Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (From Meet Me in St. Louis (1944))

Merry Christmas my friends. Here is a little Yuletide treat from what might be my favorite movie. 

Video Link: The Judy Garland Christmas Show (1963)

Video Link: Judy Garland - Merry Christmas (From in the Good Old Summertime (1949))

Gay Purr-ee (1962)

 

Gay Purr-ee is a truly delightful, animated feature film from the 1960's. It is sad that such a lovely movie should have not only been completely underappreciated in its day and nearly forgotten today. It is high time this movie is appreciated for the pure charmer it is. 

In this animated film, Mewsette is a cat living on a French farm in the country. Tired of her country life, she dreams of a glamorous life in Paris. She hitches a ride on a carriage heading to Paris. However, when she reaches the big city, her naiveté is taken advantage of by a seemingly sophisticated cat named Meowrice, whose motives are anything but virtuous.

Charming is the best word to describe this movie. Many critics of the day (and some today) criticize the film for being too simplistic for adults and too sophisticated for children. Yet it is exactly the mixture of these elements that endears this movie so much to me. I find the simplicity and straight forwardness of the story very charming. In this way it feels like an old-fashioned story book in the best way possible. The sophistication of the artwork and the humor to me brings a sense of authenticity to this simple Paris based story. There is a delightful stylization to much of the artwork that makes the whole film simply a joy to look at. Many of the backgrounds look like French paintings and fully immerse you in this world. The humor is often cleverer and more sophisticated than it is actually funny. One of the best moments of this sophisticated humor is when we see Mewsette drawn in the style of various French painters. While not exactly funny, this is incredibly lovely. Yet this sophisticated humor fits the film to a tea. To me the sophistication brings this movie a real sense of atmosphere, while the simplicity brings a real sense of charm. Both elements work together to create a delightfully unique and lovely film.   

If there is one complaint to have about this movie, it is that it is obvious that the filmmakers did not have the same budget that was given to those making animated features for Disney. There are times when the animation is as limited as what was being made for TV at the time. However, the wonderful artwork often makes up for this fault. 

One of this film's greatest assets is having Judy Garland as the voice of Mewsette. Her career was going through a major revival around this time. In 1961 she had released what is considered to be one of the greatest live albums of all time, Judy at Carnegie Hall. This album was not only an artistic triumph but also a massive hit spending 13 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard charts. She had received critical acclaim for her dramatic role in Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). She also had a CBS Television special on the horizon. She spent three weeks in November 1961 recording her voice for this her first and only animated movie. She was paid $50,000 plus 10% of the gross. She took to voice acting like a duck to water. She brings a real charm and likability to this role, while also seeming so authentic that you forgot that a well-known actress is voicing the character. Her singing voice is also in great form here and she sounds incredible in each of her song numbers. 

This movie reunites Judy with song writers Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. This was the songwriting team that penned the songs for the film Judy is best remembered for The Wizard of Oz (1939). In this film the team is at their best and every song is a pure delight. Some of these songs show the team at their absolute best. Little Drops of Rain and Paris is a Lonely Town are true musical classics perfectly enhanced by the vocal talents of Judy Garland. 

As well as Judy Garland this film also features a great cast of actors some (like Judy) best known for their live action work and other experienced cartoon voice actors. This includes such talent as Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Paul Frees, Hermione Gingold, Morey Amsterdam, Mel Blanc, Joan Gardner and Julie Bennett. 

This marked the second and final feature length movie to be released by the UPA studio (the first being the Mr. Magoo feature 1001 Arabian Nights (1959)) and the only one not to feature any of UPAs characters from their theatrical cartoon shorts. The film was based off of a story written by animation legend Chuck Jones and his wife Dorothy. Chuck was working at Warner Brothers at the time and the heads of the Warners cartoon studio were unhappy with Chuck having moonlighted. This caused a rift that ended with Chuck leaving the studio. He would go on to work at MGM, where he would produce 34 Tom and Jerry shorts and would direct the holiday TV classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). The movie was directed by Abe Levitow. Levitow had worked as an animator on some of Chuck's Warner Brothers cartoons. His association with Chuck would continue after this. He would direct some of the Chuck Jones produced Tom and Jerry shorts and him and Chuck would later co-direct the live action-animation feature film, The Phantom Tollbooth (1970). For UPA Levitow would direct a Christmas TV classic, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962). Regular Jones animators Ben Washam and Ken Harris also worked on this film. 

