Too much of everything

Let's be realistic.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Sadly, this is the last film before MGM fired Judy Garland. Its sad that her life was getting shaky around this time due to the toll her drug addiction was having on her. And I think it's even more sad that it was never Judy's fault that she got addicted to pills in the first place since it was MGM and Judy's mother that forced her to start and to keep taking these pills years earlier. They made her take these addictive stimulants so she could keep working long energetic hours at the studio. Then she became addicted to barbiturates cause the stimulants gave her insomnia. She and the other MGM stars were given some barbiturate pills half hour before bed, then fell asleep, then got woken up only 4 hours later and given their first stimulants of the day, a little breakfast (they were never allowed to eat that much so to keep their weight down), then back to work. Judy worked such long hours, slept those short 4 hour nights, and ate such a low calorie diet for so many years, that it all had taken such a toll on her by this time period, around 1950. And she wasn't as up to scratch at work anymore and was missing work all the time. That's why MGM fired her. Its all so unfair. Judy Garland was one of the most wonderful gifts we ever had in this world.Anyway, this film was pretty good but it wasn't one of the best like many of Judy's earlier films, but it was not Judy's fault. Some of the script is rather corny with the whole "goofy actors barging unannounced into Judy's barn" deal. I didn't care that much for the Phil Silvers character since he was too goofy and sorta a "bull in a China shop" kinda character. He destroys Judy's tractor, but not to be destructive, it's because he's clumsy and not smart enough to stay off a machine that he didn't know how to operate. Gene Kelly was good here but not quite as good as he was in "Me and my gal", "Anchors aweigh", and "Singin in the rain". And he and Judy, even though they are good together, did not have as much wonderful chemistry and magic together that they had in "Me and my gal". He still had a very good dance number where he kept ripping newspaper on the floor into smaller pieces with his dance moves. Judy still had some wonderful shining moments, especially when she sang including a very good song " Howdy neighbor, happy harvest" while she was riding home on her tractor. And also great in her famous "Get happy" song. Judy was engaged to Eddie Bracken, who was also sort of a goofy character, who was always irritating his dad. I liked Gloria Dehalivand as Judy's acting school sister who was the one who had the idea to stage production in her and Judy's barn to begin with. I didn't care for Judy's short hairstyle in this film as much as all her hairstyles in her previous films, but I still love Judy Garland very much. She was really one of the greatest things in Hollywood's already golden golden age.

Imagine a barn the size of a Broadway theatre where you can go without having to head into the Big Apple. That's what happens here. Since they can't bring Mohammed to the Mountain, they do just the reverse. In this case, it is a Broadway producer who brings his show to the country and hopes that his star's sister will allow them to put it on there, surrounded by hay, cows, horses, ducks and farming equipment. This singing farm woman (Judy Garland) has just bought a prize tractor, singing "Happy Harvest" as she heads home to find her kitchen under attack by Broadway personalities like producer Gene Kelly, comic Phil Silvers and a hundred chorus boys and girls who will probably eat her out of house and home. Spoiled sister Gloria De Haven is the star of this show, and doesn't care who she inconveniences. Housekeeper Marjorie Main is shocked to learn of the dozens of strangers she has to cook for, and Garland's uppity gentleman caller (Eddie Bracken) is aghast by the presence of city folk in their community, his society leader father (Ray Collins) equally shocked. But when De Haven gets temperamental, she leaves the show in the lurch, and overhearing Garland sing, Kelly makes a proposal she might find difficult to turn down.Yes, this show literally is corny, and Garland and Kelly give it their all in their third and last teaming. Garland is remembered for the classic Harold Arlen song "Get Happy!" which she sings here in a finale filmed long after the rest of the movie had wrapped, but for me, her best moment is "Friendly Star", a haunting solo she sings while dealing with all the issues surrounding her. Kelly gets a snazzy dance number where he utilizes various props he finds in the barn and ultimately includes a squeaky floor and a newspaper. Silvers and Kelly lead a group dance number, "You Gotta Dig For Your Dinner", where they dance on the kitchen table, and later in the show within the show, they get a comic number, "Heavenly Music", where they play stereotypical country hicks that may bring groans to some, giggles to others. There's also a rousing barn dance, "The Portland Fancy", where city folk and country folk go up against each other in showing what each of these groups can do.Charles Walters, who directed Judy to great success opposite Fred Astaire in "Easter Parade", makes "Summer Stock" a fun, light-hearted return for Judy to the "Let's put on a show!" theme that she did early in her career with Mickey Rooney. It's all colorful and harmless, and ultimately a decent swansong to Judy's 15 year association with MGM. So, if you feel like singing, sing, whether its in the shower, the barn or on a tractor.

