Fricke in his DVD comment says this is the best of the four produced by Arthur Freed of the Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland films. Which to my way of thinking--this was the least annoying of the four films.
Granted the Gershwin words and music is a draw; Tommy Dorsey's orchestra playing the tunes is a draw; Judy Garland's rendition of the tunes is a draw, and about as good a reason as any to see the movie.
The weakest link in the film was Mickey Rooney. Not to take away from his talent in dancing, in miming--he has got to be the most annoying actor in Hollywood. How he was ever rated as a top draw player is anyone's guess--apparently, he outdrew the likes of Clark Gable. But for my taste, he detracts from the films. And these films are so flimsy, so shallow, such an embarrassment--they need all the help they can get--and Mickey Rooney is of no help.
And yet, having written that, I can't imagine another actor working with Judy Garland. He is so annoying, and by contrast, she is excellent.
Even by the standards of films made in the 1930s--I can think of dozens that are better than this; Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers never descended into the bathos the Rooney Garland films seem to delight. The Rooney Garland films are not films that demand replaying--they tire with one viewing. While one never tires of anything Rogers & Hammerstein, never tires of "My Fair Lady", "The Music Man", "Gigi", Astaire & Rogers, "Three Penny Opera", even the Busby Berkeley films are never tiresome in the way these four Rooney Garland vehicles are tiresome.
And fortunately, Judy Garland was to go on and produce excellence as she grew older. The Gershwin tunes are the best they had produced; Judy Garland's rendition of the tunes was excellent; Tommy Dorsey was excellent. But all that excellence cannot make a flimsy and silly story into a great film, not even a mediocre film--just a tolerable film. And when one of the major actors is so annoying, nothing can overcome that level of annoyance.
Granted the Gershwin words and music is a draw; Tommy Dorsey's orchestra playing the tunes is a draw; Judy Garland's rendition of the tunes is a draw, and about as good a reason as any to see the movie.
The weakest link in the film was Mickey Rooney. Not to take away from his talent in dancing, in miming--he has got to be the most annoying actor in Hollywood. How he was ever rated as a top draw player is anyone's guess--apparently, he outdrew the likes of Clark Gable. But for my taste, he detracts from the films. And these films are so flimsy, so shallow, such an embarrassment--they need all the help they can get--and Mickey Rooney is of no help.
And yet, having written that, I can't imagine another actor working with Judy Garland. He is so annoying, and by contrast, she is excellent.
Even by the standards of films made in the 1930s--I can think of dozens that are better than this; Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers never descended into the bathos the Rooney Garland films seem to delight. The Rooney Garland films are not films that demand replaying--they tire with one viewing. While one never tires of anything Rogers & Hammerstein, never tires of "My Fair Lady", "The Music Man", "Gigi", Astaire & Rogers, "Three Penny Opera", even the Busby Berkeley films are never tiresome in the way these four Rooney Garland vehicles are tiresome.
And fortunately, Judy Garland was to go on and produce excellence as she grew older. The Gershwin tunes are the best they had produced; Judy Garland's rendition of the tunes was excellent; Tommy Dorsey was excellent. But all that excellence cannot make a flimsy and silly story into a great film, not even a mediocre film--just a tolerable film. And when one of the major actors is so annoying, nothing can overcome that level of annoyance.