Unfortunately, this movie was a box-office failure, but I hope that soon it will be reassessed by cartoon lovers, Judy Garland fans and movie buffs. It certainly deserves more attention and love than it gets. 

Resources Used

The Animated Movie Guide Edited by Jerry Beck

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/76058/gay-purr-ee#articles-reviews?articleId=613079

Video Link: Celebrating Judy Garland On Her Birthday (Compilation) | TCM

Classic Short Film: Bubbles (1930)

Happy birthday Judy.

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland (2000)

 

Get Happy is the best of all Judy Garland biographies because it does not read like a biography. Most biographies give you a lot of information about their subjects but don't really create much of an emotional connection to them. When you reach the end of a novel on the other you care deeply about the characters and feel as close to them as you do to yourself. In this way, this book reads more like a novel than a biography, though it is 100% accurate. You don't feel like you just learned new facts about Judy Garland, you feel as if you know her personally. For the length of time it takes for you to read this book, you get to walk in Judy's shoes and see the world through her eyes. You feel the pain and tragedy of much of her life but also get to appreciate and enjoy those fleeting moments of joy. This book never eschews Judy's many flaws, but it offers a very sympathetic and understanding view of who she was in spite of (and sometimes because of) these flaws. As such this book reads like a great literary tragedy and there are moments when it is hard to keep a dry eye while reading. 

As well as a great portrait of Judy herself this book also paints very vivid imagery of the times and places, Judy lived in. This is true whether the book is discussing MGM during the height of the studio system, Judy's childhood home or the various venues Judy performed on. You can clearly picture these places and times in your mind as clear as if you were watching a movie. Again, this is a quality that is rarely experiences in biographies. 

I also love the critical look Gerald Clarke takes at Judy's work as an artist. It is not afraid to find flaws with some of her work but at the same time it admits that when Judy is at her best, she is one of the greatest entertainers to ever live. 

This is a quintessential showbiz biography.   

Video Link: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (From Meet Me in St. Louis (1944))

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I truly believe that there is a certain magic to it that cannot be explained. I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas season. As Tiny Tim observed, "God bless us everyone." 
 

Video Link: Judy Garland - Merry Christmas (from In the Good Old Summertime (1949))

A Jitterbug, a Wizard and a Cat and Mouse

 The Wizard of OZ (1939) still remains one of the most popular films of all time. Even 85 years later, this movie still lives in the mind of audiences young and old, many of whom have not seen many films from the same time period. Part of why the film still remains etched in the minds of movie fans is the songs. Songs like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, We're Off to See the Wizard, If I Only Had a Brain and Follow the Yellow Brick Road are still beloved today. However, like most movie musicals not every song made it to the finished film. One song that was cut out was called The Jitterbug. This song was supposed to be the scene before the flying monkeys took Dorothy to the Witch's castle. The Witch was to send a bug that would force our heroes to dance until they were too exhausted to fight the monkeys. Despite this scene being cut, there is a line in the finished film that references this scene, where the witch says she sent "a little insect to take the fight out of them." 

One of the most interesting places this song showed up was in the direct to video movie, Tom and Jerry: Back to OZ (2018). Here the evil Gnome King (a character from the OZ books) wants to capture Dorothy and her friends so he can have the magic of the Ruby Slippers. Like the witch was going to do in the 1939 film, he sends the Jitterbug to wear our heroes down. When I first saw that film, I smiled as soon as this song started, happy that this song has finely found its way into an OZ movie, even a direct to video one. Being in a Tom and Jerry movie made it all the more surprising. Here is the version from that film. 

The song has also appeared in various stage productions of the Wizard of Oz. Below is just one example. 

Video Link: Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (from Meet Me In St. Louis (1944))

Merry Christmas my friends. 

The Wonderful Wizardry of OZ

Probably few films are as etched into people's minds as much as The Wizard of OZ (1939). Even those who don't watch old movies, know this film very well. They know the songs, can recognize certain scenes, know the basics of the story and can even name some of the stars (or at least Judy Garland). It is definitely one of the first "old" movies I watched as a kid. In fact, I cannot remember a time when I was not familiar with this movie. I am sure the same is true with many of you.

