TJGS Episode 11: The Best One Yet

This has always been my favorite episode of the series as it has more amazing, varied, beautifully conceived numbers packed into forty-five minutes than any other episode in the series and if you only catch one installment in the series, it should be episode eleven. 

The show begins in a Wintery Wonderland, with a chorus dancing in to introduce Judy before she glides in on a sleigh, seated next to a very handsome young dancer.  It's so glamorous and festive, and Judy so vibrant and sounding wonderful. 

 

 

As for the "Be My Guest" segment, this is one of the rare episodes in which it works, with guests Steve Allen and Mel Torme (the second of his contracted appearances) singing their "school song" and Judy responding with her "school song", that school being the little red schoolhouse at MGM.  It's clever, self deprecating, and sung with such mischief.  It's a joy.

 

Judy later sings "Here's That Rainy Day" in a number which is beautifully designed.  Judy in a raincoat crooning mournfully , as people stroll by, their umbrellas glistening from the rain above.  I really feel the show could have benefited from the more immersive "set-pieces" that highlight this show rather than the bizzare obstacle courses of random furniture that sometimes deck the stage and serve as set.  To be fair, this abstract kind of set was very popular in its day, and I could just be a matter of personal preference.

 

Mel Torme's solo spot is horrible in a really delightful way.  He sees himself as some kind of brooding ladies man, and was really into motorcycles at the time of the taping so he suggested doing the number in the midst of all these high powered machines.  Pair them up with these ultra-serious, "working way to hard to be sexy" dancers, and Mel schmoozing it up ala the "Rat Pack" and you have a treat.  Truthfully the recording of the song is wonderful, and no one can fault Torme's singing (although I will say he hit a couple of clunky notes in the show that I wish they would have let him do again).  He redeems himself in a marvelous duet with Judy in which the two of them sing "The Party's Over". 

 

 

Judy and Steve Allen also perform a medley of songs from the unsuccessful musical "Sophie" based on the life of Sophie Tucker, with music and lyrics by Allen.  It was Judy's idea to showcase the songs in the hopes that one of them might become a hit in spite of the failure of the show itself.  The first number in the medley "I Love You Today" is very sweet, while the second song is a touch on the trite side, and the third...the third is a dynamite song,and one of my three favorite performances on the series., and it comes in at 4:35 in the clip. 

 

 

It's lovely to see Steve Allen just beaming as she sings his work.  His great admiration is very apparent, and the two of them are so warm and comfortable together.

 

In the tea segment, Judy sits with Jayne Meadows (Steve's wife and Judy's new best friend).  She is so sophisticated, so erudite, and at ease with Judy.  She's like a showbiz version of one of Truman Capote's swans.  Now the wig she's wearing?  That  helmet with the curly cue on the side?  That's another matter altogether. 

 

Yet another number that just takes the house down is a gorgeous interlocking puzzle of an arrangement which combines several songs as sung by Garland, Allen and Torme.  The conceit of the number is that each of them wants to sing a different song, so they sing every one of them.  Often times one sings lead while one or two of the others sing in counterpoint.  When you watch the clip, feel free to skip the unneccesary comic bit and go right to the good stuff at 3:40.

 

 

 

Finally, there's the "Trunk Spot".  The first number is a throw away that is only noticeable for how much Judy seems to be enjoying herself, but the second is a breathtaking piece, almost operatic in its breadth and tone, and Judy's voice just soars.  It's kind of distillation of all the things that make her one of the most magnetic performers who ever lived.

 

 

(Note:  the show was taped in mid-October, but must have planned as a New Years episode from the get-go- it aired on January 5th, 1964- as there are at least three mentions of the new year peppered throughout the episode.

 

 

 

   

 

 





TJGS Episode 2: The Velvet Smog Sounds Off

When I was in my teens I found a used copy of The Other Side of the Rainbow:  With Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol by Mel Torme.  Yes, that guy...the jazz singer.  You see, way back when The Judy Garland Show was in pre-production, the producer, George Schlatter, lured him onto the program to be musical director and arranger and to borrow a phrase from an old song, Torme "didn't wanna do it.  He didn't wanna dooooo it."

Help select music for another performer?  Coach her?  Conduct her off-camera for those moments when she can't quite hear the orchestra?  To stabd in the wings and give support?  To a WOMAN?    Mel Torme was a lot of things, one of those being a tremendously talented crooner.  He was also a bit of a chauvinist, and an egotist supreme (I ordered one of these at Taco Bell a couple nights ago, and it was pretty tasty) who knew?  He understandably wanted to work on his own career, not someone else's, and he only relented when he heard he would get two on-screen guest spots in the first thirteen episodes (incidentally he was always bickering about these spots, how much time he got, was cranky when he had to share the guest spot with others, blah blah blah) with more to come later.  Undoubtedly he was a bit bitter at having to play second fiddle to another singer, and his tell-all memoir about his experience on the show, published soon after Judy's death, seems like a way for him to have the last word.  In the book he skewered Garland, placed the show's demise largely on her shoulders, and alternately bitches about her and his estranged wife, whom he condescendingly nicknames "Snow White". 

