Summer stick

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title Summer stick
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1950
length 109 minutes
Rod
Director Charles Walters
script Sy Gomberg
George Wells
production Joe Pasternak
music Conrad Salinger
Songs-Music:
Harry Warren
Harold Arlen
Lyrics:
Mack Gordon
Jack Brooks
Saul Chaplin
Ted Koehler
camera Robert H. Planck
cut Albert Akst
occupation

Summer Stock is an American from MGM -produced film musical from 1950 with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in the lead roles. It was Judy Garland's last film for MGM.

Summer Stock are ensembles in English-speaking countries who perform performances or rehearsals for future pieces during the summer time, which is normally when there is no play.

action

Jane Falbury owns a farm in Wingait Falls, Connecticut, which is struggling with financial difficulties. In addition, she has to finance her younger sister Abigail's training to become an actress. Since Jane can't even pay her farm workers, they leave the farm. Only her housekeeper Esme stays with her. Jane realizes that she cannot do the heavy work on the farm on her own and tries to get a loan through her friend Orville Wingait. The potential lender is Orville's father, Jasper G. Wingait, one of the most influential men in the community. He initially stipulates that Jane only get the loan if she marries his son. When Jane indignantly refuses, he still provides her with a tractor.

Back on the farm, Jane finds her sister Abigail with her dance troupe. Abigail has promised the troops that they can use the farm as a rehearsal stage. At first Jane strictly refuses to allow this, but is persuaded by Abigail's fiancé, Joe D. Ross, the director of the troupe. In return, however, she demands that the dancers earn their living by working on the farm. In the following days she teaches them the daily chores on the farm, but also takes on the dancer's habits herself. So one day she improvised a tap dance while drying the dishes. Joe watches them do it and praises them for their natural talent.

Citizens of the community - Jasper in particular - fear the dancers will have a negative impact on the community and urge Jane to ban them from using the farm. Jane refuses and assures that there will be no problems, especially not at the planned square dance that evening. While Jane is talking to Jasper and Orville, Herb Blake, one of the actors, causes the new tractor to crash on the farm and destroy it. In the evening the square dance starts without any problems, but then dancers and musicians take over the band and the stage. Joe and Jane dance together, which again shows Jane's enormous talent for dancing. In the further course, however, she has to learn that her new tractor has been destroyed, whereupon she asks the troops to leave and Abigail to work on the farm. But she took this decision back the next day when the dance troupe pooled all their money to get her a new tractor.

Joe encourages Jane in her awakening interest in dance and music. In this way he shows her that in a show, feelings are not expressed with words, but through dance and music. At the end of their dance together, they kiss. Jane breaks the kiss, runs back to the farm and meets the two wingaits there. Confused about her feelings for her sister's fiancé, she agrees to marry Orville as soon as the dancers have left the farm.

Abigail develops more and more starry airs, although her performance during rehearsals does not justify it. Two days before the performance, she leaves the farm with the male lead actor Harrison I. Keath to take on a role in his new play in New York. Joe and Herb persuade Jane to replace Abigail while Joe takes on the male lead. In the following two days, Jane rehearses for her role in the play. When Orville realizes this, an argument ensues between the two, in the course of which Jane Orville threatens to break the engagement if he influences the show in any way. During rehearsals, Jane and Joe get closer and closer. Shortly before the performance begins, Joe appears in Jane's dressing room to wish her luck. In doing so, he indicates that he envisions a future life with her.

The show is going well and is very well received by the audience. Just before the finale, Orville appears with Abigail, whom he has brought back from New York. He demands that Jane take off her stage costume immediately and let Abigail get on with the show. Jane refuses because she has never had so much fun in her life. During the now erupting argument, Joe and Jane kiss and enter the stage for the finale, without worrying about the other participants. But Abigail and Orville also come together.

Music and dance numbers

Unless otherwise stated, the music for the songs is by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Mack Gordon . The orchestration was done by Conrad Salinger and Skip Martin.

