Did Judy Garland ever record Anyone Can Whistle?

Seems like a perfect number for her.

Updated On: 7/15/20 at 12:44 PM

This just makes me upset we never got Judy's Rose. I know it just wasn't possible for many reasons, but imagine what Francine Gumm, vaudeville child star, could have done with Rose Hovick. 

It has long been rumored that one of the possible Rose/Louise pairings pitched to Warner when they first made Gypsy in '62 was Judy and Ann-Margret. Not so sure about the latter, but Judy would've been a beast. (Actually, funnily enough, when I read the screenplay written for Barbra much later, I tend to picture Judy in my head rather than Barbra for some reason.)

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Does the Barbra screenplay differentiate much from the stage libretto? And was that Laurents' work or someone else adapting it?"

Richard LaGravenese was adapting the screenplay with Streisand.  Barry Levinson was attached to direct before the plug was pulled.  

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "It has long been rumored that one of the possible Rose/Louise pairings pitched to Warner when they first madeGypsyin '62 was Judy and Ann-Margret. Not so sure about the latter, but Judy would've been a beast. (Actually, funnily enough, when I read the screenplay written for Barbra much later, I tend to picture Judy in my head rather than Barbra for some reason.)"

It is funny, I have always been a huge fan of Rosalind Russell, although I am the first to acknowledge that she had a tendency to chew the scenery in some movies.  Gypsy is the only movie in which I really disliked her performance.  

Gypsy was filmed around the time that Judgement in Nuremberg was filmed.  Judy G received a well deserved academy award nomination for a small role, proving the raw acting talent was still there.  It is really a shame that no-one would take a chance on her for this; perhaps with a strong director who she trusted, and proper support, she could have gotten through.  We will never know; but, there is no question in my mind that she would not have been far superior to Russell.  Hell, she was great in a pretty bad movie (sorta) musical, I Could Go On Singing, which was released a couple years later.

nasty_khakis said: "This just makes me upset we never got Judy's Rose. I know it just wasn't possible for many reasons, but imagine what Francine Gumm, vaudeville child star, could have done with Rose Hovick."

Agree two-thousand percent. 

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Does the Barbra screenplay differentiate much from the stage libretto? And was that Laurents' work or someone else adapting it?"

Let me make that easier for you... (Check your PMs.)

Well, here's what I found to be of particular note, on the first go-round at least: 

* The film starts at Minsky's, more or less setting up the final scenes, and turns into a flashback (brilliant stroke of genius to justify Barbra's casting, not that I think it could've done the heavy lifting all by itself)

* "Momma's Talkin' Soft" is back in (a decision I'm surprised no other revival or filmed version has ever considered)

* There's some expansion to Louise's character and her relationship with June

* Rose and Herbie's relationship gets way more development without changing a word or a note (it's conveyed visually, or at least on paper it was meant to be)

* The farmboys number is broken up into two separate scenes and I like the way it's used (the meaning changes just slightly, but the first half is used brilliantly to underline Rose's obliviousness to the outside world)

Most of all, while it's not always word-perfect to Laurents' book, LaGravenese had a firm grasp of how to write in his style while introducing a new take. There are many dialogue exchanges that I forgot weren't in the original libretto, that's how innately he grasps how the characters speak. It was only the second draft (judging by the title page date, it may have been the draft he worked on at Barbra's house and finished before Christmas 2014, according to a Queerty interview), but it was rather strong.

If you wanna know more than that, I could always slide into your PMs like I have everyone else's.

Updated On: 7/16/20 at 11:21 AM