Interesting Judy Garland stuff

You can thank MGM for Judy's body image problems.

It's almost too hard to actually watch a Judy Garland film for me. Despite all her success, the story of Judy Garland is just so heartbreaking and it's really hard to watch her knowing all we know about her.

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Every time I tell people I'm a Judy Garland fan (which is an understatement) someone tells me I'm an "old school fag." Isn't that nice? Ugh, who cares, I love that woman. One of the most gifted singers and actors to ever grace the silver screen, then and now, in my humble opinion. Gotta love her, yet, I do agree...it's hard to watch much with her in it. You can just feel the heart ache...poor thing.

-Vincent

i will always pledge my allegiance to the wizard of oz despite being made fun of endlessly for that. it's been my favorite movie since i was 2 - i do watch other stuff though... all her movies are just fantastic. garland is amazing.

From what I remember offhand from my years of Oz trivia(l) info:

yes, MGM wanted shirley temple. they didn't think she could handle the role though, but they really needed the name, especially after just suffering the hit of Disney's Snow White. "Over the Rainbow" was pulled from the movie because they didn't like it but a few people pulled so hard for it that it was allowed in. They wanted to cut it especially to condense movie run length. And her "weight issue" was a much bigger issue (no pun intended) because of her height, or lack thereof - she was 4'11" like i am... as in not tall and only 1" taller than the tallest munchkin, who I believe was told not to come near her. =P But they had her lose weight cuz she was "pudgy" - can you imagine?!

Those gut-wrenching scenes from A STAR IS BORN kill me every time. And MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is gorgeous. I even love her shakey German accent in JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG.

And yes...I do admit to getting a kick out of her drunk ass fumbling through her Christmas special. I sign on for the whole package. Flubs and all!

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Its actually interesting to note that even though they auditioned Shirley Temple, she really wouldn't have been in the movie because FOX at the time wouldn't let her out of her contract. I'm an avid Judy Garland fan and can say with out hestitation that The Wizard of Oz isn't close to my favorite Judy Garland movie. For me, A Star in Born is possibly not only the greatest movie musical ever made but showcases Judy's true acting talent. If any of you haven't seen it, I strongly strongly recommend that you do(along with the Carnegie Hall recording which won the first Grammy for best female vocalist or album of the year...I can't remember). Also, as mentioned before, her TV special is fantastic and honestly, it doesn't get any better than her and Barbara singing "Get Happy medley". As many have said before and will continue to say, she was without a doubt the greatest entertainer the world has ever known.

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She's amazing and magnetic.

Well there was that whole debate with Shirley, because in some tales, Shirley was set to do it but one of the trades, (I can't recall the actresses name) died and no other deal could be worked out.

I love Shirley Temple, but there's no denying Judy is more talented.

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Judy was, and still is, the greatest performer to ever hit the boards.

Louis B. Mayer purchased the rights to Oz with Judy in mind to star. He paid more for those rights than Selznick paid for Gone with the Wind. And Shirley Temple's name was mentioned for Oz when MGM realized how expensive the movie would be and felt a big name would secure a hit. But after auditioning her, they realized that Shirley, although precocious, could not sing. So ultimately, the role was then given back to Judy.

And say what you will, but I thought that Grace Kelly was phenomenal in The Country Girl. I loved, loved Judy in A Star is Born, as I believe that film captured her greatest performance and vocals, but I don't know who I would have voted for back then.

A person very important to me knew we would make a good couple when he saw the "Pink Book" on my shelf.

Judy is the greatest of them all.

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Another old-school fag here.

Kringas--get OVER that inability to watch one of her movies because she was "sad." She was also one of the funniest people ever.

Watch her on the Jack Paar show skewering the drunken Munchkins or uni-browed Deanna Durbin or Marlene Dietrich listening to records of her concerts with nothing but applause.

Watch her clown around on the TV series with Martha Raye or Ray Bolger.

And then watch I Could On Singing and see what she was like, alone onstage, electrifying an audience with the title song or "By Myself" or "Hello, Bluebird"--not to mention Acting (with a capital A) in the scene in the Emergency Room.

Sad? Maybe. But so are a lot of people. Talented? More than almost anybody.

/END Old-School-Judy-Queen Public Seervice Announcement

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I too saw this American Master's special on TCM last night. What struck me was her performance (I'm assuming on her TV show) of "Stormy Weather". Aside from the flawless vocals, the way she invested herself in every single moment - it literally took my breath away. I have always loved Judy Garland, but in that clip she went from "great talent" to "artistic genius" for me.

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I agree that she was a triple threat and one of the greatest.

She could sing and had such a mature voice at a young age.

She could act. Watch her monologue in "A Star is Born" where they never take the camera off of her. You can still watch that scene today more than 50 years later, and it is still one of the most honest pieces of acting on screen.

She could dance. Catch her in Easter Parade. Not many women had the guts to get up next to Fred Astaire.

I had read somewhere that it was Shirley Temple's mother that didn't want her to do The Wizard of Oz. (Maybe in Shirley's autobio?)

Over the Rainbow was almost cut from the movie because the running time was too long.

Shelley Winters talks in one of her autobios about going to a party and someone said something nasty to Judy. Later Shelley went outside and Judy was sitting there crying. She did have a very fragile self-esteem.

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