{"id":19785,"date":"2011-09-26T09:55:45","date_gmt":"2011-09-26T16:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19785"},"modified":"2021-02-01T15:32:49","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T22:32:49","slug":"summer-stock-1950","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19785","title":{"rendered":"Summer Stock (1950)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Running a farm isn&#8217;t women&#8217;s work; why don&#8217;t you put the burden where it belongs?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Poster-211x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-19786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Poster-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Poster-90x128.jpg 90w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Poster.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA farmer (Judy Garland) engaged to the nebbishy son (Eddie Bracken) of a storeowner (Ray Collins) struggles to make ends meet; meanwhile, her flighty sister (Gloria DeHaven) suddenly brings her boyfriend (Gene Kelly) and his troupe of performers to Garland&#8217;s barn, where they hope to put on a show.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Farming<\/li>\n<li>Gene Kelly Films<\/li>\n<li>Hans Conried Films<\/li>\n<li>Judy Garland Films<\/li>\n<li>Let&#8217;s Put On a Show!<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Summer Stock<\/em> is primarily remembered for its notoriety as the film which ended Judy Garland&#8217;s career at MGM. Read any review or write-up on the movie, and you&#8217;ll learn all you need to know about the sad details surrounding Garland&#8217;s ongoing addiction, stint in rehab, 20-pound weight gain (leading to the oddity of a &#8220;show-stopping&#8221; finale number added several months after primary filming, at which point she&#8217;d clearly lost the weight), and overall struggles to make it to the set each day; you&#8217;ll also read about Kelly&#8217;s kindness in helping her through the ordeal (including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043012\/trivia?tr=tr0688163\">faking a fall one day to allow her to take the day off<\/a>). Ultimately, however, what really &#8220;matters&#8221; is whether the film succeeds or not &#8212; and critical opinions remain deeply divided on this point.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1975summ.html\"><br \/>\nDVD Savant<\/a>, for instance &#8212; while acknowledging the redeeming power of the musical numbers &#8212; argues that the plot&#8217;s &#8220;mechanics are even simpler than shows like <em>Babes on Broadway<\/em>: Save the farm, put on a show, ditch the loser love interests so the leads can get together&#8221;, and points out the &#8220;lazy way the&#8230; script abuses the supporting players&#8221; so that &#8220;amusing personality Eddie Bracken and so-so MGM contract player Gloria DeHaven both play unfunny, unpleasant jerks so as to make Garland and Kelly seem all the more virtuous for dumping them&#8221;. In his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=8552\">laudatory review for Digitally Obsessed<\/a>, however, David Krauss argues that the &#8220;snappy script&#8230; somehow makes the tired backstage story seem fresh&#8221;, and that &#8220;the colorful characters and brisk pacing (care of director Charles Walters, who also helmed <em>Easter Parade<\/em>) keep us fully engaged at all times&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>In truth, I&#8217;m more in agreement with DVD Savant than Krauss on this debate; the cliched storyline is a bit <em>too<\/em> escapist for my blood (sorry, but <em>nothing<\/em> about Garland&#8217;s attempt to fill farming shoes &#8220;worked&#8221; for me) &#8212; and while I didn&#8217;t have much of a problem with DeHaven as Garland&#8217;s spoiled sister (or Bracken as her spineless fiance), the presence of Phil Silvers as Kelly&#8217;s irritating sidekick was simply cringe-worthy throughout. With all that said, the film is at least partially redeemed by a host of rousing musical numbers, as well as truly top-notch performances by both Garland and Kelly; whatever <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043012\/trivia?tr=tr0667399\">troubles Garland may have been having<\/a> behind the scenes are (amazingly) nowhere in evidence on-screen. While only her stunning finale number (&#8220;Get Happy&#8221;) is memorable enough to stick in your head for days afterwards, the remaining songs are all enjoyable while they last, and perfectly suited for Garland&#8217;s timbre. Meanwhile, Kelly gets to dance one of his best, most creative numbers (and that&#8217;s saying a lot!) as he shuffles away on a wooden floor, engaging a newspaper for sound effects. It&#8217;s fun stuff. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Judy Garland as Jane<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Garland.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Garland.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Garland.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Garland-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Garland-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Gene Kelly as Joe<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Kelly and Garland dancing the Portland Fancy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Portland-Fancy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Portland-Fancy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Portland-Fancy.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Portland-Fancy-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Portland-Fancy-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Kelly&#8217;s truly classic solo tap-dance sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-Newspaper.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-Newspaper.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-Newspaper.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-Newspaper-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Kelly-Newspaper-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Garland&#8217;s justifiably famous &#8220;Get Happy&#8221; finale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Get-Happy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Get-Happy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Get-Happy.png 384w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Get-Happy-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Summer-Stock-Get-Happy-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo. While certainly recommended, this one is only must-see for Garland or Kelly completists. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043012\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1950\/09\/01\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-metro-musical-summer-stock-with-judy-garland.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1975summ.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/2065\/summer-stock#articles-reviews?articleId=24094\">TCM Article (spoiler alerts!!!)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=8552\">Digitally Obsessed<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/g79MHy60UyA\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Running a farm isn&#8217;t women&#8217;s work; why don&#8217;t you put the burden where it belongs?&#8221; Synopsis: A farmer (Judy Garland) engaged to the nebbishy son (Eddie Bracken) of a storeowner (Ray Collins) struggles to make ends meet; meanwhile, her flighty sister (Gloria DeHaven) suddenly brings her boyfriend (Gene Kelly) and his troupe of performers to Garland&#8217;s barn, where they hope to put on a show. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Farming Gene Kelly Films Hans Conried Films Judy Garland Films&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19785\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19785"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67754,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19785\/revisions\/67754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}