Judy Garland (1922-1969)
Judy Garland
was the greatest female entertainer who ever lived but
sadly her professional achievements have been obscured by some
biographers who preferred to concentrate on the darker side of her
life. While her dark side was an important part of the Garland legend
and made her performances unrivalled in their passion and sincerity
film critics have often forgotten her great contributions to the
medium. She made thirty-two feature films, three of which are
masterpieces of American cinema. Outside of the world of film her
concert performances, TV and radio work revealed her as one of the
great live entertainers. Her record albums particularly Judy at
Carnegie Hall, which immortalises one of the greatest nights in
showbusiness history, are also superb.She made her "showbiz debut" on December 26, 1924 singing "Jingle Bells" to an enchanted audience. Between the ages of two and thirteen she fulfilled hundreds of live vaudeville and radio dates with her two older sisters.
In September 1935, thirteen-year-old Judy signed with MGM. Initially they didn't seem to know what to do with her. She sang Dear Mr Gable to the tune of You Made Me Love You at Clark Gable's birthday party, the song and Judy were featured in Broadway Melody of 1938 and at last she began to be taken seriously. Judy was cast in the immortal The Wizard of Oz (1939) and "Over the Rainbow" became her theme song for the rest of her life. It reached out to her audience while summing up her own lifelong search for happiness.
Judy's
film career was at its peak in the Forties beginning with For Me and My
Gal (1942) in which Gene Kelly made his film debut. Meet Me In St Louis
(1944) is a masterpiece of vintage Americana, director Vincente
Minnelli whom Judy later married made sure she never looked more
beautiful on film. Sadly from her teenage years Judy had been fed
uppers and downers so she could keep going over very long working days,
by the mid Forties she was addicted to these drugs.Over the next few years her relationship with the studio slowly deteriorated. None of this shows onscreen, her late 40s films while not as good as St Louis (1944) are still very entertaining from the unusual,underrated The Pirate (1948) to the more traditional Easter Parade (1948) and In the Good Old Summertime (1949). Her brilliant Get Happy number in Summer Stock (1950) was her last performance at MGM, it was the end of an era for the film musical.
During the Fifties and Sixties Garland continued to work as a concert and recording artist as well as appearing on the new medium of TV. In A Star Is Born (1954) she delivered her greatest acting performance as Esther Blodgett who struggles to save Norman Maine from self-destruction, it is obvious that Garland used much of her own life experiences in her portrayal. It was almost a decade before she was seen on film again : first in a supporting but very poignant performance in Stanley Kramer's Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) then in A Child Is Waiting (1963) and finally in I Could Go On Singing (1963), her last film which had a title song that seemed to sum up Garland's beliefs.
Judy Garland was a unique personality and left an indelible mark on showbusiness history. Whatever else may be said her incredible talent was undeniable. As Frank Sinatra said : "She was the greatest. The rest of us will be forgotten, never Judy."
Judy
in an excerpt from Dear Mr Gable,You Made Me Love You :
FILMOGRAPHY
1936 EVERY SUNDAY performer
1936 PIGSKIN PARADE performer
1937 BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938 performer
1937 THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY performer
1938 EVERYBODY SING performer
1938 LISTEN, DARLING performer
1938 LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY performer
1939 BABES IN ARMS performer
1939 THE WIZARD OF OZ performer
1940 ANDY HARDY MEETS DEBUTANTE performer
1940 LITTLE NELLIE KELLY performer
1940 STRIKE UP THE BAND performer
1941 BABES ON BROADWAY performer
1941 LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY HARDY performer
1941 ZIEGFELD GIRL performer
1942 FOR ME AND MY GAL performer
1942 WE MUST HAVE MUSIC performer
1943 GIRL CRAZY performer
1943 PRESENTING LILY MARS performer
1943 THOUSANDS CHEER performer
1944 MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS performer
1945 THE CLOCK performer
1946 THE HARVEY GIRLS performer
1946 TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY performer
1946 ZIEGFELD FOLLIES performer
1948 EASTER PARADE performer
1948 THE PIRATE performer
1948 WORDS AND MUSIC performer
1949 IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME performer
1950 SUMMER STOCK performer
1954 A STAR IS BORN performer
1960 PEPE cameo
1961 JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG performer
1963 A CHILD IS WAITING performer
1963 GAY PURR-EE voice only
1963 I COULD GO ON SINGING (UK) performer
Don't forget our sister site the Golden Age of Hollywood Messageboard
The Golden Age of Hollywood Banners by Ktrek.
Written content of the Golden Age of Hollywood Website (except where indicated) copyright Derek McLellan, 2007.