Showing posts with label The Judy Garland Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Judy Garland Show. Show all posts

Friday, February 7, 2014

TJGS Episode 13: With Special Guest Peggy Lee

While the thirteenth episode was pretty routine in some ways, there are a few things that set it apart. 

First, there is Jack Carter, who is essentially taking Jerry Van Dyke's place for this show and who somehow manages to make the slightly insulting banter with Judy work.  He just throws it out there, lobs it out and is able to make Judy look Judy completely normal while he comes off as some kind of schmoozy, boozy nut.  And yet, he's still charming in this old school comedian way that no one could carry off today.  I can't quite put my finger on it, and I'm not saying I love the material, but he makes it work better than anyone I've seen so far.  He also has a number in which he complains about the youth of America, and while the material is a bit stale, again, he is so comfortable and confident in his delivery, spitting out "babes" and "honeys" left and right.  How can I not hate him?  And yet, I don't.  Of course we have The Judy Garland dancers to spread the corn around in an already corny number.  Thank God for them. 

 
Jack and Judy also share a routine in which they play different musical comedy teams throughout history, finishing with a tribute to "Mr. Wonderful" in which Jack Carter had appeared with Sammy Davis Jr.  For my money they could have done away with the rest of the routine and focused on the last material, as the earlier parts seem a bit gimmicky and forced, even if Judy does do a wonderful Ethel Merman impersonation.
 
 
Peggy Lee is the Special Guest of the episode.  Beautiful, bountiful Peggy Lee.  She's so meaty and sensual, poured into her dress, all topped with hair like cotton candy, her voice so smoky and rich.  I just love her.  And yet... part of the magic of Judy is that you don't even realize how wonderful she is until you see other people attempt the same thing.  Peggy never quite seems comfortable with the camera, and is a bit of a deer in the headlights; a gorgeous, busty deer in the headlights.
 
 
The "Trunk" spot of the show is wonderful, as Judy sings two terrific numbers.  She starts with Irving Berlin's "How About You" and sounds lovely (even if she doesn't quite give herself over to the sorrowfulness of the song) and closes with "When Your Smiling" and the finish is stellar, with Judy selling it in typical fashion.
 


Thursday, February 6, 2014

TJGS Episode 12: The One Where Judy Gets Touched...A Lot

By episode 12 the edict was out.  Judy was not to touch her guests.  People who saw her being so affectionate thought it made her look nervous and didn't like Judy kissing her female guests on the cheek in greeting.  Of course, this is ridiculous, and I for one never thought that the affection Judy displayed indicated that she was nervous, but that she was attempting to calm the nerves of others.  At any rate, Judy later commented how funny it was that on the episode where she worked so hard not to touch the guest stars, they were reaching out to touch her. 

Garland had gotten very close to Zina over the week's time and was thrilled to have Vic Damone as a guest star as she was a great admirer of his talent.  He would appear on the show twice more, and each time they would perform a wonderful medley of Broadway hits.  They started of with a medley from Porgy and Bess that is really pretty wonderful.  They look so comfortable and the notes!  The notes are so passionate and full and vibrant.

The highlight of the show, to my mind, was not actually filmed in the same week.  It was taped much earlier and inserted into this week.  It's the "Tea For Two" segment with George Jessel.  Jessel had been a gigantic name in show business back in the thirties, and Judy makes sure he has the chance to have all the focus again.  She's so obviously delighted to have him with her, so gracious to him.  And for his part, he's still very quick witted and funny.  He does most of the talking, which I frankly think is nice.  I know Judy's a great story teller, and yet, these segments could have done a lot more to highlight and lift up the guest star than they do.  This is the best "Tea" segment ever (just ignore Goerge's story of how he named Judy.  Yes, he gave her the last name Garland, but Judy had named herself).  And Judy sings an amazing snippet of "Bill" that I wish she'd sung as a complete number.  Still, tossed off like this makes it seem so natural and conversational.  It packed a lot of power.


 
 
This is definitely not a notable episode, but it is pleasant, and quite funny to hear Vic Damone sing "And oh the towering feeling!" as he stands high on fork lift, which is then lowered to the ground by a little blonde pigtailed girl.  Talk about literal... 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A Brief Hiatus

Well, I fucked up.  I didn't blog last night.  And do you want to know who did it to me?  Zina.  Zina Bethune, formerly of the CBS series "Nurses".  She was one of the guest stars of episode 12, and friends...I just couldn't do it.  She was dear, very sweet, adorable even to some, I'm sure.  But she was such a wildly inappropriate guest, such an obvious ploy for ratings, and she tries SO HARD!!  You can see the nerves bubbling up out of her skin like little pimples. It would have been fine if she were on a daytime talk show, or a night time chat show, but on a variety show that you would hope requires a little experience and talent?  She doesn't cut it, and I couldn't make it through.  I tried, but then someone texted, and my modern mind wandered and before you knew it, I was asleep. 

So why not tonight?  Why couldn't I post tonight?  I hung out with a  good friend of mine, had a couple of drinks, and...

But tomorrow I will do it.  Tomorrow I will finish the episode, although, as you can already guess, it won't be a particularly fun post that results from it.  ZINA BETHUNE???
_________________________

Ok.  Cue the raging guilt. Zina Bethune has passed on.  I got curious and looked her up on-line, and found the following on Wikipedia: "On February 12, 2012, Bethune was killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident while she was trying to help an injured opossum in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. She was five days shy of her 67th birthday."

