Happy Birthday to the Eternal Queen of the Silver Screen (and my heart), Judy Garland

As many of my friends and family are aware, I am utterly enticed with Judy Garland. Many would even call it an obsession, and I would not argue with them. In my eyes, she’s the queen of Hollywood and everything it represents: glamour, passion, tragedy, and despair. Judy Garland is Hollywood, and Hollywood has been shaped by Judy Garland.

89 years ago today, she was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesoda as Frances Gumm. At age 3, she began her 45 year career in show business and by age 16, she was a worldwide sensation. She unfortunately passed at age 47 in London, leaving behind 3 children and millions of fans who adore her.

I’m asked a lot why I’m such a fan of hers. And the truth is that I can endlessly talk about why I love Judy Garland. I can talk about how much I love the sound of her voice, no matter if she’s singing or talking. I can talk about how much I love every facial expression she makes, especially the face she makes in Summer Stock when her barn is invaded by Gene Kelly‘s acting troupe. I can talk about how much The Wizard of Oz has come to mean to me, and how much it really has shaped my life. I can go on and on about how well she worked with Mickey Rooney and how much she shined in the earliest days of her career. Or how she blossomed to become a beautiful woman in Meet Me in St. Louis. I can talk about how she can go from being terribly funny to devastatingly heartbreaking in a split second. I can go on an on about how much she inspired every actor to shine in her presence or about how much she cared about her fellow actors. I can talk about how much I cried and laughed and cried the first time I watched A Star is Born and how much I cry and laugh and cry every single time I watch it.

But more than anything else, I could endlessly talk about the passion that resonated inside of Judy Garland and how much it spilled out into every performance she gave. Her gifts of singing, dancing, and acting came naturally to her, and she was so passionate about being the best singer, dancer, and actress she could. She was so passionate about her work that she was able to lose herself in it during the most difficult times in her life. None of her performances contain a trace that her life was less than perfect. She never brought her (many) personal problems into her characters when it wasn’t necessary, and her audience never suffered.

Hollywood was a gift and a curse to Judy; she got to do what she loved to do and perform her heart out, but Hollywood stole her life, drugged her up, and drove her insane. By the time Judy was 16, MGM fed her pills to sleep, pills to wake up, pills to lose weight, and other pills for good measure. As a young performer, she became dependent on these pills to keep her schedule and weight. And later in her life she continued to be an addict to these pills to keep her life going. Hollywood gave her the job of a lifetime, but ultimately contributed to her death at age 47 of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. Hollywood gave her life, but then took it away.

Above all, I love the way Judy’s eyes glimmer in the heat of a scene. I love the way she acts with her entire body, with her voice, and with the passion burning in her eyes. I love the way that she can steal my attention from everything else in the world and command me to watch her. I really do believe that she’s one of the greatest actresses to ever live, perhaps even the greatest, for she gave so much of herself during every performance of her life. Frank Sinatra commented once that she gave so much that she died a little every time she sang, which could be the reason her poor body was so tired by the time she was 47. I can’t think of any other actor who gave into their passions so much that they allowed them to consume and envelope their entire lives;  in that sense, she’s in a class of her own, unmatched by any other performer.

She inspires me to give into my passions wholeheartedly, and there is no way I can possibly thank her enough for sending me down the path of my passions that I’m currently following.

Happy Birthday Judy, I hope that you have found what it is you were searching for Over the Rainbow.

 

Happy Birthday to the most misunderstood Star in Hollywood History

Like most people, I used to believe that Marilyn Monroe was no more than a sex bomb who became an Old Hollywood Starlet. Her image has become highly commercialized and she’s known now more for her face than what she did with it. Like most people, I just didn’t think she was much more than a sexy starlet who rose to fame and died.

But then one day, I actually watched Gentleman Prefer Blondes and my perception changed. She was so much more than just a sex bomb, she was funny and captivating. Next to the fabulous Jane Russell (whom I already loved), Marilyn shined so bright and many times out-performed Russell. I started to realize that this woman was actually talented, and a lot more than just a pretty face and a hot body. She was actually an actress, and the dumb blonde act was really an act, and not who she was. From then I became intrigued with her. Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I got the chance to watch The Seventh Year Itch shortly after that. And again, I was impressed that she was actually a good actress. She was sexy and she used that to her advantage, but she acted from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes. Every move she made was calculated, but seamless onscreen.

