JUDY GARLAND SINGS!
November 24 through January 11
AFI's recent survey of the 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time: Judy Garland headlined three of the top 10 titles, more than fellow legends Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews or Fred Astaire. An actress of great talent, verve and demonic complexity, she retains an aura of youthfulness and soul in her classic musicals, which showcased her velvet-rich vocals as well as her underrated gifts as a comedienne. This series includes the beloved family classic MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (#10 Greatest Musicals), featuring Garland's holiday standard the bittersweet Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; the always wonderful THE WIZARD OF OZ (#3); and the epic Hollywood story, A STAR IS BORN (#7); plus great pairings with stars Gene Kelly in THE PIRATE and Fred Astaire in EASTER PARADE.
Films include THE HARVEY GIRLS, THE PIRATE, THE WIZARD OF OZ, MEET ME IN ST.LOUIS, A STAR IS BORN, and EASTER PARADE.
"Mention the name Judy Garland to movie-musical fans and their eyes widen with excitement. Utter the words, "This is Mrs. Norman Maine," and they just might burst into tears. In fact, anyone who adores Garland's immortal proclamation from the dazzling 1954 remake of "A Star is Born" ought to rejoice over "Judy Garland Sings!," a six-week tribute to the beloved musical superstar and gay icon currently underway at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre & Cultural Center in Silver Spring and running through Jan. 11."
- Matthew Forke, The Washington Blade
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THE HARVEY GIRLS
"An abundance of chromatic spectacle and an uncommonly good score." -New York Times. Remembered chiefly as the film that debuted the Oscar-winning Johnny Mercer-Harry Warren composition On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, THE HARVEY GIRLS is a little known, but quintessentially star-laden MGM musical about young ladies moving west to civilize frontier towns.
DIR George Sidney; SCR Edmund Beloin, Harry Crane and Nathaniel Curtis, based on the novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams; PROD Arthur Freed. US, 1946, color, 102 min. NOT RATED
THE PIRATE
Judy Garland is unhappily engaged to the rich and boring mayor of her Caribbean town. Vowing to set her eyes on the sea before she marries, she meets Gene Kelly, who exploits her romantic nature and her interest in the legendary pirate Macoco. The Cole Porter score includes one of the most famous of all numbers, the exuberant Be a Clown, featuring the dancing of the Nicholas Brothers.
DIR Vincente Minnelli; SCR Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the play by S.N. Behrman; PROD Arthur Freed. US, 1948, color, 102 min. NOT RATED
THE WIZARD OF OZ
#6 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Musicals, #3 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Musicals, #4 on AFI's 100 Villains and Heroes, #1 and #82 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs and #4, #23 and #99 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Quotes. "Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!" When Louis B. Mayer couldn't get Shirley Temple, he took a gamble and cast Judy Garland as Dorothy, the sad girl from Kansas who runs away with her dog Toto and is transported over the rainbow. Six Oscar nominations, with wins for Best Score and Best Song.
DIR Victor Fleming; SCR Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, based on the novel The Wonderful World of Oz by L. Frank Baum; PROD Mervyn LeRoy. US, 1939, color, 101 min. RATED G
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
#10 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Musicals. Nominated for four Academy Awards, this nostalgic portrait of a happy Midwest family marked the beginning of MGM's Golden Age. Father is offered a promotion in New York, and the Smith family is shaken to realize they may have to leave their beloved St. Louis and miss the 1904 World's Fair. Delightful classic numbers include The Trolley Song, The Boy Next Door and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
DIR Vincente Minnelli; SCR Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe, based on the novel by Sally Benson; PROD Arthur Freed. US, 1944, color, 113 min. NOT RATED.
A STAR IS BORN
Garland's stellar comeback performance after a four-year absence is reason enough to see this remake of William Wellman's 1937 classic about a doomed Hollywood couple. James Mason is the actor on the wane who takes young Judy under his wing to cultivate her raw talent into Hollywood super stardom. As she rises, Mason becomes increasingly despondent, resulting in a dramatic conclusion.
DIR George Cukor; SCR Dorothy Parker, Allan Campbell, Robert Carson and Moss Hart, based on the story by William A. Wellman; PROD Sidney Luft. US, 1954, color, 176 min. RATED PG
EASTER PARADE
Garland's sole collaboration with Fred Astaire, this Academy Award-winning (Best Score) Irving Berlin musical features highlights such as Stepping Out With My Baby, A Couple of Swells and the title song. Astaire is shaken when his long-time dance partner Ann Miller goes solo. After drunkenly boasting that he can turn any plain Jane into a first-class dancer, he sets his sights on transforming Garland.
DIR Charles Walters; SCR Sidney Sheldon, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett; PROD Arthur Freed. US, 1948, color, 107 min. NR
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