How awful.  She really is sweet on the show, and I'm sure if I'd met her in person I would have loved her.  She obviously cared for animals, even really unattractive ones. 

Sunday, February 2, 2014

TJGS Episode 10: Ray Bolger Talks to the Instruments (and They Don't Listen to Him)

Episode 10 is a cobbled together, cut and paste mess.  Having guest stars Jane Powell and Ray Bolger should have made for a great show, but instead it's amongst the worst of the series. 

One of the things I wish they would have dropped from the show completely the "Be My Guest" segment.  Once again, a guest star comes out and ribs Judy about some mistake she'd made in her past, and once again it doesn't play well.  Plus, there's this odd mixture of ad-libbing and scripted material that throws off the rhythms and makes everyone, especially Judy as the driver of the segment, look like they don't know quite what they are doing.  The sketch didn't quite know if it wanted to be loose and casual or tight and quickly paced.  As a result it isn't much of anything.  And the transitions!  They're so awkward, and having to make them look natural and organic is a near impossibility, which Judy doesn't achieve, and yet, who could?

Another reason I'm not so fond of the show is that Judy looks the least prepared that she has on any of the episodes show so far.  There's lots of manic energy and hand wringing galore as she looks every minute like she's about to go up on a line, and pulls through about a half a second late.  It's an obviously "unsettled" Garland on episode 10. 

There's this strange phenomena amongst Garland fans.  There's an urge to protect her that's stronger than with most.  We don't want anyone to think ill of her, and are so tired of the same old untruths about her that we, or I guess I should speak only for myself, I cringe every time I see her looking unprepared because it's just more fodder for the ignorant, who will of course jump to the conclusion that she's drunk.  Well, 95% of the time she's not.  But that 5% has a real impact on some, and the myths and legends surrounding it have an even greater impact.

Jerry Van Dyke had just been fired, and this would be his last episode on the show.  Garland was pretty upset by it (incidentally, at the same time she was campaigning to get Schlatter reinstated as Producer of the show) and in her few moments with him you can see even more affection than usual, as the two of them know this will be it.  Bill Hobin would soon leave the show as director, citing creative differences with Hunt Stromberg, Jr and Norman Jewison.  The production team was dividing up into sides, tensions were high, and it all had quite an impact on Garland, who started showing up late to rehearsals more often than not.  Garland was the type who soaked up the emotions of her environment, and the emotions now on the set were filled with tension.

Adding to the lack of cohesion is what seems like a mini-concert plunked down in the middle of the show, and appears to have been filmed weeks apart from the rest of the show due to the very different hairstyles and costuming.  After Judy sings a few numbers there's an abrupt cut and Judy returns in the same hairstyle and dress she'd been wearing before.

The numbers themselves are pretty weak.  Ray Bolger sings a medley of songs in a so-called rehearsal room full of empty chairs with instruments seated upon them, and he spends his entire number talking to these inanimate instruments, much as Clint Eastwood would later do at the Republican convention.  He sings, badly, every possible song with a woman's name in it.  The only enjoyable moments are when he dances. 

Judy sings "One For My Baby" as a throw away number in the middle of a comedic sketch, and I would have loved to hear her do it seriously.  Not just without all the interruptions, but with an approach that treated it as a dramatic monologue, something at which Garland excelled.

Judy, Ray and Jane sing "The Jitterbug", and it's difficult to watch.  Not just because it's overtly "cute", but there's something disconcerting about watching two middle aged women in teenaged bobby-soxer outfits.

 

On the upside?  It's nice to see Judy and Ray together remembering the filming of The Wizard of Oz, even with an awkward moment in which Ray mentions the first edition of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" that he had given her.  He seems pretty proud of it and she seems to have completely forgotten about it. 

There is one segment that is always a joy to watch.  No matter what else happens in the show, good or bad, as the credits roll Judy dances and cavorts, claps for the audience, shakes hands with her fans, and generally makes magic as only she can. It never disappoints. 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

TJGS Episode 9: Steamroller Merm Meets the Two Other "Belters"

Episode 9 is notable for many reasons:
  • The arrangements are incredible.  The best of the series so far.  There's Barbra's "Down With Love", Judy's "Just In Time" which modulates all over the place (and would be even more improved when reprised in a later episode with an alternate tag ending) Judy and Barbra's marathon "Hooray For Love" Medley, and of course there is the famous duet arrangement of Garland's "Get Happy" and Streisand's "Happy Days Are Here Again".  It's been getting a lot of play lately, was performed on "Glee", and was featured in the most recent Pink Martini album Get Happy, but the first version is the best, and it was all Garland's idea. 

  • The Smothers Brothers are the first comedic guests from the series that remain funny to this day.  While the other comedy acts had been pure cornball and could expect, at best to be considered mildly amusing today (I'm talking to you Dick Shawn) the Smothers Brothers are so off-beat and natural.  The sensibility of their humor is still very "current" and their act seems to fly by.
 
