Celebrating Judy Garland: A Star is Born, Meet Me in St Louis

It was the great Judy Garland’s birth centenary earlier this month, so I thought I’d schedule a film-club chat around some of her notable films (this can also be a stepping stone to a discussion about the Hollywood musical).

 

The two films I have shared with my group so far:

 

A Star is Born (1954): this is the second version (or the third if you count the 1932 What Price Hollywood?) of one of the most popular and timeless Hollywood stories: the fraught marital relationship between one movie star who is on his way down and another who is on her way up. Super performances by Garland and James Mason in the lead roles, and with a number of musical setpieces that make this film arguably THE Judy Garland movie, allowing her to showcase the full range of her dramatic and singing talent. 

 

Meet Me in St Louis (1944): this musical, about a year in the life of a family in St Louis early in the 20th century, is somewhat under the radar today – but it was one of the definitive musicals of the 1940s, and a key early work in the career of director Vincente Minnelli. (He and Judy Garland got married shortly after this film was made; Liza Minnelli is their daughter. Incidentally, the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York, which stars Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro, makes for an interesting mother/daughter double bill with A Star is Born.)

 

Meet Me in St Louis is a great way to get into the spirit of the Hollywood musical of a certain time, building up to more famous films such as An American in Paris, The Band Wagon and of course Singin in the Rain. I re-watched it yesterday and was just as stirred by “The Trolley Song”, and by Garland’s performance in it, as I had been years ago. (Also, a special shout-out to Renee Zellweger for performing that number so well in her own voice when she played Garland in the 2019 film Judy.)

 

Anyone else who wants prints of these films, let me know. Also, any other suggestions for Garland films – or related works or discussion points – are welcome. (A few people have expressed their fondness for Easter Parade, The Pirate, and The Clock.) 

 

P.S. I am also trying to get a good downloadable print of Judgement at Nuremberg, which isn’t exactly a “Judy Garland film” but features one of her best dramatic performances, in a short role. The film was a great favourite of mine a long time ago, even though it is often bloated and pedantic and appallingly virtuous. (The director, Stanley Kramer, being a proto-Madhur Bhandarkar in some ways. But he got the 60-plus Marlene Dietrich and Spencer Tracy together on screen for the first time, so all is forgiven. Here's an old post about that film.)