Judy by the Numbers: "The Texas Tornado"

Anne Marie back with the next installment in our new Judy Garland series. Before she was a legend, Frances Gumm was a contract player. This meant that MGM could loan her out to other studios. It was common practice for both large stars and minor players. But what makes you Frances unique is how rare it was for her. Today's musical marks the only time MGM loaned out Judy Garland; the rest of her contract with the studio would be spent snugly - if not comfortably - within the white walls of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Judy's next short would kick off the Garland legend, and jumpstart the young teen's career.

 

The Movie: Pigskin Parade (20th Century Fox, 1936)

The Songwriters: Lew Pollack (Music), Sidney D. Mitchell (Lyrics)

The Players: Stuart Erwin, Patsy Kelly, Betty Grable, Jack Haley, Judy Garland, directed by David Butler

The Story: Already under contract to MGM at the age of 14, the newly renamed Judy Garland's first feature film was a loan out to 20th Century Fox. Pigskin Parade was a low-budget musical - Fox's favorite kind - that cashed in on the early 30's fad for college crooners. Judy plays the hick sister of a barefoot football prodigy (Stuart Erwin) who's invited by accident to play for Yale. Judy gets a handful of numbers, all shot and sounding more or less exactly like this one: she stands, feet planted, and belts pep songs in medium closeup. Young Judy hasn't quite mastered lip synching yet, but already one of her defining features shines: she looks like she's having a hell of a lot of fun performing.

Comments

[joel6]

I didn't have high expectations when I sat down to watch this and for the most part I got what I expected, a throwaway quickie musical with a competent cast.

But it did have a few things to hold the interest, Patsy Kelly is funny as the pushy wife of the coach, Betty Grable isn't quite the Betty Grable of renown yet but she's a pleasant presence as she always was, and it's interesting to see Judy and Jack Haley together years before Wizard of Oz.

Still the only real value the picture has is as Judy's first feature, even if she's rather ludicrously cast as a cornpone farm girl. It doesn't matter though when she plants her feet and belts out a number.

[Pam]

Thanks, Anne Marie. As a big Judy fan, I'm looking forward to this series (and getting back to MOVIE talk instead of AWARDS). Is it me, or is that clip giving off a Sutton Foster vibe?

[Margaret]

I love everything about this series and seeing this post filled me with joy.

Also, howtheheck does a 14 year old sing like that, dear god.

[LadyEdith]

Margaret - both Judy and her voice were certainly precocious. I'm loving the plaid that she was wearing for some reason. What a belter at that young age.

Pam - very Sutton Foster, especially if you compare to a clip of Sutton Foster's rehearsal for "Anything Goes". ("Bunheads" - still missing it )
Joel6 - your knowledge is uncanny.

Thanks Anne Marie - as always it's great to have you back so those of us who love classic cinema can meet and hang out with one another.

[Paul Outlaw]

This clip is Exhibit A for why Tammy Blanchard was ideally cast in Me and My Shadows.

[Dave in Hollywood]

Okay, fellow Judy fans! Just like with Katharine Hepburn, I'm intrigued by two of Anne Marie's "throwaway" comments and want further info/enlightenment.

1) I was always under the impression that Judy Garland got her new name BEFORE she went to MGM. That George Jessel or someone like that gave it to her. Does anyone know the real story about it?

2) I have long said, and I stand by it, that Judy's unsung talent was for lip-synching. How did she master it so quickly and do it so much better than everyone else? Anne Marie, let us know what you think as you go along and see her general improvement.

And as an employee of the herein mentioned movie studio, I apologize for the emphasis on the bottom line and I can testify that things have certainly not changed in the ensuing decades. :-)

[Anne Marie]

Dave in Hollywood - I can answer the first question. I should have specified - the Gumm sisters renamed themselves the Garland Sisters in late 1934. Frances became "Judy" at about that time as well. She was signed with MGM in 1935, and this film was made by Fox in 1936. There's just a 6 year gap between last week's clip and this week's. Hope that helps!

[Dave in Hollywood]

Thanks for the info on Judy's name! Anything is better than Gumm, let's face it. Did any of the other sisters change their first names like Frances/Judy? Maybe Joel knows?

[joel6]

Dave-They all went by Garland professionally and their mother went by Mrs. Garland in the brief period between Frank Gumm's death and her second marriage to William Gilmore.

Oldest sister Mary Jane went by Sue Garland until she married her first husband, musician Lee Kahn at which point she changed her name to Suzanne Kahn until that marriage ended and she married Jack Cathcart. When she committed suicide in 1964 she was known as Sue Cathcart.

Middle sister Virginia/Jimmie, who was ironically christened Dorothy Virginia though she never used the first name, married musician Bobby Sherwood soon after Judy signed at MGM and after that marriage ended Johnny Thompson but unlike the others retained Gumm as her maiden name. When she passed away she was listed as Jimmie Gumm Thompson.

[Dave in Hollywood]

Was Jimmie just a nickname? Jimmie Gumm Thompson sounds so Silence Of The Lambs to me. :-) I guess that all three daughters picked shorter, "peppier" names. Makes sense I suppose.

[Leslie19]

Let's hear it for Little Miss Leather Lungs!