SUMMER STOCK was the final musical that Judy Garland appeared in while under contract to MGM. Judy plays Jane Falbury, a woman single-handedly struggling to run a farm and keep a milquetoast of a fiancée (Eddie Bracken) at arm's length. One day, Jane's sister, Abigail (Gloria DeHaven) arrives at the farm and informs Jane that she has invited the cast of a show she's appearing in to rehearse at the farm. Jane reluctantly agrees to let the cast rehearse at the farm if they agree to help with chores around the farm. Then Jane falls for Joe (Gene Kelly) the director and star of the show and Abigail's boyfriend. This is the paper-thin plot from which this delightful musical springs and Garland, despite the hell that was her personal life at the time, never lets it show on screen. The most famous musical number in the film is "Get Happy" which features Judy in a sexy cut-off tuxedo surrounded by muscular chorus boys. If the number looks out of place with the rest of the film, there's good reason. After the film was completed, MGM bigwigs decided the movie needed a stronger finale. Judy was called back to the studio six months after the rest of the movie had been completed and they shot "Get Happy" and inserted the number near the end of the film. During that six month interim, Judy had lost twenty pounds and does look noticeably thinner in "Get Happy" than she does in the rest of the film. This was Judy's third and final film with Kelly, who also makes a strong impression with a solo dance he does on an empty stage that involves a squeaky floorboard and a newspaper, and two great duets with co-star Phil Silvers: "Dig dig dig for your Dinner" and "Heavenly Music." Attention should also be paid to a lovely solo Judy has called "Friendly Star". An MGM classic that definitely marked the end of an era.
Review of Summer Stock
