Judy by the Numbers: "I Hear Music"

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Sometimes, something just flat out cool and unexpected pops up. Something like, say, a titan of jazz music popping up for the second episode of a TV show starring a titan of movie musicals. Though it wasn't reflected in ratings at the time (how good was Bonanza really?), this is one of those moments of pop culture kismet. Though it wouldn't be aired for almost seven weeks, in just the second episode of this small Sunday night variety program, Count Basie guest starred on an episode of The Judy Garland Show.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode #2
The Songwriter: Irving Berlin
The Cast: Judy Garland, Count Basie, Mel Torme

The Story: As TV intros go, it's pretty basic, but this gives audience and artists the chance to build momentum. What makes this clip so very great is that it caters to both its' stars talents, and in the process stretches both past what audiences were used to hearing from them. The opening number (arranged by Torme) is a quietly jazzy version of Roger's and Hammerstein's "The Sweetest Sounds" that builds to a big climax. Starting with just Judy and a drummer and a bassist, Garland gets to show her dynamic range by singing sweetly to herself. Meanwhile, Count Basie's band enters behind her, gradually building the sound until it matches her intensity, leading to the revelation of Basie himself and a crackling version of "Strike Up The Band." As one of the more music-heavy episodes, this one stands out.

Judy by the Numbers: "You're So Right For Me"

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

The terribly tricky thing about early TV (or really any TV) history is that episodes are often filmed and aired in different orders. Because of the discrepancies in airing schedules, we will be following in the order in which they were shot. After the CBS lawsuit was settled with the agreement that Judy Garland should make a show for CBS, the question became what kind of show to do. It took two years for the usual contract negotiations, delays, and upheavals to settle enough for that question to be decided. On June 24, 1963, Judy Garland recorded the first episode of a variety show titled (unsurprisingly) The Judy Garland Show. 

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode #1
The Songwriter: Mel Torme (uncredited)
The Cast: Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Jerry Van Dyke

The Story: A musical variety show seemed to be the perfect format for Judy: it was a popular genre that took advantage of its star's talents in not only singing, but also dancing and sketch comedy. Just two problems: 1) by 1964 the variety show was considered "old hat" and 2) CBS decided to air this new/old variety show against Sunday night behomoth Bonanza.

With the pressures of broadcast television, a new creative team (including Mel Torme), and her disintegrating relationship with Sidney Luft, Judy Garland requested that her first guest be someone she could trust: Mickey Rooney. The company line was that she was doing an old pal a favor, though it's clear from watching the clip that he's doing her a favor as well. Judy begins the clip full of nervous energy - she even mouths some of Mickey's lyrics - but eventually two decades of partnership and four decades of friendship put her at ease. By the time they get to the reprise, Judy Garland is genuinely, truly having a good time just being herself. The question was whether Judy Garland herself was something TV audiences would tune in for.

Judy by the Numbers: "I Could Go On Singing"

by Anne Marie

We have reached the end of Juy Garland's film career. From this point forward, this series will be focused exclusively on her television appearances. So, why not play Judy out the way she's remembered best, belting a big number in glorious Technicolor? But the hopeful title and Judy's brassy voice belie a darker truth. This week's number serves not only as the title song of the film, but also as a thesis for Judy Garland's later career.

The Movie: I Could Go On Singing (United Artists, 1964)
The Songwriters: Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg
The Players: Judy Garland & Dick Bogarde, directed by Ronald Nearne

The Story:  If A Star Is Born represents Judy Garland's image as a tragic, romantic figure in Hollywood, then I Could Go On Singing may be the closest Garland got to a public confession of how messy the tragic parts of her life coud be. Filmed in England while Judy battled for divorce (and custody of her younger children) with Sidney Luft, the film looked like life mirroring art mirroring life. The story of a concert singer whose relationships disintegrate even as she tries to shield (and connect to) her estranged son incorporated biographical details and observations straight from Judy herself. Co-star Bogarde reported rewriting large scenes with Garland to incorporate her own musings on celebrity, addiction and performance.

Perhaps most telling is the scene that happens directly before Judy performs this number. She's all smiles and charm while placating the audience she kept waiting. She looks restored just stepping onstage. However, just moments before, injured and recovering from a destructive bender, she destroys the idea that performing was a pallative:

"There's an old saying: When you go onstage, you don't feel any pain; and when the lights hit you, you don't feel anything...It's a stinking lie."

Judy by the Numbers: "Snowflakes"

What on odd year is 1963 in the history of Judy Garland. 1964 marks the last year of Judy Garland's film career, and the boom of Judy's television career. The first of Judy's final two movies reunited Judy Garland with producer Stanley Kramer and actor Burt Lancaster, with whom she'd worked only two years before in Judgment at Nuremburg. By the early 1960s, Kramer was establishing himself as the prestige producer of hard-hitting social issue cinema. A Child Is Waiting, about an institution for developmentally challenged children, was no different.

The Movie: A Child is Waiting (Universal, 1963)
The Songwriter: Marjorie D. Kurtz
The Players: Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Gena Rowlands, directed by John Cassavetes

The Story: While the majority of Judy Garland's career was dominated by Technicolor musical extravaganzas, the last few films of her career do signal an attempt at darker, "more serious" work. Surrounded by Method artists like Rowlands, Cassavetes, and (to some degree) Lancaster, Judy clearly embraced a more fluid, less "Studio" form of acting. Her improvisation with the students shows this transition. This scene, not a "musical number" in the conventional sense, sees Judy attempting to teach a song to her students through many tactics - banging on the piano, half-quiet mumbling, sing-shouting, etc - while playing a range of tensions in the scene, from timidity to irritation to joy when they start to get it right. It is a subtle musical performance.

Most of the drama in A Child Is Waiting happened behind the scenes between Kramer and Cassavetes, but ultimately no battles or cute children could save the film. It lost $2 million among mixed reviews, a frustrating end to an artistic leap on Judy's part.

Judy by the Numbers: "Let There Be Love/You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You"

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

In 1957, a golden opportunity landed in Judy Garland's lap that looked, at first glance, like a lawsuit. In fact it was a lawsuit (and a counterlawsuit) concerning a contract she'd signed with CBS. Garland (on the advice of hubby Sidney Luft) had signed a $300,000 contract with CBS for three years of TV specials in 1955. However, only one special had ever aired. In 1957, Judy sued, which caused CBS to countersue. The result reads like something out of the rejected musical version of Adam's Rib: in 1961, Judy & CBS decided to put aside their differences (and lawsuits) to sign a new contract for two new specials. The first of these aired just a year later in 1962.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show (CBS, 1962)
The Songwriters: Lionel Rand (music), Ian Grant (lyrics)
The Cast: Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, directed by Norman Jewison

The Story: Norman Jewison (soon to be famous for directing, among other things the movie version of Fiddler on the Roof) got one thing very, very right about this TV special: when you have three legendary talents onscreen, you don't need much else. The whole series featured a very pared down aesthetic: little choreography, few costume changes, and a set featuring random pillars and lights that flew out to reveal an equally mustard yellow void. Of course, when you have Judy, Dean and Frank clowning around and stepping in time, you don't need much more.

The series would be nominated for 3 Emmy Awards and net huge ratings for CBS. This was good news for both network and star, who decided to continue to put aside their differences in order to do a weekly TV series.

Select Previous Highlights:  
“Zing Went the Strings of My Heart” (1938), "Over the Rainbow" (1939), "The Trolley Song" (1944), "I Don't Care" (1949), "Get Happy" (1950), "The Man That Got Away" (1954)