Now I'm not trying to say that he was COMPLETELY inaccurate (although much of his story was, and many of the points he makes would later be refuted as "untruths" by other crew members).  After all, Garland was a tempestuous woman.  Nervous, lonely, insecure.  The reference to the "dawn patrol" in the book's title references the fact that some members of the production team would receive late night calls from Garland who was keyed up after a night's work and needed companionship.  No, I'm not saying Garland was flawless.  I'm just saying the book has an agenda, and it served as a way for Torme to be the star of the show's story in a way that he hadn't been in life.  Unfortunately, after a backlash from the Hollywood community against Torme, the book became the only source for info on the shows troubles, and it's story went largely unchecked until the late eighties when Coyne Steven Sanders wrote the book that is now considered the definitive version of the making of the television show:  Rainbow's End. 

It's extremely readable, balanced, and doesn't overlook Garland's flaws.  It does however, put her occasional outburst into context with the craziness that was around her, the power grabs, the firings, the revamping...it's all in there.  Sanders is quoted as saying he was looking to expose the truth, no matter how ugly, and he was pleasantly surprised to finish his research and interviews with a deeper respect for Garland's work ethic, kindness, and talent (this did not happen when he dug into the life of Lucille Ball for a similar project, FYI).  Anytime I have a question about the facts of the making of the Garland series, it is the first place I go for answers. 

Well, all this is taking the long way to tell you that episode 2 of the Garland show featured Count Basie, and Mel Torme as guests, and the show gets off to a pretty dreamy start.  Judy enters a quiet set which is made to resemble a rehearsal hall in which the musicians are warming up...

 

It's a moment that I love because it allows Judy to swing it a little in a very "cool" arrangement.  Judy was never what you could call a jazz singer (although like everyone else who has an eye on the neighbor's backyard, she wanted to have her try at it) but it is great when she's allowed to escape her sentimental show biz numbers for something a little sultrier. 

 

The problems with the show are not with Judy, or Basie, but with everything else.  As much as I've grown to have a fond distaste for Mel Torme, I have to say, his vocal stylings are impeccable and a treat to listen to.  Watching him sing is another thing altogether.  He's like the nerd in school who hung around with the cool kids (you know "Sammy, Frankie, Dean") and was determined to be just like them.  He aped their moves in the mirror, dressed like them, convinced himself he WAS them, but nobody on the playground ever really bought it.  That's Mr. Torme.  He's so smarmy and schmoozy, and that swagger of his is just repellent.

 



 

Also on the list of things that bring down this episode is Jerry Van Dyke, or at least the material he's working with.  He was brought on to the show as Judy's comedic second banana, but they never quite figured out what to do with him.  Personally, I've always thought critics were too hard on him as his   presence is very sweet natured, naïve and bumbling and his bombastic energy is a nice contrast to Garland's.  And yes, the bits are trite, but he didn't write them, nor was he happy with them.  In fact, much as he loved working with Garland, he was very unhappy with his role in the show, especially when the writers came up with the idea of his poking fun at Judy to de-glamorize her and make her more approachable to the audience.

 

Other things I don't love in this episode?  Well there's this pretty unfortunate musical number in which folk singer Judy Henske teams up with Mel Torme and Jerry Van Dyke to sing "Walk Right In".  The harmonies are way off and Henske hits some notes that cause pretty hysterical reactions from Jerry.  Another thing I'm not a huge fan of in the show?

 

 

This hat...

 

 

 

While we're at it, I didn't love the dance in which these hats were featured either.  It's such a confusing melee.  Garland gets lost in it, seems unsure of herself through much of the routine, and they style seems ill fitted to her.

 

 

 

                                

 

A moment that definitely DOES work is when Judy is singing in the Trunk spot at the end of the show and flubs a line during the song, turning it into a delightful win.  The minds behind the scenes had gotten the idea to start taping dress rehearsals of the show so they would have two versions of numbers to choose from, and then they could slip the better version in.  Well, in this case they chose to use the dress rehearsal, and I can't blame them.  She's so animated and energetic, like a mischievous little sequined elf who, incidentally, can sing the shit out of a song.

 

One final note.  Does anyone else notice that Judy seems to be wearing the same outfit through the entire show?  Sure she changes from skirt to pants, but everything else seems exactly the same.  Am I the only one bothered by this?  WTF Aghayan?