Summer Stock [Blu-ray]

Overview

Summer Stock represented Judy Garland's swan song at MGM. Garland plays the owner of a New England farm which entrepreneur Gene Kelly hopes to convert into a summer theatre. Gloria DeHaven, a member of Kelly's troupe, also happens to be Garland's sister. Aware that the farm is having financial difficulties, DeHaven talks the recalcitrant Garland into allowing the troupe to set up shop in the barn. All sorts of romances wind their way through the summer air as Kelly mounts his production. In the long-anticipated finale, Garland herself steps into the leading-lady slot vacated by her petulant sister DeHaven, and of course the show is a smasheroo. To watch Garland joyfully perform such numbers as "Friendly Star," "If You Feel Like Singing, Sing," and her legendary "drag" specialty "Get Happy," you'd never suspect that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown (the film opened while Garland was recovering from a suicide attempt). Adding to the overall exuberance of Summer Stock are such dependable supporting players as Eddie Bracken, Phil Silvers, Marjorie Main and Hans Conried (cast as the troupe's resident romantic baritone!)

Product Details

Release Date:	04/30/2019
UPC:	0883929680948
Original Release:	1950
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:49:00
Sales rank:	6,470

Special Features

Featurette Summer Stock: Get Happy!; Classic Cartoon The Cuckoo Clock; Vintage Pete Smith specialty Short Did'ja Know?; Audio-Only Bonus: Outtake song "Fall in Love"; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Judy Garland	Jane Falbury
Gene Kelly	Joe D. Ross
Eddie Bracken	Orville Wingait
Gloria De Haven	Abigail Falbury
Marjorie Main	Esme
Phil Silvers	Herb Blake
Ray Collins	Jasper G. Wingait
Carleton Carpenter	Artie
Nita Bieber	Sarah Higgins
Hans Conried	Harrison I. Keath
Paul E. Burns	Frank
Carol Haney	Members of Stock Company
Dorothy Tuttle	Members of Stock Company
Arthur Loew Jr.	Members of Stock Company,Actor
Dick Humphreys	Members of Stock Company
Jimmie Thompson	Members of Stock Company,Actor
Bridget Carr	Members of Stock Company
Joanne Tree	Members of Stock Company
Jeanne Coyne	Members of Stock Company
Deanna Durbin	Actor
Jean Adcock	Members of Stock Company
Rena Lenart	Members of Stock Company
Joan Dale	Members of Stock Company
Betty Hannon	Members of Stock Company
Elynne Ray	Members of Stock Company
Marilyn Reiss	Members of Stock Company
Carol West	Members of Stock Company
Eugene Freedley	Members of Stock Company
Joe Roach	Members of Stock Company
Albert Ruiz	Members of Stock Company
Roy Butler	Townsman
Henry Sylvester	Townsman
George Bunny	Townsman
Frank Pharr	Townsman
A. Cameron Grant	Producer
Jack Daley	Producer
Reginald Simpson	Producer
Michael Chapin	Boy
Teddy Infuhr	Boy
Almira Sessions	Constance Fliggerton
Kathryn Sheldon	Amy Fliggerton
Jack Gargan	Clerk
Eddie Dunn	Sheriff
Erville Alderson	Zeb
Bette Arlen	Showgirl
Bunny Waters	Showgirl
Don Powell	Actor

Technical Credits

George Wells

Sy Gomberg

Charles Walters	Director
George Wells	Screenwriter
Sy Gomberg	Screenwriter
Joe Pasternak	Producer

Editorial Reviews

By 1950, the "let's put on a show in a barn" idea had been done to death, so it's something of a surprise that Summer Stock is actually an entertaining flick. It's also a reminder of how one single moment in a film can stick in an audience's memory and make them forgive and forget the film's flaws. In this case, that moment is the legendary "Get Happy" number. Performed by Judy Garland in a black tuxedo jacket and rakishly angled fedora, and accompanied by a chorus of men in black, the sequence is simplicity itself -- a fairly bare stage, energetic but not stunning choreography, and Garland in peak vocal form selling the number in a manner that is both commanding and relaxed. There are other highlights as well, such as Gene Kelly's wonderful dance with a newspaper upon an empty (and somewhat squeaky) stage, and Garland's quiet and lovely "Friendly Star" and rousing "If You feel Like Singing." Both stars are in top condition, offering lessons in how to play even hackneyed situations with total conviction and how to put across a number with total ease yet never lose that all-important sense of urgency. The overly familiar plot keeps the film as a whole from greatness, but isolated moments are pure magic. Kelly would move on to the memorable An American in Paris the next year, but it would be four more years before Garland turned up onscreen again -- although, since her return vehicle was A Star Is Born, it was worth the wait.