In one of my film history classes, Some Like it Hot was screened on the only day I had to miss class due to an appointment, so I NetFlix’ed the film and watched it on my own at home. Her performance is vulnerable and honest, but funny as hell and endearing. Her acting style is so subtle that you might miss her brilliance if you blink; her acting is in her eyes and her facial expressions; the way she moves her hand or flips her hair; the way her laugh can be so free and innocent or nervous and forced. But it wasn’t until I watched The Misfits until my love for Marilyn the actress was cemented. The Misfits is legitimately one of the saddest films I’ve ever watched, and it wasn’t because the story was particularly sad, it was the performances. It was the last film appearance for both Clark Gable and Monroe, and I really think it was the most trying film for them both to complete. Gable’s performance was so backwards from everything I’ve ever imagined Gable to be. Instead of being the dashing, cunning, strong, and delectable character I knew him as, he was a weak and downtrodden and angry cowboy with no control of his life. His character was miserable, and it seemed as if the misery inside of Gable the man was able to be expressed through Gay Langland. Like Langland, Gable was over the peak of his life, and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. It was a perfect matching of star and character. Equally perfect was Monroe as Roslyn Taber, a divorced woman looking for love and a place to land on the ground. Like Marilyn, Roslyn was a wandering soul looking for a partner in every corner. She was troubled but put on a happy face, anyways. Roslyn and Marilyn were beautiful women who were only assessed by their beauty and nothing else. No one expected Roslyn or Marilyn to have more attributes than beauty or interests past it, and everyone’s focus on their beauty harmed their perception of themselves. Marilyn Monroe’s performance was haunting, beautiful, and heart breaking. Though The Misfits wasn’t planned to be her final film, it was a fitting film for Marilyn to end her career with. If no other film proves her acting ability, The Misfits proves that she was more than just a sex symbol, but a true actress.

After looking at Marilyn as a actress, I read a bit about her life as well. She had a troubled and unstable childhood with a mentally ill mother and a went through plethora of foster homes until she ended up married at 16. Undoubtedly, her childhood effected the rest of her life as well as her famed on-set antics. She suffered from extreme stage fright that followed her throughout her career. She was also terribly insecure, despite being labeled as the sexiest woman in the world. Though most people believe her to be the dumb blonde she portrayed in most of her films, she cared a lot about bettering herself and attended UCLA for art and literature and read a ton of books throughout her life. Monroe was a dedicated actress, despite beliefs that she got by on being blonde and pretty. Lee Strasberg, the famous acting coach of The Actors Studio, said of Monroe: “I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses, and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe.” Monroe studied under Strasberg until her death, and she became apart of his family. Upon her death, her estate was left with Strasberg, where it remains to be managed by his family until this day.

Not too long ago, a box filled with notes and poetry written by Monroe was discovered and published into a book called Fragments: Poems, Intimate Nones, and Letters which reveals Monroe’s heart, personal struggles, self doubt, and her many insecurities. After reading through that, I couldn’t just look at Marilyn Monroe as just an actress or sex symbol, but a human.

I think that Marilyn would be pleased with that.

Happy Birthday, Ms. Monroe.

For us, Marilyn was a devoted and loyal friend – a colleague constantly reaching for perfection. We shared her pain and difficulties, and some of her joys. She was a member of our family…. It is difficult to accept the fact that her zest for life has been ended by this dreadful accident. Despite the heights and brilliance she had attained on the screen, she was planning for the future. She was looking forward to participating in the many exciting things. In her eyes, and in mine, her career was just beginning…. She had a luminous quality. A combination of wistfulness, radiance, and yearning that set her apart and made everyone wish to be part of it – to share in the childish naivete which was at once so shy and yet so vibrant.

– Lee Strasberg’s Eulogy for Marilyn’s Funeral

Turner Classic Movies: The Greatest Cable Channel Ever

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is the greatest cable channel ever conceived. That is not an opinion, but a fact. TCM is a cable channel dedicated to the preservation of classic films, TCM’s programming is exclusively dedicated to classic films and documentary content about classic films. Thanks to TCM, myself and many other people that I know have gained a true appreciation and love for classic films. I can also credit TCM for sparking my interest in Hollywood History.

My love for classic cinema grew out of watching TCM  during the summer prior to my first year of college. Because its commercial free and announces their schedules on their website, I was able to schedule my days around various films playing on TCM. The first film I watched on TCM was The Slender Thread starring Sidney Portier, the first film directed by Sidney Pollack. The Slender Thread was the first dramatic film I had ever watched in black and white. After that, I was smitten with classic movies.