Yes, this is Garland's last film for MGM. It is also the third Pasternak film with Garland. First there was the ho-hum "Presenting Lily Mars". After "Easter Parade", the Arthur Freed unit was finished with Judy. (Freed tried to star her in "Annie Get Your Gun", but that was never finished. He even tried to re-unite her with Astaire for "Royal Wedding", but she was too sick to work.) It is interesting to look at the differences in approach used to Arthur Freed and Joe Pasternak. Freed was interested in producing musical dramas where the musical numbers were integrated into the plot. Garland was used as a musical actress. Pasternak was more interested in light entertainments which featured the personalities and abilities of the stars. Artistically, the Freed product was superior, but Pasternak tailored his films to spotlight his performers. Garland's comedic skills were better showcased in both "Summer Stock" and "In the Good Old Summertime". While "In the Good Old Summertime" is a romantic comedy with musical and slapstick interludes, "Summer Stock" is a full blown musical comedy.While Judy Garland and Gene Kelly are the stars of the film, they share highlights with other performers. Phil Silvers is the top comic. Already a star after his triumph in "High Button Shoes", I only wish he was given even more to do. He does his trademark "Glad to See Ya" and "Funny, Funny" catchphrases, provides some slapsticky episodes, and is partnered with Kelly in a couple of comic musical numbers. Eddie Bracken is excellent as the second lead. He plays a variation on his Preston Sturges created character. I only wish he had been given a musical number to do with Gloria DeHaven. Miss DeHaven, as Garland's spoiled sister, is welcome and her singing is smooth and soothing. Marjorie Main plays a variation on her Ma Kettle character. Even Hans Conried shows up as a hammy actor. Although he doesn't have a good bit like his singing teacher sketch with Jerry Lewis in "The Patsy", he still brings a smile to your face. Unfortunately, Carlton Carpenter is not given a chance to show his dancing skills.Kelly plays the straight role, while Garland plays the exasperated farmer. Her comic frustration is brilliant. There's so much to analyze in her performance. The viewer can see that she is a nervous wreck. This makes the comedy that much funnier. She is in need of a good therapist and the Kelly character provides her with this. Her scenes with Bracken make you wonder, "Who is more nervous in this scene?" Of course, Bracken was playing nervous, while it's the real thing with Judy. Even in poor health, her singing is first rate and her dancing is terrific. She keeps up with Kelly in every step; there's no cheating. "Get Happy" is a classic, even if it doesn't really fit into the movie.The songs in the film are underrated. Harry Warren was a first rate song smith who had more hits in movies than even the great Broadway composers. "You, Wonderful, You" is a hidden gem that deserves more interpretations. The same is true of "Friendly Star". Garland used "Happy Harvest" and "If You Feel Like Singing" during her concert appearances. Saul Chaplin's "All for You" never made it to the original soundtrack album and got lost in the shuffle. Added after Harry Warren had moved on to his next assignment, it is a masterful opening number. The Skip Martin arrangement on "Happy Harvest" is excellent and it really swings at the end. Conrad Salinger's string arrangement on "Friendly Star" is sweet and restrained, without becoming saccharine.Although considered a minor film, "Summer Stock" is the best of the Garland-Kelly films. It avoids the uncomfortable plot complications of "For Me and My Gal" and is easier to take than the stylized and hit or miss comedy of "The Pirate". This is just a good, clean musical comedy that spotlights its players nicely.

Parts of this movie are terrific, and I'll mention them first. Despite some comments grousing that Judy looks frumpy or that her hair is weird, I thought she looked great -- on the plump side, but healthy looking and wholesome. She looked like a farmer, which is what her character is. And Gene Kelly is, in my view, at his best here. I like Kelly, but sometimes find him to be a bit smirky or hammy, and in this movie, he is more vulnerable and sympathetic --- less of the usual bravado. Judy's opening numbers on the farm were very appealing, both her "shower" number and her joyful song on the new tractor. And Kelly is at his best in the barn number, "improvising" with bits of newspaper and a squeaky floor board. Top rate performances from both of the stars.Now for the negatives: The minor characters' parts are a bit bland and/or unappealing: GloriaDeHaven plays a selfish brat, Carleton Carpenter barely registers despite his talents, Hans Conreid was creepy as the star of the show within the show, and Eddie Bracken and Ray Collins as Judy's wimpy fiancé and his overbearing dad are more annoying than funny. It's the writing more than the actors that's the problem, except for the biggest problem: I found Phil Silvers unwatchable. He starts off with an egregiously, jaw-droppingly offensive "Negro" accent on the "Dig Dig Dig" gospel type number, and then to make up for it, he does a white-trash hillbilly number with Kelly that would be too cheesy for Hee-Haw. Throughout the movie, he was grating without having the redeeming qualities of being funny.The end of the movie was a bit of a let-down for me and it took a while for me to figure out why, but I think I have it: The best parts of the film for me were the farm scenes. Judy was fresh and vibrant, and the farm life was portrayed as extremely appealing --- like Dorothy Gale grown up, having realized that there is indeed no place like home. Then, by the end of the movie, Judy falls in love with Kelly and stars in his show, which is destined to be a hit. (If anyone thinks this is a spoiler, he needs to see more movie musicals.) And this is a bit sad for me, because the show biz types in the movie seemed either bland or selfish; when they registered at all, they were being recklessly destructive on the farm, or condescending toward the farmers. And the "show" itself, doesn't seem all that wonderful. More like a vaudeville montage. So while we are supposed to cheer that Judy is likely to leave the farm for show biz and run off with Kelly, I thought, "Well this is a damn shame!" One final comment: this is the movie with Judy's "Get Happy" number in her fedora, tux jacket, black stockings and heels. And she looks 20 pounds skinnier and 20 years older in that number compared to the rest of the movie. It is vintage Judy and she does a great job --- but it doesn't seem like it fits the movie or her character. (Even the chorus boys in the number were not in the rest of the show.) I understand that the number was plopped in after the rest of the filming, to add some dazzle to the ending, and while it is dazzling, it didn't much help the cohesiveness of the movie and we do not believe for a second that Judy's farm spinster is the character suddenly creating this sophisticated persona.So, while I liked the movie, a few parts of this film fell flat for me. But if you like Judy and Gene, then it is well worth seeing for that reason alone --- because they each do some of their best work, and are at their most appealing and attractive.