Judy by the Numbers: "Be A Clown"
Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at 8:00AM 
Just as there are films that shine bright in a star's history, there are also films whose histories are controversial at best. The Pirate is an odd contradiction of a movie. As one of Judy Garland's most expensive films, it was also her first MGM bust. Released two years after childrearing had put Judy on hiatus, it was nonetheless stuck in preproduction for five years before that. While it landed Judy another hit song, the knockoff written four years later would become a classic. Though The Pirate was the loudest, brightest movie Judy had made to date, its most interesting sequences were left on the cutting room floor. What to do with The Pirate?
The Movie: The Pirate (1948, MGM)
The Songwriter: Cole Porter
The Players: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, The Nicholas Brothers, directed by Vincente Minnelli
The Story: The Pirate must have seemed cursed from the start. By the time Vincente Minnelli started filming, it had already been stuck in pre-production hell since 1943. This meant that even though Minnelli tried to keep costs down, enough money had already been sunk into it that the budget ballooned to almost $5 million. Judy wasn't helping either - she reported sick to work 99 times. Then there was the issue of reshoots. The song "Voodoo" apparently enraged Mayer so much that he ordered the nitrate negative burned. The ending was a mess and had to be reshot. Then that ending got the boot in the South because it featured black men tapdancing
All of these production problems took their toll, and the resulting movie is a little bit of a beautiful mess. Nonetheless, there are three reasons to see this movie:
- It's the first A Movie appearance of the Nicholas Brothers
- Vincente Minnelli makes really beautiful color movies
- Judy Garland throws china like a red-haired Bucky Walters
However, the scene that would make the film famous was "Be A Clown." As previously mentioned, it would become a modest hit for Judy, but the real hit came four years later when Judy's friend Donald O'Connor sang "Make 'Em Laugh" in Singin' in the Rain. Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed whipped up the song while trying to find a number for O'Connor. Luckily for them, Cole Porter was under MGM contract and wasn't feeling particularly litigious. While Judy would continue to sing the original throughout her career, ultimately Singin' in the Rain made Freed's version more popular. Even great talent couldn't keep The Pirate from sinking.
Reader Comments (10)
Great song, great routine, and as in all Minnelli movies Judy is beautiful. But honestly, the Nicholas Brothers are the best!
A beautiful mess is a perfect description of this movie. It's has some brilliant set pieces but doesn't move as a harmonious whole.
Judy's rail thin and while not a complete jittery pile of nerves she's obviously under strain. She's never still, even when she's listening to someone else she seems on edge-her hands are never in repose. But she is terrific in the furniture smashing scene, her voice is warm and full and her comic sense is as sharp as ever.
It's really more Kelly's movie than hers anyway and his pirate number, in that outfit that looks as if it were sewn onto him, is an exhilarating sequence.
Even this justly famous number while it's a fun ending feels like it would have made more sense as the finish in a more contemporary story.
It did lose a great deal of money while still making a mint for those times-2.5 million. Judy can be held to some of that loss but reading up on the making of the film it seems it was just one of those productions that fed on itself and the studio had to make the best of the finished product.
Sidenote- Today marks a sad day. It's the 47th anniversary of Judy's death. She been gone now as long as she lived. But how great is it that she's still the subject of articles looking at her career all these years on. Thanks for this series Anne Marie!
4. gene's thighs
Wonderful. But I do love Harry Shum's version of Make Em Laugh from Glee. Nice gams.
Par - I was about to say! His costumes are preposterous/the best.
That furniture smashing scene is a classic. I forget if I heard someone else make this argument first, but the single most transgressive thing you can do in a Minnelli movie is destroy the mise-en-scene.
Dave S - I have never heard that argument before, but I love it! Truer words were never spoken.
RIP Judy. Thanks for the reminder, joel6.
I caught this for the first time on TCM a few years back and what a strange picture! No words can really do it justice. I found it to be so bizarre that I almost can't understand how it ever got made. But, Gene and Judy are kind of great in it, and it sure as hell is entertaining!
Attesting to the power of her legacy The New York Times ran this today.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/obituaries/archives
Minelli must have had fun shooting Gene in those shorts...