Turner Classic Movies is owned by Time Warner, a large media conglomerate with an incredible access to the extensive film libraries belonging to MGM and Warner Bros. Ted Turner, owner of Turner Broadcasting Communications a subsidiary of Time Warner,  purchased MGM in 1986; he sold the studio after a short time, but kept ownership of MGM’s vast film library. Time Warner also owns the Warner Bros. film library, featuring many of Hollywood’s defining classics. To gain access to the film libraries of other studios, TCM licenses films from 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal Studios, Disney, and Janus Pictures. TCM’s unique commitment to classic films encourages all studios to license out their content at a reasonable price and without much hassle.

TCM primarily shows films from the 1930s to 1960s, but has content that ranges from the late 1910s to the early 2000s. They are the last movie channel to have a host present each film, Robert Osbourne is the primary host of TCM. Osbourne introduces each film with a synopsis or a few fun facts about the making of the film. Other hosts include Ben Mankiewicz, Alec Baldwin, and for a time in 2007, Rob Zombie.

TCM is not just committed to the preservation of these films in culture, but also to educate about the history of film. Prior to each movie, a host gives the audience facts about the movie, and sometimes even shows the original trailer for the movie. TCM also creates original documentaries about movies, stars, or studios. TCM is completely commercial free, and only advertises TCM products and upcoming movies. Movies are shown in their original formats, uncut and uncensored. Usually, the director’s cut is show, not the MPAA approved version. TCM is committed to showing classic films in the way that the filmmaker intended for them to be shown.

Recently, it has got into the business of packaging DVD sets and selling DVDs from its website. Over at http://www.tcm.com, one finds a vast DVD library full of films that are difficult to locate in any other place.

In 2010, Turner Classic Movies launched the first annual Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA. It spanned four days and only featured classic content, unlike any film festival on earth. Instead of being a breeding ground for new films, it was a nostalgia fest for some, and a way for others to learn about a film world they missed out on experiencing first hand. This year, TCM is throwing the Classic Film Festival again in Los Angeles, and its taking the festival on the road as well.

If I wasn’t a poor college student, I would be blowing my money on a TCM festival pass. Nothing beats experiencing a film on a big screen, and I hope I get the chance to go to the TCM Classic Film Festival next year to see some of my favorites on a big screen.

1939

I’m a huge, huge fan of Old movies. I believe that movies made before 1969 are largely better than movies made after 1969. I wish I lived during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s to see these films as they premiered, but I love that I can watch those classic films and compare them to the films of today.

1939 was a landmark year for Hollywood that is highly unique and has never been duplicated. 1939 produced more amazing films than any other year in Hollywood History.

Amazing Films released in 1939:

• Gone With the Wind
• The Women
• Dark Victory
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
• Of Mice and Men
• Ninotchka
• Wuthering Heights
• The Wizard of Oz
• Stage Coach
• Love Affair
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips
• Dodge City
• The Little Princess

And many more.

My favorite 1939 films are The Wizard of Oz and The Women. Gone With the Wind and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington are also favorites of mine.

Turner Classic Movies (the greatest cable channel, ever) is playing the ten films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1939 on Saturday, February 12th.

Of all years to be an Oscar voter, I would not want to vote in 1939. I wouldn’t have been able to choose between The Wizard of Oz and The Women. Or between GWTW and Of Mice and Men. The ten Oscar nominated films of 1939 are all fantastic, and I recommend that everyone watch them. Thank the TV gods for DVR systems, because thanks to that technology, none of use have to miss one moment of this glorious marathon.

Click on the schedule to be taken to the full TCM schedule.

(For those of you who aren’t familiar with Turner Classic Movies, TCM, it is a cable channel owned by Ted Turner that is dedicated to keeping classic films alive by showing them to a new generation of movie watchers.)

When Clint met Cary…

 

There’s a funny story in Evenings With Cary Grant about Clint Eastwood meeting Cary Grant:

Before Clint could get out ‘Hello,’ Cary said, ‘Well, I just think you’re the best director-actor.  You really are an amazing talent.’  And Clint turned to the whole room and said, ‘Oh, my God.  He talks just like he does in the movies.’  Clint was so excited about meeting Cary Grant, that suddenly he sounded like Jimmy Stewart.

—Merv Griffin

 

The Pirate

The Pirate is a 1948 film starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly made by MGM in beautiful Hollywood, USA (aka Culver City, CA). The Pirate tells the story of a traveling performer named Serafin (Kelly) who arrives at the Carribean City of Calvados where he meets a young woman named Manuela (Garland) who is being forced to marry the town’s mayor. Serafin falls in love with Manuela, but Manuela is in love with a legendary pirate named, Mack the Black. Serafin must then get Manuela to fall in love with him and deter the Major from marrying Manuela as well.

