Garland Stands The Test Of Time.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 3:51pm

I caught Garland’s performance of “The Joint Is Really Jumpin’ Down At Carnegie Hall” in AS THOUSANDS CHEER on TCM the other day.

I’d never really connected the Garland of MGM with the Garland of “The Judy Garland Show”. The performance styles were so different, it was almost as if one was totally unconnected to the other.

Until I saw this. Glimpses of the mature Garland’s performance style leapt out: her warmth, her sense of humor, her sense of spontaneity, etc. And AS THOUSANDS CHEER was filmed before MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, which was well before her MGM demise.

It’s always struck me that Garland’s film performances still “hold up”. When compared with her contemporaries Grable, Hutton, Allyson, etc., she is so natural that the “performance façade” of the others is magnified. It would have been great to see her in a book show on Broadway.

[Phantom Chicken]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 3:52pm

Of course she will always hold up....

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 3:56pm

She was truly one of a kind. I was too young to ever see her live, but just from recordings, films, and tv appearances, it's easy to see why she is and always will be a legend. A real, true legend.

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:04pm

I have no objectivity - I think she was the best all-around entertainer of the 20th century.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:05pm

Hands down, DGrant.

Hands down.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:05pm

No question!

[Phantom Chicken]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:07pm

what about idena menzel?

She was a better dorothy any day!


Has anyone seen the special on the WoO - with her accepting the award...? it's so weird to see that....she was so young, it makes you think how little you've accomplished...

[Feodor Sverdlov]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:10pm

One of the greatest nights of my life was seeing Judy Garland, Liza whatshername, Jackie Wilson and Count Bassie and his orchestra for a buck!!! Yes, that's one dollar. It was part of the great old Schmidt's Beer Summer Concert series, in Philadelphia. She was spectacular!

[AndyHardy]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:14pm

In total agreement but find it amazing that this thread was begun after a viewing of "The Joint Is Really Jumping..." as this was perhaps Garland's most "throw-away" MGM performance -- slight song, no set, etc. But that may confirm Garland as the true performer she was -- she didn't need artifice.

Often, while watching other non-Judy MGM musicals I feel that they lack "heart" and spontaneity. Yes, they are great but Garland is always so "in the moment" that even the most ridiculous dialogue seems plausible. This sincerity is (naturally) even more noticable while she is singing. Her natural delivery of a lyric is what will always make her the true legend that she is. Nobody can touch her, and as other fall into the catagoy of "great in their day" Garland is always going to be fresh.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:14pm

Ooo, Feodor, you gotta tell us about it! The only contact I have with Garland is decidedly second-hand. My uncle was stationed at Ft. Dix (I think) during WWII, and the MGM Bond Drive came to the base. They picked service guys to get up on the stage and dance with the female stars, and yep, you guessed it -- my uncle got to dance with Judy. *sigh*

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:33pm

She truly is the real deal. I don't think there was (or possibly will be) another who was truly so multi-talented. She was of course one of the greatest singers, ever, but she also could act-- could really truly act. Even as a youngster it's astounding to see that little girl so real, so live, so in the moment.

I caught a bit of "Meet Me In St. Louis" the other day and was struck by the scene as she leads John Truitt through the house turning off the lights trying to get him to kiss her. My God, what a brilliant performance in a subtle, quiet moment!

It's a shame she was so troubled & tempermental. She has left such a motherlode of memories-- even with so many setbacks and dificulties. When I think of her at the end of her life, dodging creditors and trying to find financial security somehow....What a shame.

[Feodor Sverdlov]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:42pm

There isn't a whole lot to tell. Schmidt's Beer ran these summer concerts, called The Philadelphia Music Festival usually with a large line-up of performers (the New York Electric String Ensemble was also part of this concert). Judy was magical. Liza was not a scheduled performer, but she was introduced by Judy, and she sang a number or two, which I cannot recall, and sang a duet with Judy, "Together". I remember she wore a red gown, which she told us was one she designed, herself. What was so great about the concert, was that she conducted major exchanges with the audience. A bunch of us just ran down and surrounded the stage. I remember yelling out for her to sing "Over The Rainbow", and she stooped down and looked me dead in the eyes and said "We always get to that one, honey." She did her usual stuff like "The Man That Got Away" and "Rock-a-Bye", as well as "Swanee" and "The Trolley Song". I remember she opened with "For Once In My Life". She did about 15 numbers. We screamed and hollered for a very extended standing ovation. I had seen her, years earlier, at the Academy of Music, and that was wonderful, but to be right at her feet, was exhilirating. The only other person I was ever that excited about seeing live and in person, was Julie Andrews.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:43pm

Not to beat the dead horse-of-a-different-color here, but it also struck me: the scope of people she worked with. I mean, REALLY! From Sophie Tucker to Fanny Brice to Lana Turner to Van Heflin to Spencer Tracy to Maximillian Schell to Angela Lansbury to Barbra Streisand to Lena Horne to...the list goes on and on. A true spectrum of entertainment in the 20th Century from beginning to end.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:54pm

And Dirk Bogarde.

Don't forget Dirk Bogarde.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 5:25pm

Feodor, I can't imagine Andrews live comes close to Garland live. Andrews is too perfect and polished - and guarded.

[Feodor Sverdlov]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 5:41pm

Well, seeing Julie Andrews in concert is certainly different than seeing Judy Garland; but the thrill is no less great. In fact, I was more excited the first time I saw Julie in concert, because I am a much bigger fan of hers. That she is so polished, is part of the expectation of seeing her. She was polished, and anything less would have been a disappointment. Her "perfection" is part of her allure.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 1/24/05 at 5:46pm

I am a bisexual woman and I am proud to say I love Judy more than anything. She was a goddess who had some tragic things happen to he. She will still be remembered in 1000 years.