 
  • The pairing of Garland and Streisand is history in the making.  Judy had brought family and friends to catch Barbra's act and was so taken with her that she convinced the execs to rearrange the shooting schedule to Barbra so could be a guest.  More than anything, Judy was very generous to talent, and she was exceptionally good to Streisand.  She convinced her agents to take Streisand on as a client (though they may not have needed much coaxing) and throughout the show you can see how much she gives to her when performing.  Streisand on her part is a little less giving, a little more reserved, but I don't think it's selfishness, just youth.  She was only nineteen after all, and still mastering the some of the "finesse" she would have later.  I highly recommend the chapter devoted to this episode in "Rainbow's End" as it perfectly captures the shared spirit of admiration, the perplexed attitudes of many in the old guard of showbiz who didn't get what all the hubbub was about when it came to Streisand, and hints that the Diva in Streisand, when it came to matters like what kind of tea she wanted to drink during breaks and pitching a bit of a fit when her guest spot was slightly shortened, may have been there, even at that early age.
 
  • Old "Steamroller Merm", as I like to call her, makes a "surprise" appearance and completely takes over.  The moment she takes the stage she overwhelms everyone with volume and sheer gusto.  She even commands the conversation and takes every opportunity to steer the it back to her.  When the three of them sing together, Ethel's aim is obvious: steal focus.  Garland gives the whole number over to Ethel preferring to be her cheerleader than compete, and when she notices that Barbra's getting a bit bowled over as she somewhat gamely tries to sing along, she pulls Streisand into the group, making her a bigger part of it.   PS:  I suggest watching the number a few times and focusing on a different performer each time.  It's fascinating, and hilarious, as some of Barbra's slightly bemused expressions are priceless.
 
 
 
Jerry Van Dyke is on the show for one of his last episodes, still playing the part of "World's Number One Asshole".  If they'd have just let him continue with his sweet bumbler, and let him have a hand in concocting some of the material himself, he might have made a true contribution.  If only they could have dropped the bullshit about knocking Judy off her so called pedestal.  It continues in this episode and extends to the show itself in a bit in which Jerry claims the show is too expensive and so starts making budget cuts.  The audience doesn't need those little seeds of negativity planted in their head that would make them think the show is doing any less than spectacularly.
 
Incidentally the first reviews for the Garland show came out during this week would target this very aspect of the show as an awful idea, deriding the writers, with one critic threatening to punch the next person who referred to Garland as a "little old lady".   Aside from that they were overwhelmingly positive, if not for the show itself, then for Garland.  She'd always been the critic's darling and this was no exception. Good on you, critics. 



Thursday, January 30, 2014

TJGS Episode 8: Judy Garland, A Baseball Coach, A TV Actor and a Pack of Hillbillys

This is the strangest assortment of guests yet, and all ordered by Hunt Stromberg, Jr.  as an attempt to appeal to a wide array of folks.  Judy Garland chatting with Leo Duroscher, coach of the LA Dodgers?  She knows nothing about baseball, freely admits it, and while she's very sweet and convivial, it makes for a bewildering three or four minutes.  And then there's the idea of matching her up with The Dillards, a downhome bluegrass band that had been featured on The Andy Griffith Show.  Round it out with George Maharis of "Route 66" and you have one of the very reasons I said earlier that these Jewison produced shows seem more "daytime".  The guests assembled are of the caliber you might easily find on a chatty daytime talk show, all clumped together with little thought to chemistry or cohesiveness.

One thing the show does have going for it?  Judy's vocals are back in top shape, she sounds and looks at ease, and thank the Lord the guests stopped insulting Judy through song.  The show itself is a very polished production, very streamlined and with little of the stumbles and stammers that marred earlier episodes.  The material is not great, the writing's pretty flat, but it's executed well by the performers.  The cast may be selling shit, but they sell it with panache!

The highlights of this program?  Judy and George Maharis sing a lovely arrangement  of "Side By Side" with beautiful harmonies, and they seem to love being with each other. 

 
 
Highlight number two is this near perfect rendition of "I Wish You Love".  So lush and poignant.
 


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

TJGS Episode 7: The Premiere!!! (Take Two)

This episode was selected by the executives at CBS as the premiere episode.  I suppose, having fired Schlatter they couldn't allow one of his episodes to start the series off, because if people liked it and deemed it better than some of the latter episodes then the CBS Execs would have to eat a lot of crow.

This episode was due to start with the overture taken from the Mickey Rooney episode, but instead started with our favorite dancers singing a take-off on "Call Her Irresponsible", which is supposed to culminate in Judy's entrance...and she is no where to be seen.  She eventually appears and goes into an introductory number.  Now, Judy had somewhat impishly performed this song to CBS Executives and affiliates for a gathering and it had been a hit.  Yet, there's a big difference between a person making fun of themselves, and others making fun of them.  It set a bad tone to start the show that way.  And Jerry is again forced to speak some insulting dialogue to Judy which does make people feel confident that she will be able to carry this venture off.  It's a very peculiar way to sell a performer.  Stupid CBS listening to poll takers and changing the show up before the first episodes had even aired.  Have some confidence in your product, ass wipes.



Garland sings "Fly Me To The Moon" in this gorgeous wooded set with beautiful flowered trees.  It's a gorgeous set-up and yet her pipes aren't quite back up to full capacity.  It's another peculiar move on CBS' part to open the series with an episode in which Garland's vocal quality is not up to peak. It doesn't make sense.

Mostly, my complaints with this episode are repeats from last weeks episode.  The material they're highlighting in the duets is subpar, the special material is forgettable, the whole show is just unremarkable, and there are a couple of false starts and flubbed lines (one by Garland and couple by O'Connor) that should have been a good enough reason to do another take.  I just don't get it.