This is one of three films that Judy Garland and Gene Kelly made together, the other two are For Me and My Gal (1942) and Summer Stock (1950). Judy and Gene made a great set of partners, Kelly was a handsome dancer that needed a woman that could keep up, and Garland was a firecracker and one of Gene’s most compatible dancing partners. Judy and Gene lit up the stage together, they never outshone one another, and often championed each other’s performances.

For Me and My Gal is not only their first film together, but its also the film that propelled Gene Kelly into silver screen stardom. This was his first film, and Judy Garland, already a seasoned film star, helped Kelly, who was previously a Broadway actor, adjust to film-style acting. This film made Gene Kelly a star and started a friendship between Gene and Judy that would last a lifetime.

Summer Stock was their last film together, as well as Judy Garland’s last film with MGM. Judy Garland’s health and career was on the decline, and Gene Kelly stepped in to star in this film with her and help her finish the film, just as she helped him in his first film.

Midway between these films, Judy and Gene starred in The Pirate, directed by Vincente Minnelli. Vincente Minnelli was a seasoned MGM director by the time this film was made, it was his 4th time working with his then-wife, Judy Garland (the others being Meet Me in St. Louis, The Clock, and The Zeigfeld Follies). Minnelli took a different approach to directing Garland than nearly other director at MGM; Garland was a “one take wonder” and often needed little direction. Minnelli took much more control over Garland than most other directors, and so he usually evoked a variety of emotions out of Garland in her performances. Minnelli was a huge fan of color and used deep, saturated colors throughout all of his films. The Pirate is a colorful film full of deep reds and blues. His films were so full of color that they were almost out of this world, and they truly gave the audience the sense that they were watching films that existed in a dream. 

The Pirate is a musical, love story that is captivating and purely entertaining. My favorite number is ‘Mack the Black’ where Manuela sings about the pirate she’s in love with. Judy’s voice transcends all imagination; when she sings, she doesn’t ask for the audience’s attention, she grabs it. She makes herself impossible to ignore and equally impossible to forget. Though Gene Kelly is an extremely talented man, he cannot command any attention away from Judy when they share the screen. In every possible shot in which they’re together, Garland steals the scene away and Kelly doesn’t seem to mind. Every co-star of Judy must have known how overlooked they’d be while sharing a screen of her, and her best co-stars accepted that fact.

This film is a joy to watch because of the strength of the talent on the screen. Its not the best Garland-Kelly film, nor the best film in the scheme of their careers, but it stands out for being pure entertainment and a showcase of talent.

Confession Time: Judy Garland

I’ve been avoiding this topic on this blog for far too long, and its time that I just come out and say it:

I’m the biggest Judy Garland fan-girl you’ll ever meet.

And when I say fan-girl, I don’t mean that I just watch The Wizard of Oz for hours on end, I mean that I celebrate her birthday, watch YouTube videos of The Judy Garland Show, read her many biographies, I know the location of her Stars on the Walk of Fame (1715 Vine St. & 6764 Hollywood Blvd.), I own all of her music and listen to it often, I watch nearly all her movies and end up crying, etc. etc. Never get me into a conversation about Judy, because it probably won’t stop. Point of the matter is, I’m a huge Judy fan-girl and I have no shame about it.

When I was putting together my top movie lists (that I’ll probably have done around the end of December), I realized that most of the Musicals I listed were Garland musicals. Though I obviously think all of her musicals are superior to nearly everyone else’s I just don’t think it’s fair to only name Judy musicals when so many have been made.

I made a list of my top five Judy Garland movies and songs… because well… it had to be done.

Here they are:

Top 5 Judy Garland Films:

1. A Star is Born
2. Meet Me in St. Louis
3. Summerstock
4. The Pirate
5. The Wizard of Oz

Top 5 Judy Garland Songs:

1. Over the Rainbow
2. The Boy Next Door
3. The Man that Got Away
4. Poor You
5. Mr. Gable, You Made Me Love You

Because of the fact that I love those Top 5 Judy movies so much, I’ll rewatch them all and then write full reviews and explanations as to why I love them so much and why I favor them. And I like reasons to write about Judy and watch her movies over and over again.

I love Judy Garland. I will try to spend my life making other people love Judy Garland. On my gravestone, I really hope it says “Here Lies Brittany, she made heterosexual men love Judy Garland”.

John Wayne on ‘I Love Lucy’