To commemorate my latest interview with authors DAVID FANTLE & TOM JOHNSON (Episodes 77 & 78), whose best-selling book "C’Mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock" tells the backstory of how the 1950 MGM musical "Summer Stock", starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, was brought to the silver screen, I have put together an entertaining trivia list featuring some fun facts about this classic MGM musical for you to enjoy!
“Summer Stock” (1950) was a Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Charles Walters, stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and features Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers. Musical numbers were staged by Nick Castle and Kelly.
This was the final of three movie musicals in which Judy Garland and Gene Kelly starred in together, the other two were “For Me and My Gal”(1942) and “The Pirate” (1948), though they did appear separately in other movies and features.
Kelly was not the first choice for the role: the producer, Joe Pasternak, originally wanted Mickey Rooney, but was prevailed on to go with Kelly because Rooney was no longer the box office draw he had once been.
Busby Berkeley was originally slated to direct the film, but was replaced by Charles Walters before production began. He and Kelly worked on it as a favor to Garland, whose career needed a boost at the time, and Walters later complimented Kelly for the help he gave to Garland.
Judy Garland is said to have been at the height of her drug addiction throughout filming, resulting in her weight changes, mood-swings, and unexplained illnesses.
The production was beset by tension between Kelly and dance director Nick Castle, who almost came to blows at one time.
While both Judy Garland and Gene Kelly were firmly ensconced within the Freed Unit at MGM, it was decided that “Summer Stock” would be produced under Joe Pasternak's banner for two reasons. First, Garland harbored many a personal grudge within the Freed Unit, some warranted, some not. Secondly, Pasternak had, just one year before, managed to put together a cast and crew that inspired Garland's confidence and professionalism for “In the Good Old Summertime”, resulting in an effortless shoot, something she had not been able to achieve within the Freed Unit since “The Harvey Girls”. Pasternak again attempted to surround Garland with familiar faces for "Summer Stock" (1950), but by this time she was unable to control her demons and production went six months over schedule, signaling the end of her contract at MGM.
Judy Garland was responsible for MGM's Arthur Freed buying out David O. Selznick's personal exclusive contract with Kelly, who arrived in town in 1941. He came direct to Hollywood from his 1940 successful Broadway musical production of "Pal Joey." He planned to return to New York City, to the Broadway stage, after fulfilling his one-picture deal with Selznick. However, Selznick basically kept him off the screen after he arrived in Hollywood, basically putting his career on hold. Garland, who knew about Kelly's reputation on Broadway, told Freed--who was the producer in charge of making MGM's musicals--that she wanted Kelly as her partner in her next musical for the studio. Freed negotiated a deal with Selznick that resulted in MGM buying out Kelly's contract, which enabled him to play opposite Judy in “For Me and My Gal”. The film was a huge success and jump-started Kelly's (up to that point) faltering film career.
After filming began, Pasternak asked Mayer if he should abandon the film because of Garland's behavior, but studio head Louis B. Mayer insisted that she be given another chance. Mayer said: "Judy Garland has made this studio a fortune in the good days, and the least we can do is to give her one more chance. If you stop production now, it'll finish her."
The "Earthbuster" tractor featured in the film is a 1949 Ford 8N model.
Gene Kelly and Phil Silvers made an unlikely but surprisingly effective comedy duo. “Summer Stock” (1950) was a reunion for the two, six years after their first teaming on the Columbia Pictures musical “Cover Girl” with Rita Hayworth.
Costume designer Walter Plunkett was tasked with creating a wardrobe that would not expose Judy Garland's sizable weight gain following several months spent in a sanitarium before filming began. This was further complicated by the star's weight fluctuation once filming began, which necessitated an ongoing taking-in and letting-out of the costumes. One of Plunkett's solutions was to give Garland's blouses wide, open collars to redirect any focus from her waist.
"Fall in Love" (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon), sung by Gloria DeHaven and Phil Silvers, was cut from this film. The duet is heard on the Rhino Handmade CD of the soundtrack, released together with the score of Judy Garland's In the “Good Old Summertime”.
Gene Kelly partners Jeanne Coyne, his dance assistant and future wife, in the "Dig, Dig, Dig For Your Dinner" sequence.
Despite the obvious difficulties Judy Garland was experiencing during the making of this film, her professionalism shines through as she matches Gene Kelly tap for tap in the challenging "Portland Fancy" dance sequence.
Despite its apparent simplicity, Gene Kelly later said in an interview that the "You, Wonderful You" dance number with the newspaper and the squeaky floor board was the hardest dance number he's ever done on film, and the one that required the most hours of rehearsal time.
Garland's inability to report to work as scheduled resulted in several continuity glitches in the final print, as there was not enough coverage. Two examples: the final shots of "Howdy Neighbor (Happy Harvest)," which necessitated two incrementally blown-up frames to cover the stark shift to a completely different background shot than had been used prior; and the final moment in the scene following "Friendly Star," during which Garland's distraught, overly emotional state necessitates a quick cut to the moon and an awkward freeze-frame to facilitate the transition to the next scene.
The number "Get Happy" was filmed several months after the rest of the film. During that time, Judy Garland lost considerable weight, which led to a longtime legend that the number was shot for a different film. In fact, Garland had worn the exact same costume in a deleted musical number from "Easter Parade", which also contributed to the false legend.
Another giveaway that "Get Happy" was filmed months after principal photography wrapped are the eight outsized chorus boys accompanying Garland, as they appear nowhere else in the film and are clearly not members of the theater troupe that appear in the earlier farm scenes.
Gloria DeHaven and Eddie Bracken also played romantic interests in “Two Tickets to Broadway”.
The film is included among the American Film Institute's 2006 list of 180 movies nominated for AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.
Overall, “Summer Stock” took six months to film. Despite amassing respectable box office returns, due mostly to Garland induced production delays, this film went enough over budget that its final financial tally showed a minor loss to M-G-M - $80,000.
After filming, Garland embarked on a long-promised vacation. Soon, however, she was called back to star with Fred Astaire and Peter Lawford in the film “Royal Wedding”, replacing June Allyson, who was pregnant. Once again, she struggled to perform in the face of exhaustion and overwork. She was fired from “Royal Wedding”, and her contract with MGM was terminated through mutual agreement.
Trivia items from IMDB & Wikipedia
To listen to my entertaining conversation with authors DAVID FANTLE & TOM JOHNSON (Episodes 77 & 78) about their new book “C’Mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock “ on my podcast, click the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 77 - HERE
Episode 78 - HERE