Highlights?  Judy has a laugh out loud moment in which she and O'Connor are spoofing Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy and she takes a moment to play and jokingly flirt with the camera.

And, in spite of the fact that I don't really love clowns (I'm not one of those people afraid of them, I just don't care for them) the second highlight is a simply charming number that Jerry and Judy and Donald join in together. 



Tuesday, January 28, 2014

TJGS Episode 6: That Ain't No Way to Treat A Lady

This show is rough.  It's the first episode that had my mind wandering and musing on running the dish washer, what to pick up at the grocery store, work the next morning, anything except for the messy business on-camera.  The trouble on-camera was at least partially influenced by the mess that things quickly degenerated into off-camera. 

As mentioned before, due to some negative feedback from average Americans participating in a screening, Hunt Stromberg came to the set and made quite a few suggestions, claiming that he knew what needed to be done to fix the show.  Judy, until this point had not thought that the show was in need of fixing and both she and Schlatter were pretty shaken by his comments.  I'm shocked that Stromberg didn't know better than to be so artless in his discussions because the whole show rested on her talents and presence and it was pretty well understood that an unhappy Judy could make some unproductive decisions.

More talks would follow, and while Schlatter heard and understood the changes the  execs wanted him to make, he disagreed, and refused to change.  He felt that he knew what Judy needed, and wouldn't relent.  As a result, the executives showed him, and a large portion of his team, the door.

It's been claimed that Garland didn't know what was coming, wasn't aware of the firings, and I suppose it's possible, but I have a hard time believing it.  If anyone would be told, it would be the star of the show. Right?   And, while most people were fired, one of those most important to Judy was saved; Mel Torme.  He helped her select music, conducted for her, kept her secure in her musical performances and to me (and this is purely conjecture) it seems like a concession from the studio brass to allow Garland to have a kind of security blanket to hold on to in the midst of the upheaval.  



Norman Jewison was brought in as Executive Producer, and this episode is his first in that capacity.  And it doesn't bode well.  While the first five episodes seemed lush, glamorous, this is awash in light.   The costumes are unflattering, the hairstyling is off (I'm talkin' bout you June Allyson)...




  Maybe everyone was just thrown off their game because of the behind the scenes drama which was impacting a relatively happy show prior to the changes, but some of the decisions were very much on purpose.

1.   I can't quite put my finger on it, but this episode seems much more "daytime" than all the episodes prior.  Much less sophisticated.

2.   Jerry stops being a bumbler who looks up to and is encouraged by Garland, and is instantly transformed into an egotistical tv expert who drills Garland, criticizes her every move and essentially tells her she's doing everything wrong, and making her appear as a novice on her own show.  She is forced to react to all the things Jerry is throwing at her, so she looks uncomfortable through most of these scenes.  It was SO much better to see Judy looking fresh and at home, to see how much her guests seemed happy to be there.  Those episodes raised her up and exhibited her at her warmest, and most at ease.  They made the studio seem like a fun place to be.  These episodes knock her off her "pedestal" by making her look a little unready, inexperienced in television, and a bit baffled.  And is that really the sort of person you want to "get to know"?  Nope. 

3.  The focus is much less on music, and thrown to these awkward, poorly scripted comedic bits. 
Steve Lawrence, who sings and looks like a dream (he really understood how to work the camera during a vocal performance) does a terrible bit in which he sings these horribly unfunny and insulting things to Garland.  He doesn't get to be a version of his own sweet self, but he's forced to be this awkward Brando-esque asshole.  ALL the patter is moronic and boring.

4.  There's a lot more "special material", and none of it is particularly good.  I'd much rather have seen Steve and Judy sing some grade-A material than what they are left with.  Opportunity wasted.

All in all, the show just seems messy, and it's not helped by June Allyson.  It seems as if she's just a wee bit too "loose".  She's tickled by everything, can't stop cracking up, and doesn't seem to take the work seriously, and witnesses say she'd been drinking a bit to overcome her earlier nerves.  Too be fair, she had been devastated by the somewhat recent death of her husband Dick Powell and had not worked in some time.  It was Garland's cajoling and coaxing that brought her out to face the world again, so these are her first brave, if somewhat shaky efforts to do so.  June had done some wonderful work prior, and has proved herself a generous and gentle soul since, so one can forgive this misstep.


As for the set?  This is the episode where every set piece is extremely literal.  It's a trend that would unfortunately continue.  Steve Lawrence is going to sing "Time After Time"?  Ok, we'll stick him in the middle of a crowd of cut-outs of clocks.  Get it??  Judy is going to sing "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe" from Cabin in the Sky?  Well, she'll need to do it on the front porch of a cabin, of course.  And June Allyson is singing "The Doodlin' Song"?  Well, she'll need to be surrounded by The Judy Garland Dancers" as they doodle on giant rolls of paper.  Silly.  And I for one have never been fond of the way these sets seem plopped in the middle of a limbo world with no walls.   

The finale of the show, a tribute to MGM film musicals the biggest disappointment of all.  The set continues the trend of "literal" interp by dropping Steve, June and Judy amongst giant film reels.  The performances on said set are under rehearsed, and shoddy.  Both Judy and June look a little wobbly, and there is so much line flubbing, and obvious glancing at cue cards...ugh.   

