The film holds up well today and the talent of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly is absolutely eternal.