The following is a 1939 article about the making of this movie. If you have trouble reading it click on the following pages and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

Video Link: Judy Garland - Merry Christmas (From In the Good Old Summertime (1949))

Video Link: "Gotta Have Me Go With You" - A Star Is Born (1954)

Judy Garland Birthday Poem

 Today marks what would have been the 100th Birthday of one of my favorite movie stars of all time, Judy Garland. Below is a special birthday poem written specifically for Judy's birthday by poet and novelist Robert Nathan. Film fans might know him for writing the novels, The Bishop's Wife and Portrait of Jennie, both of which would be turned into great films. The poem was read to Judy by Clark Gable, who Judy had sung a tribute to in the movie Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937). As this poem was written in 1944, Judy would have just turned 22 years old. To read the following page click on it and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

Photoplay, 1944

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

The story of the film is extremely simple. The Smith family lives in St. Louis and loves it there. Esther (played by Judy Garland) is in love with John Truett, the boy next door (played by Tom Drake). Rose (played by Lucille Bremer) is in love with Warren Sheffield (played by Robert Sully), but he has trouble proposing to her. Meanwhile Tootie (played by Margret O'Brien) gets in as much trouble as humanly possible. The father (played by Leon Ames) gets a chance to be promoted, but he must move to New York. The whole family is naturally very upset about this.

This film was directed by one of MGM's best directors of musical films, Vincente Minnelli, who also directed such classics as Cabin in the Sky, The Pirate and An American in Paris. He would also direct such great non-musical movies as The Long Long Trailer, Lust For Life and I Dood It. This film began his romance with the film's star Judy Garland. It was the first film they worked on together and they fell deeply in love. They married the next year and the year after that they gave birth to a daughter Liza Minnelli. Interestingly Judy Garland almost didn't do the movie because, she didn't want to be typecast.

Despite how tight and simple this movie feels, things had to be cut out. In an early draft a subplot about Esther getting blackmailed existed. There was also a song called Boys and Girls Like You and Me that was actually shot for the film but later cut. This song came directly after The Trolley Song.

The songs for this movie were written by Ralph Blaine and Hugh Martin. The song Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas originally had darker lyrics. These included "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last". Judy Garland felt it was horrible to sing this to such a small child as Tootie and that Esther should try to cheer her up with this song. The song writers listened and came up with the lyrics that remain in the film (and all the subsequent recordings). Speaking of the songs my fellow Tom and Jerry fans will recognize The Trolley Song, even if they had never seen this movie and that is because Scott Bradley, who did the scores for Tom and Jerry films, used the song as background music in those cartoons often (since they were also made for MGM).

This film is incredibly good. The songs are fantastic, the performances are great, the story is very good and just everything works about this film. Along with the great music and romance, this film also stands up so well because of the characters and humor. The scenes with Tootie talking about her dead dolls, never fail to make me laugh. The characters here feel real and far from the movie stereotypes they could have easily been. When the films over I almost feel sad to leave these characters. Overall, this film just has an amazing charm that to me is irresistible. That is why it has become one of my personal favorite movies. 

Meet Me in St. Louis became a huge hit both critically and at the box office. It remains as much of a classic today as it did in 1944.

The Film Daily, 1945

The Independent Film Journal, 1944

Showman's Trade Review, 1944

For more Michael's Christmas Movie Guide click here.

Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/310/Meet-Me-in-St-Louis/articles.html

Vintage Advertisements For Easter Parade: Get Your Vitamin MGM

For so many of us film buffs, Easter Parade (1948) is the must watch movie today. The film is as delightful as movie musicals get and I love every second of it. It features Fred Astaire and Judy Garland at the top of their game and it is hard not to wish the duo made more films together after watching it.

Here are some vintage advertisements for the film. Many of these show MGM tooting their own horn as they loved to do. 

Showman's Trade Review, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

The Film Daily, 1948

Showman's Trade Review, 1948

The Film Daily, 1948

Showman's Trade Review. 1948

When MGM's The Three Musketeers (1948) outperformed MGM's own Easter Parade, this just made Leo the Lion toot his own horn even more.

Boxoffice, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

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Now as a bonus let us sing along to some of the songs from this delightful movie.

Happy Easter my friends.

-Michael J. Ruhland




  

TCM Big Screen Classics: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Thanks to TCM and Fathom Events, yesterday I was able to watch one of my all time favorite movies on the big screen.