Final note- while Garland has sounded brilliant in all prior episodes, during this one she's having apparent vocal troubles and mentions having struggled with laryngitis during the week.  So if you think you're hearing a rougher, raspier Garland, you are. 

Sunday, January 26, 2014

TJGS Episode 5: The Sexiest Episode Yet

Watching the Pioneer DVDs as I have been is an interesting experience as they differ ever so slightly from the aired version of the show.  For example, the cameras linger on studio audience for what seems like an eternity during the fade-out to commercial, possibly to give the editors some space when they are fading out for the commercial that's been removed.  At any rate, it allows us to see some very amusing behavior, like in the episode with Mickey in which one woman on house right is absolutely tickled pink to see herself on the monitor.  She just can't help herself, she points, she giggles, she titters about it to the person next to her...awesome. 

They say you can also spot the celebrities in the audience as you watch, but so far that hasn't been the case.  In the premier episode Natalie Wood, Lucille Ball and the cast of The Dick Van Dyke Show were in the audience, but I couldn't find them, at all.

Also, the DVDs will occasionally show numbers edited into the show that were cut from the aired version. 

In this episode the number that was edited into the DVD version, even though it was cut for the aired episode, is "If Love Were All", and I can see why it was cut.  It's a beautiful song, and one of Garland's stand by numbers, but it's not really suited to start a show.  Dramatically it fits much better in the latter portion of a performance as sung by someone who's already been "through the mill".  To see Garland come out looking dazzling, all glammed up and up beat singing this whistful, somewhat self pitying song...well it's weird.  And it was cut.  Also weird?  Those damned Judy Garland singers.  They never fail to provide a creepy, incongruous moment.  They succeed again in the number "Yes, Indeed" in which Judy introduces her guests for the evening.  Usually I have not troubles keeping my eyes on Judy, but the dancers are so...wacky, that they demand your attention.  Watch and see:


Right?  What is up with those cones leaking those incredibly fake looking extensions?  And the boys...come on kids.  Who's fucking idea were they.  Get them outta there. 

One thing that surprised me, was that even though Dick Shawn is a NIGHTMARE, so unappealing and off-putting with his "sexual" energy that supposedly gets the girls wild, Jerry Van Dyke is just sweet and adorable as can be.  His energy is great and he's hilarious in the duet with Shawn.  And I can't help but feel that if he'd kept that up, with Judy performing as an encouraging influence to bolster his sagging confidence, it might have actually worked.

Tony Bennett.  What is it about Tony Bennett.  He's all chin and nose, with lashes that Tony Curtis would have been proud of, and he's just as hot as can be.  He's committed, emotional, and his confidence comes from within.  Good Lord.  It makes my heart flutter just to watch him.  And his chemistry with Judy?  They can't keep their hands off each other.  It's weird to know that they just met for the episode because they seem like old flames that have been able to transition into a very comfortable friendship.  This clip provides the evidence when Judy joins the song about 2 minutes in.


In the "trunk" segment Judy tells another anecdote at the behest of Hunt Stromberg, Jr.  and sings a lovely rendition of "Stormy Weather" and as the credits roll she walks into the audience and joyously greets Steve Allen and his wife Jayne Meadows.  It's a great moment. 

TJGS Episode 4: Mad Guest Stars and Englishman



This is the episode where Judy talks, Lena growls, Jerry vamooses, and Terry Thomas is an all around British charmer.  This is also the episode in which the CBS brass, in the form of Programming Executive Hunt Stromberg, Jr, got hands on.  The Garland show was looking like it might stick around, Garland hadn't imploded under the stressful schedule as some predicted she would, and so concern began to rise and they turned, as execs often do, to the average citizen of America through the focus groups I'd mentioned earlier.  They were Garland's appeal, and the fact that she didn't quite fit the CBS mold.  They were worried she that America didn't find her approachable, that she was too affectionate with the guests, and so they made some "suggestions" and encouraged Garland to talk and tell stories so the audience could get to know her.  They added a segment called "Tea For Two" in which Judy would chat casually with one of her guest stars, and swapped out a song for an anecdote about how she lost the Academy Award in the upcoming episode's "trunk" spot.  All of this input put a lot of folks on edge, especially Judy and her producer.  They'd been left relatively alone for awhile, and this new input could not be good news.

"Rainbow's End" implies that Schlatter directed Judy to make an exit from the set for awhile, as he also was largely absent, and unfortunately Lena Horne, the guest that week, was put off by it.  Now, Judy was never really fond of rehearsing and thought too much rehearsing for this show would rob it of freshness and spontaneity, and in the past she hadn't needed it.  She was the "one take wonder" who could pick up a dance step by seeing it once, could look at a piece of sheet music onte time and have it down pat, which even Mel Torme conceded to having seen in action.  So even now, when she could use the rehearsal as her dancing chops had somewhat rusted, she didn't have the discipline in her muscle memory, and the set was hardly the pleasant place to be that it had once been, and Garland had always soaked in her environment like a sponge.  So there were probably a few factors that led to her absence from rehearsals this week.  Regardless, Lena was not pleased, and it shows.   