  1. Main Title - MGM Studio Orchestra during the opening credits.
  2. If You Feel Like Singing - sung by Judy Garland on the farm.
  3. (Howdy Neighbor) Happy Harvest - sung by Judy Garland on the way back to the farm with the new tractor.
  4. Dig-Dig-Dig Dig For Your Dinner - sung and danced by Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and Cast in the farm kitchen.
  5. Mem'ry Island - sung by Gloria DeHaven and Hans Conried (sung by Pete Roberts) during rehearsals.
  6. Portland Fancy (instrumental) - danced by Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and Cast in the barn.
  7. You, Wonderful You (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Jack Brooks and Saul Chaplin ) - sung by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly on the stage in the barn.
  8. Friendly Star - Sung by Judy Garland after arranging her wedding on the farm terrace.
  9. Fall in Love - sung by Gloria DeHaven and Phil Silvers (outtake).
  10. You, Wonderful You (instrumental) - danced by Gene Kelly in the barn, with a newspaper and a creaky floorboard as "partner".
  11. All for You (Chaplin) - sung and danced by Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and Cast as the show's opening piece.
  12. You, Wonderful You (Reprise) - sung by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly on the show.
  13. Heavenly Music (music and lyrics Saul Chaplin) - sung by Gene Kelly and Phil Silvers on the show.
  14. Get Happy (music by Harold Arlen , lyrics by Ted Koehler ) - sung and danced by Judy Garland and cast on the show.
  15. (Howdy Neighbor) Happy Harvest (Finale) - Sung and danced by Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and Cast as the show's finale.

Production and Background

Filming began in the first week of October 1949 and ended in mid-February 1950. Singing and dancing for Get Happy were subsequently shot between mid-March and late March 1950. Summer Stock premiered on August 31, 1950 in New York. In the German-speaking countries, the film has not yet been shown in cinemas or on television.

The budget for the film was $ 1,981,848, which was exceeded by just $ 43,000 at $ 2,024,848.

In the first announcements about the film, Judy Garland was earmarked for the lead role. In February 1949, however, MGM announced that it would be replaced by June Allyson . At the beginning of the film in October 1949, however, Judy Garland was cast again. Summer Stock was Garland's last film on MGM and the last of three films with Gene Kelly. The other two were For Me and My Gal (1942) and The Pirate (1948).

Gene Kelly was only second choice for the role of Joe D. Ross. Originally it was supposed to be given to Mickey Rooney . Since this was no longer as popular as in previous years, Kelly was awarded the contract. Kelly was initially very reluctant to take on a role in a play produced by Joe Pasternak, as he had problems with it in the past. However, he took on the role as a personal favor for Judy Garland. In addition to his role, he choreographed dance numbers for You, Wonderful You , All for You and Portland Fancy .

Filming proved difficult due to Judy Garland's personal problems as well as her drug addiction and was nearly abandoned. So Heavenly Music was actually planned with Garland, but she didn't appear for the shoot, which is why Kelly and Silvers only recorded the song and dance number together. Louis B. Mayer insisted on continuing filming as Garland made the studio a fortune in the past and deserves another chance.

The most famous piece of the film is Get Happy , in which Judy Garland in nylons, tuxedo jacket and hat sings and dances with other members of the cast. Get Happy wasn't filmed until two months after it officially closed. Since Judy Garland spent the time between the end of the actual shooting and the shooting of Get Happy in a clinic to treat her drug addiction and lost a lot of weight in the process, she has a much slimmer figure in the recording of the song. In Easter Parade Judy Garland wore for the musical number Mr. Monotony exactly the same costume. At that time, however, the scene was not included in the final version of the film.

reception

According to the Mannix files , the film grossed $ 2,498,000 in the United States and Canada, and $ 642,000 in the rest of the world. This resulted in a small loss of $ 80,000.

Get Happy is considered one of Garland's most successful songs and is still closely linked to her person today. In popular culture, their portrayal has often been copied. So does Michael Jackson 's Dangerous -Auftritt (first time in 1993 at the American Music Awards ) adapted to the performance in the film and also taken the initial sounds.

Reviews

  • “The childish scenario - unworthy of the talents of its two leading actors - was balanced out by a series of wonderfully staged musical numbers.” (“This juvenile scenario, unworthy of the talents of its two leading players, was redeemed by a series of splendidly staged musical numbers. ")
  • “The great song and dance actress makes this movie a personal triumph.”).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Summer Stock Soundtrack in the Internet Movie Database , accessed September 28, 2015.
  2. ^ Scott Schechter: Judy Garland: The Day-by-day Chronicle of a Legend . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2006, ISBN 1-58979-300-5 , p. 163.
  3. ^ Scott Schechter, Judy Garland: The Day-by-day Chronicle of a Legend . Cooper Square Press, New York 2002, ISBN 0-8154-1205-3 , p. 164.
  4. ^ H. Mark Glancy: MGM film grosses, 1924–1948: The Eddie Mannix Ledger . In: Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television . Volume 12, No. Issue 2, 1992, pp. 127-144. doi : 10.1080 / 01439689200260081 .
  5. ↑ Clive Hirschhorn: The Hollywood Musical . Octopus Books, London 1981, ISBN 0-7064-2733-5 , p. 316.
  6. ↑ Life quoted from Scott Schechter: Judy Garland: The Day-by-day Chronicle of a Legend . Cooper Square Press, New York 2002, ISBN 0-8154-1205-3 , p. 165.