Singin' and Dancing Back in Time.: Summer Stock(1950)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Summer Stock(1950)

Summer Stock(1950). Director: Charles Walters. Cast: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers. Nicholas Castle Sr was the choreographer.Summer Stock, was Judy's last MGM movie and also her last performance with Gene Kelly.

Jane Falbury, a farm owner whose actress sister Abigail, arrives at the family farm with her theater troupe. They need a practice stage, and Jane and her housekeeper Esme, not to happy about it agrees to let them use their barn. The actors and director Joe Ross, repay her by doing chores around the farm. You have to watch the movie, to see if they can pull off the the Big Show.

I really loved Judy's performance in the songs "Hello, Neighbor," the lovely "Friendly Star," and the show-stopping, "Get Happy." Her voice sounded in perfect condition. Kelly, is also wonderful in his performance.

Fun Facts:

In the films final song-and-dance number "Get Happy" performed by Judy Garland in a tuxedo jacket, black fedora. Choreographed by Charles Walters and filmed two months after the rest of the movie, because Garland, wanted to lose weight for the number. She went to see a hypnotist in Santa Barbara and lost 20 pounds. Garland performed the number perfectly in one take, and the rest is history. According to New York Times critic Bosley Crowther: " 'Get Happy' finds Miss Garland looking and performing her best".
Kelly performs a solo dance in a barn, using a newspaper and a creaky board as a props, to the song "You Wonderful You". The dance turned out to be one of the breakthrough numbers, of his career.

In the film Garland and Kelly, share what may be one of Garland's best dance duet on screen, the swinging "Portland Fancy" where a square dance turns into a challenge dance.

1 comment:

Kristin RaeSeptember 3, 2010 at 6:07 PM
This is one of my favorite movies :)
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