Now, I, for one am leery of those who think they can read what's going on behind the scenes by body language, etc.  because in a very real way the "insights" of the lightly informed often say more about the audience member than the subject.  For example, people are always making sweeping statements about Garland when they watch her perform.  "Oh she looks nervous", "you can tell she's really sad", "She looks drunk" and I have always been a very strong believer that


1. You see what you think you will see.  You've heard that Garland drank, and are looking for are seeking evidence to prove your juicy beliefs.  Trust me, you will find them even if they aren't there.  As a pretty rabid fan I've seen and heard lots of footage, including occasional footage in which Garland is "overmedicated", and it's quite apparent when that's the case.  Trust me, give your discerning eye a rest and enjoy what actually is up there.

  2.  Judy was an actress, and when she performed a song, she felt and radiated the emotions of the song and character she was playing.  It's part of what makes her so special.  It ain't American Idol where someone smiles, sells it, and performs vocal yoga ad nauseum,  even if it's a ballad of loss.  It's called acting.

If you still think you are so perceptive, let's try an experiment, if you are game.  Watch Lena Horne on the show.  What do you think?  She sways a bit, she leers, wobbles, twitches and growls through the show, she flubs a line...she's a prime candidate to be one "drunkin punkin"!  She looks drunk!   And yet, she ain't drunk. 

What I will posit however, based on my understanding of the show's dynamics that week, and the body language, that she seemed a bit...tense compared to her usual self.  She hardly looks at Judy while performing with her.  She's closed off, determined, like a locomotive chugging down the track.  She's on her own.  And what camaraderie there is, at least from her side, seems forced.  A good example of this is the hyper-manic cackling and shaking, kicking and head tossing at the end of the "Judy Sings Lena/Lena Sings Judy" number.  We get it, ladies.  You are having one fucking amazing time. On the upside?  Tense set or not, Lena and Judy both put out some great performances.  If you are not familiar with Lena Horne, give her a listen.  Lady had some pipes...

 
As for the rest of the show, it's certainly above par, and as a guest star Terry Thomas is just charming.  He's extremely agreeable, polite, warm, and ever so British.  Judy is once again looking gorgeous in this show, and she sings a really intimate rendition of "A Foggy Day in London Town" that is pretty fascinating.  I've always loved watching her sing to an individual because the intimacy does something to the words, make them so...immediate.
 





One thing you won't see on this episode is Jerry Van Dyke.  Though filmed fourth, the episode aired 10th, after it had been announced that Van Dyke was leaving the show, so his work, which is pretty enjoyable in this episode, I have to say, can only be found in the outtakes.

Final Note:  I wish I could go back in time to 1963 and burn those weird trench coat gowns Judy and Lena are wearing in the opening number before they get a chance to put them on.  They look like wrapped up sateen mummys.  No Ma'am, Pam.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

TJGS Episode 3: Mother Daughter Songfest

Liza Minnelli is a revelation in her guest spot on the third episode of The Judy Garland Show.  She's still forming as an artist and performer, still a little raw, and her presence is so..."unaffected" as one critic wrote, that I found myself wanting to be her best friend.  She's earnest, bouncy, boisterous, and so eager to please that you can't help but root for her.  She dredges up a that same desire to want to protect her that people have for Judy.  When you watch her, get a sense that there's something very special in her, something still shaping itself, that she courageously and unselfishly (if somewhat unwisely)  lets loose for all to see.  I say "unwisely" because anyone up onstage in front of that many people, with so little "armor" is going to be in for some tough surprises down the road.  It makes you want to fight for her and protect her so she can keep giving of this magic that she seems born to give. 

 
 
And take a close look at Liza's styling.  I have always thought that Rachel Berry's look in early episodes of Glee was reminiscent of Liza's.  Anybody else?  Am I just seeing what I want to see, kind of like when you buy a new Jeep Cherokee and suddenly it seems like everyone else has a Jeep Cherokee simply because you are attuned to seeing Jeep Cherokees???
 
One thing I AM certain of is that the number at the end of the episode, in which Liza and Judy dress up as hobos (Judy loved that hobo thing) inspired another duet on a certain show that any other kid of my age has embedded in his DNA. 
 
First there was "Judy and Liza"...
 
 
 
 
Then there was "Flo and Mo", also known as "Carol and Marcia"
 
 
 
This episode also had another great solo by Judy, in fact there are two of them duking it out for top honors here.  There was a powerful rendition of "Come Rain Or Come Shine", as only Judy can do it, and yet she would perform the song again in a later episode and that performance is just a little better than this one in my opinion so I'm going to save it for later.  No, the performance I love, and that is practically perfect is Judy' rendition of "As Long As He Needs Me".  Lionel Bart has been quoted many times as saying that Judy's voice was his inspiration for the score of Oliver, and so it's fitting that Judy gives the definitive performance.  If only it weren't for that damn chorus towards the end and that soprano who is really going for broke.  Ah well.  It was the early sixties after all.
 

 
Another thing that amazes me is how natural both Judy and Liza make this canned dialogue seem when they are together.  Sure there are moments when they are improvising, but then some of the dialogue is clearly scripted, and coming from anyone else would seem hokey as hell, but from these two, it seems so organic that it work in spite of itself. 
 
Finally, a bit of ridiculousness.  No sixties variety show is complete without a little bit of bizarrity.  In this case it is provided by The Brothers Castro.  Or, I should say it is provided by the Garland Show creative who take a perfectly charming, if somewhat "rough" act and turn it into this weird kind of Hollywood version of "Ole Mexico" that you can't help but be somewhat horrified and mesmerized by.  And, if you haven't noticed by now, wherever there's some bizarre shit going down, the "Judy Garland Dancers" are sure to be close at hand.  What the fuck is up with this mini-skirt poncho thing?
 