Meet Me in St. Louis is pure movie magic at its best. Everything is as close to perfection as movies get. The songs are incredible, technicolor has never looked better, the performances are perfect, the humor is fantastic and there is a special charm in every second. Judy Garland is as perfect as ever, but in my opinion the show was stolen by Margert O'Brien as the very disturbed 5 year Tootie. She not only gives the film its best laughs, but she truly brings to life one of my favorite movie characters. There is often times a bias against sentimentality and sweetness with today's movie fans. However a film like this proves that when done right these things can make a great movie. These things have never been done better than in Meet Me in St. Louis, and here they help create a cinematic masterpiece.

Speaking of cinematic, there is no better way to see this film than in a theatre. On the big screen the vibrant colors and incredible performances truly come to life, creating an incredible sense of movie magic.

So I know this is a brief post but I just want to state again that if you are a movie fan these TCM Big Screen Classics are incredible experiences you can't miss. Next month is another fantastic technicolor musical from the same director (Vincente Minnelli), An American in Paris (1951).

-Michael J. Ruhland    

Movie Review: Judy

Michael's Movie Grade: B

For Judy Garland fans like me, you have to take this movie as a work of fiction to enjoy it. Judy never cussed out her audience (this change confuses me as it makes the character seem unlikable while also being completely false), Mickey and Judy's relationship was nothing like what was seen on screen, she never took her kids to any conventions but rather they performed with her on the best venues out there and these are only a few of the scenes that where completely made up for this movie. However if you take this as a film and not an accurate account of Judy Garland's life, it is quite good.

Renee Zellweger is incredible in the title role. When people say she is Oscar worthy for this performance I can't argue at all. She brings a powerful sense of both being larger than life as well as being full of human frailty. Judy as presented here is both a complete legend but also fully a human being. Since much of the story is rather depressing, Judy's humorous wit is very much appreciated. Many of her comments made me and other members of the audience laugh out loud adding some much needed levity to the sadder moments. Her performances of the classic songs are great, as long as you don't compare them to the real Judy Garland. The real Judy was a one of kind performer with a one of a kind voice and stage presence. Renee isn't able to capture this completely and there is never a moment during these song numbers when a Judy Garland fan will ever forget they are watching Renee and not Judy on screen. However taken on their own terms with no comparisons to Judy, these song numbers are excellent. Renee has an incredible singing voice and great charisma while performing these songs and these scenes extremely entertaining. Again Judy Garland fans just have to accept that it is a different voice and charisma than that of the real Judy Garland. Darci Shaw also turns in an incredible performance of Judy as a kid in a few flashbacks. With her playing the kid version of a character we mostly see as an adult will make her not receive the praise she deserves but she turns in a truly incredible and human performance.

I am split on the flashback scenes to be honest. This is not because of the scenes themselves which are excellent, but rather because they often feel forced into the film with no real transition. This is sad because they are fantastic scenes and honest highlights of the film, but they also simply don't seem to fit in the movie we are watching. A scene involving two fans that Judy befriends on the other hand could have been left on the cutting room floor. It feels embarrassingly awkward and forced. The dialogue is corny as all get out and for a movie that is supposed to be based off a real life story feels completely false. A later reappearance of the two men is even more corny and forced, if such a thing is possible.

Despite its faults this is a very moving and entertaining movie. However if you want to learn more about Judy Garland as a person, read a biography and know that this film is pure fiction.

-Michael J. Ruhland    

Gene Autry sings Patriotic Songs.

Happy fourth of July my friends. To celebrate let's enjoy Gene Autry singing some classic patriotic songs. 

First up comes Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You. This song dates back to 1915 (decades before Gene recording it), and was meant to raise patriotism for World War One. This Gene Autry version was released during World War 2, another time when patriotism was all over entertainment. This version is from Gene's feature film, Bells of Capistrano (1942). Interestingly this song was going to be in another 1942 movie, but was cut out. Judy Garland was going to perform it in For Me and My Gal (1942). Next comes a lovely patriotic spiritual, God Must Have Loved America. Gene co-wrote this song with the legendary Fred Rose (Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Home in San Antone, Pins and Needles). This version comes from an episode of Gene's radio show dating to July 26, 1942. Last comes There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere. This version was also from Gene's Radio show, this one coming from an episode dated August 2, 1942.

-Michael J. Ruhland