2h 34min | Drama, Musical, Romance | 29 September 1954 | Color, WS
Director: George Cukor
Stars: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford, Tommy Noonan.
Richard Barstow ... dance creator / dance stager
Hal Bell ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)
Jack Harmon ... assistant dance director (uncredited)
Eugene Loring ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)
This print (official release) is 2:55:23 in length.
JG's (b. '22) most recent prior film credit is Summer Stock ('50). She has 5 more films after this, ending in '63. She dies in '69 at age 47.
Songs performed (53 chapters with menu):
- ch6. Gotta Have Me Go with You, Performed by Judy Garland with Jack Harmon & Don McKay
- ch9. The Man That Got Away, Performed by Judy Garland
- ch15. Trinidad Coconut Oil Shampoo, Commercial jingle performed by Judy Garland
- ch23, 28. Swanee, Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley
- ch24, 29. Born in a Trunk, Performed by Judy Garland
- ch24. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You), Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley
- ch25. You Took Advantage of Me, Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley
- ch26. Black Bottom, Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley
- ch27. The Peanut Vendor (El Manicero), Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley
- ch27. Melancholy aka "My Melancholy Baby", Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley
- ch31. Here's What I'm Here For, Performed by Judy Garland
- ch35. It's a New World, Performed by Judy Garland
- ch39. Someone at Last, Performed by Judy Garland
- ch43. Lose That Long Face, Performed by Judy Garland
The extra features are outtakes and newsreel footage; no featurettes or commentary.
Obviously this is too long. Even 2.5 hours would be too long. The non-musical '37 version is 1:51, and the '76 version is 2:19. The original non-musical version, What Price Hollywood ('32, Cukor) is 1:28. Here they've included some audio with sepia stills, and I didn't find that footage at all revealing, but some may have been "necessary" for the burger footage to make sense?
We get a fair amount of musical content, but that's no great pleasure. The only worthwhile tracks are The Man That Got Away, and Born in a Trunk, which I think was interspersed throughout the medley. The dancing was skippable.
The story is bleak. Perhaps too well acted, because I didn't like watching it.
7 is my prior rating, and I'll stick with it.
Warner, dir. Cukor; 7