 
 
.



Thursday, January 23, 2014

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?


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Judy Garland Show Episode 1: The Premiere!!!

This episode was the first one taped for the series, and I have to say it's pretty wonderful.  The look is dramatic, glamorous, glossy and glitzy (all those "g" words I love)...Judy looks and sounds wonderful and aside from some clunky comedic bits which were typical of sixties tv variety shows, it's a perfect way to illustrate what a viewer could look forward to in the season ahead.  If you care to watch along with me and can get ahold of a DVD of the show, the Pioneer set has loads of outtakes and deleted numbers removed and replaced due to the later change in the ordering of the episode.   ALSO, it's important to note that this show was rehearsed and taped like a theatrical production.  It was finished taping in less than 90 minutes, and Judy required no second takes on any of it.  It's a very different way of doing things from the over-produced, over "tweaked" and stilted shows of the same variety that are made today.

 
The show begins with Judy's conductor and right hand man Mort Lindsey leading an overture of her numbers that would build to her entrance, much as had been done in her concerts.  The overture of a singer's hits is pretty standard fare today, and one that Judy pioneered.  In fact, it's pretty amazing how many things we think of as standard concert tropes were originated or made famous first by Garland.  When Judy finally arrives she makes an incredible entrance and looks stunning in this ultra -sophisticated pantsuit gown combo that was very in fashion in the late-fifties early sixties.  She looks so fresh, comfortable, in control...  it only makes me wish the show had been taped in color, because Judy's color palette really made up so much of her "look" and enhanced her beauty.  This licorice black hair, deep red lips and porcelain skin, that rich sophisticated "drawl" of a speaking voice.  She sings "I Feel A Song Coming On" (one of the few pre-recorded numbers of the series) with special lyrics introducing Mickey Rooney


 
 
Then we unfortunately fade out and fade in to...Mickey Rooney.  I've always had rather ambiguous feelings about Mickey Rooney.  While I loved him in the early Andy Hardy films, in his musicals with Judy like Babes on Broadway and Girl Crazy, let's just say I tried to keep my eyes focused on her side of the screen.  He's always been a bit too forceful, too hammy for my taste.  "He really insists upon himself" as my friend Meg would say.  His philosophy of performance seemed to be "why say anything when you can shout it, while doing a handstand, balancing plates on your feet, and speaking in a bad Gable imitation.  He's the Jim Carrey/Martin Short of his day, and it ain't my cup o tea. 
 
For his solo spot on the show he is seated on a large staircase as he sings this falsely "sincere"  medley of songs glorifying the American girl, and having the much married Rooney singing that when he's not near the girl he loves he loves the girl he's with?  It has a humor that I'm not quite sure was intended.  Thank god he finally drops the winsome pose, but he segues into a schmaltzy bit in which he impersonates Jimmy Durante and Maurice Chevalier.  At the end of the number, as he sings "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" he's flanked by two little girls which would seem really creepy if you didn't know they were his daughters.  For the record, this is exactly the kind of corny number  I would usually fast-forward through, but it's worth watching once, even if it's only to see Mickey's bizarre combed forward hair-do.
 
From that number we move to one of my favorite from the series.  Ever.  The stairs that Mickey had been singing on rotate on this wonderful turn-table, doing it's job long before "Les Miz" became synonymous with the word in a theatrical context, and Judy strolls out from the darkness and just lays out the most brilliant, structured performance of a real "sock-o" number that shows what a master she is at building a song.  She's the Queen of audience mind control.  And you'll notice how carefully she selects which moments to play to the camera directly, when she plays to the studio audience, and when she seems to be singing for herself.  To paraphrase, Judy expert John Fricke, she has a way of making the relatively cold mediums of television and film seem so warm.  She communicates across forty years as if it's a cinch.  Truly stunning.    
 
 
 
Next Judy and Mickey have a really sweet interaction where they reminisce over old times and look back at old photos of themselves back when they were "in pictures" together.  While the impact is less momentous and thrilling than it would have had back then (the much publicized reunion of a beloved team that hadn't been seen together on-screen in fifteen years, in a time before you could push a button and bring up virtually any image or film clip) the dialogue is off the cuff, and sincere, and their affection for each other is blatantly obvious.  Mickey is so gentle and considerate to Judy that he completely redeems himself from his sub-par singing, and Judy she is equally loving toward him, doing her old trick of kicking off her Ferragamo heels when they dance, so they are roughly the same height.  And as they perform side by side you get a glimpse at two performers with very different styles.  Mickey looks straight at the camera, faces it dead on through most of the song, glancing at Judy ocassionally, while she makes it all about him.  She leans in to him, sings for him and to him, reacting to every moment he gives her.  This is something that she would do time and time again through the episodes.  She would constantly defer to her guest, make sure that they got spot lighted in their duets, give them the full focus, and she would give them a lot of the better material in the duets.  After awhile, Mickey shows off his comedic chops by reviving one of his most clever routines that he'd performed with Judy in personal appearances and on film in Girl Crazythe Goofy Golfer, and he's really quite charming in it. 
 
The second half of the show is largely devoted to a sketch that probably played better in it's day, and seems a bit stumbly and tongue in cheek for it's own good.  It was obviously rehearsed, but it's too loosely scripted and most of the comedic moments fall flat as a result, aside from a wonderful moment when Mickey mocks his own penchant for hamming it up, showing again how wonderfully funny he can be. 
 
The final moment of the show worth remembering is from Judy's "Born in a Trunk" segment.  At the end of each show, Judy would stand alone on her "runway" with a large stage trunk, and sing one or two final numbers to close the evening.  The number Judy chose for the opening episode, "Old Man River", was not conventional, and not often performed by women, and the CBS executives hated it.  They wanted something nostalgic and familiar like "Over The Rainbow" or "The Trolley Song", but Judy insisted on pushing boundaries, and doing things her way.  She would take a lot of input and let other people make a lot of decisions, but when it came to musical selections, she was of the firm opinion that she knew what was right for her.  The performance proves her right, and is one of the highlights of the series...
 

 
All in all, a pretty great show that displays a relaxed, healthy looking and sophisticated Garland and it's really a shame that this wasn't the first episode aired, as I think it would have payed so much better than the hokey countrified episode that was the official premier with guest star Donald O'Connor.  While that episode actually beat the unbeatable competition "Bonanza" (a color program when color tv was a true novelty and the event television of it's day- God knows why they put Garland in such a tough time slot) one thinks the show might have fared a lot better later on if the audiences had been shown this first.
 
A couple of final comments on Garland's look.  I love her gowns in this episode.  They were (with the exception of the one in the opening number) designed by Edith Head who was fired due to disagreements with George Schlatter, the director.  He didn't like her approach to the costumes, nor did he like her demeanor, and so she was replaced by Ray Aghayan who had a much more high fashion look in mind.  It's very stylized, very sixties, and yet, while it's definitely the minority opinion...I prefer Head's conception.  As for the hairstyling, it's surprising what a difference a "do" makes.  As the season went on, Garland would go from a relaxed and tousled look to a Dairy Queen "dip cone" look. 
 
 

To me, it's constricting, and artificial, more architecture than hair.  In fact, I would have preferred her to have her hair a little longer than she does altogether, because, while I know that a forty-something year old women at that time was considered much older than we would consider one now, a more youthful hairstyle would have been lovely on her.
 
 
Ok, one LAST clip!  After the credits rolled on the show, someone left the cameras rolling and Judy and Mickey were captured as they say their thanks to the studio audience.  It's a special treat that really captures how they felt about each other.  Enjoy...
 



A Garland Geek's Conundrum



So I've decided on a new undertaking, a new blogging project.  I've decided to re-watch all episodes of Judy's critically acclaimed, ill-fated television show which lasted one season from 1963-64, and blog about them, one episode a day for the next twenty-six days.   I  know this may lose me some readers, as it appeals to a pretty "niche" audience, and yet, this whole blog serves a niche audience, so what the hell.  I'm a gonna do it.  And once I start.  I vow to watch one episode a day, and write about it for twenty-six days, until I've reached the last episode. 

Still, a decision has to be made before the first show is watched...

The shows were not aired in the order that they were taped.  The first five were produced by George Schlatter, who would later gain fame as producer of  Laugh-In.  They were glossy, glamorous, and glitzy.  The guest stars included Lena Horne, Mickey Rooney, Liza Minnelli, Count Basie and Tony Bennet.  But CBS was concerned by some comments made by a random sampling of audience members who viewed the taped episodes.  They said things like Judy looked nervous, she touched her guests too much...the concensous was that she was too unapproachable, too glamorous and not enough of the girl next door.  The former "best pal" Garland image had morphed through the years into that of a mercurial, extremely talented and troubled "Star!" and the brass wanted someone more down to earth, and a show more in keeping with their current folksy offerings like The Beverly Hillbillys".  And so the production team was unduly fired.  Schlatter was gone, most everyone else was axed as well, with only a few people remaining.  Also dropped were the guest stars Schlatter had planned to team Garland, including Nat King Cole, Betty Grable, Steve and Eydie, and Phil Harris and Alice Faye.  Instead there would be a lot more "down home" acts mixed in with the fellow legends, guests like the "The Dillards", and Zina Bethune of the drama "Nurses". 

Aside from changing up a lot of the guests, the new team would attempt to provide Judy with a bunch of regulars to be surrounded by, a "family" so to speak, much in the way The Carol Burnett Show would later.  The team would also add certain segments which could be relied upon to appear on a regular basis in an attempt to give each episode the same structure, as opposed to Schlatter's approach of each show being a "special".  Finally, they would also attempt to make Judy more approachable by writing comedic bits which would knock Judy off her "pedestal".  They would mock her age, her reputation, and lack of television know how.   

In order to present what the execs thought was one of the better shows as it's series premier, they chose to air an episode produced by the second team rather than the initially planned, first taped show, with Judy's former co-star and dear friend Mickey Rooney.  Other episodes would air out of order as well, until you get later on in the series.

So here's the quandary.  Watch as aired?  See a less cohesive order, which reproduces the way the television audiences first saw them?  Or watch them as taped and watch the chronological progression of the show?  One allows you to see the show as others first did, and the other allows you a step-by-step walk through the show and lets you see how Judy changes throughout the process.    Which is more important?  Which is the "true" experience?  Seeing the shows as they should have been viewed, or how they actually were.

Cursive

  Last week I returned to doing my  morning pages , a practice I was committed to for years, and then abandoned, at least partially in the d...