Simply Perfect

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I agree she looked thicker but goodness that determines a good movie or not? Hence, why she had many issues. They harassed actresses then about being skinny made folks crazy. I like the movie. Great singing and dancing. Did the plot have to be supreme? I had fun. She was a very...no extremely talented woman. I will watch anything she ever did in show business. Actresses are nit multi talented like that anymore. Very one dimensional. They are just skinny...big deal. Give me talent anytime. I would watch it again. Love Judy Garland. Besides doesn't help in real life come from unexpected places just like the movie. The farm got help from actors. Hey what a good idea!

When "Summer Stock" began, my hopes for the film were dashed. This is because the lyrics to the opening tune were just awful--and an odd way to start a film. A friend who acts in musical theater was with me at the time and she also commented at how bad these lyrics were. Fortunately, I fought my strong desire to turn it off and saw the rest of the film. Now I am not saying it was a great film (or even close to it), but it was an enjoyable film.Jane (Judy Garland) runs her family farm and dates a real drip, Orville (Eddie Bracken). Her life is rather predictable and she likes it that way. However, into her normal life comes a HUGE disturbance. Her annoying and self-centered sister, Abigail (Gloria DeHaven) neglected to tell her that she's invited an acting troop to come live with them and perform in their barn*. Considering Abigail was off acting and having fun and doesn't even work the farm, this is even worse--and Jane is determined to toss these folks off the property. However, the leader of the group, Joe (Gene Kelly) is awfully nice and quite charming and so Jane agrees that they can stay. However, Abigail is a budding prima donna and her antics MIGHT just result in the show being canceled. Can anyone guess who will come in to save the day?!This film is entertaining and worth seeing. I must say, however, in the pantheon of MGM musicals it is only about average. In fact, I think the film was at its best when they were not singing. Many love the big show-stopping Garland number "Forget Your Troubles Come on Be Happy". It was decent but obviously filmed at a different time, as she looks about 30 pounds lighter. It also is about the only particularly memorable song in the film--though I did really like Kelly's dance number in the empty barn. Light and enjoyable--this one is worth seeing but quite formulaic and easy to predict. Well done...not great. It's a shame, as it was the last film she made on her MGM contract--too bad it couldn't have been more memorable.*This is an odd case for Garland. In her movies with Mickey Rooney when they were a bit younger, they always were looking for a barn where they could put on a show. Here, however, she is the one with the barn and the folks are coming to her!

Imagine a barn the size of a Broadway theatre where you can go without having to head into the Big Apple. That's what happens here. Since they can't bring Mohammed to the Mountain, they do just the reverse. In this case, it is a Broadway producer who brings his show to the country and hopes that his star's sister will allow them to put it on there, surrounded by hay, cows, horses, ducks and farming equipment. This singing farm woman (Judy Garland) has just bought a prize tractor, singing "Happy Harvest" as she heads home to find her kitchen under attack by Broadway personalities like producer Gene Kelly, comic Phil Silvers and a hundred chorus boys and girls who will probably eat her out of house and home. Spoiled sister Gloria De Haven is the star of this show, and doesn't care who she inconveniences. Housekeeper Marjorie Main is shocked to learn of the dozens of strangers she has to cook for, and Garland's uppity gentleman caller (Eddie Bracken) is aghast by the presence of city folk in their community, his society leader father (Ray Collins) equally shocked. But when De Haven gets temperamental, she leaves the show in the lurch, and overhearing Garland sing, Kelly makes a proposal she might find difficult to turn down.Yes, this show literally is corny, and Garland and Kelly give it their all in their third and last teaming. Garland is remembered for the classic Harold Arlen song "Get Happy!" which she sings here in a finale filmed long after the rest of the movie had wrapped, but for me, her best moment is "Friendly Star", a haunting solo she sings while dealing with all the issues surrounding her. Kelly gets a snazzy dance number where he utilizes various props he finds in the barn and ultimately includes a squeaky floor and a newspaper. Silvers and Kelly lead a group dance number, "You Gotta Dig For Your Dinner", where they dance on the kitchen table, and later in the show within the show, they get a comic number, "Heavenly Music", where they play stereotypical country hicks that may bring groans to some, giggles to others. There's also a rousing barn dance, "The Portland Fancy", where city folk and country folk go up against each other in showing what each of these groups can do.Charles Walters, who directed Judy to great success opposite Fred Astaire in "Easter Parade", makes "Summer Stock" a fun, light-hearted return for Judy to the "Let's put on a show!" theme that she did early in her career with Mickey Rooney. It's all colorful and harmless, and ultimately a decent swansong to Judy's 15 year association with MGM. So, if you feel like singing, sing, whether its in the shower, the barn or on a tractor.

Yes, this is Garland's last film for MGM. It is also the third Pasternak film with Garland. First there was the ho-hum "Presenting Lily Mars". After "Easter Parade", the Arthur Freed unit was finished with Judy. (Freed tried to star her in "Annie Get Your Gun", but that was never finished. He even tried to re-unite her with Astaire for "Royal Wedding", but she was too sick to work.) It is interesting to look at the differences in approach used to Arthur Freed and Joe Pasternak. Freed was interested in producing musical dramas where the musical numbers were integrated into the plot. Garland was used as a musical actress. Pasternak was more interested in light entertainments which featured the personalities and abilities of the stars. Artistically, the Freed product was superior, but Pasternak tailored his films to spotlight his performers. Garland's comedic skills were better showcased in both "Summer Stock" and "In the Good Old Summertime". While "In the Good Old Summertime" is a romantic comedy with musical and slapstick interludes, "Summer Stock" is a full blown musical comedy.While Judy Garland and Gene Kelly are the stars of the film, they share highlights with other performers. Phil Silvers is the top comic. Already a star after his triumph in "High Button Shoes", I only wish he was given even more to do. He does his trademark "Glad to See Ya" and "Funny, Funny" catchphrases, provides some slapsticky episodes, and is partnered with Kelly in a couple of comic musical numbers. Eddie Bracken is excellent as the second lead. He plays a variation on his Preston Sturges created character. I only wish he had been given a musical number to do with Gloria DeHaven. Miss DeHaven, as Garland's spoiled sister, is welcome and her singing is smooth and soothing. Marjorie Main plays a variation on her Ma Kettle character. Even Hans Conried shows up as a hammy actor. Although he doesn't have a good bit like his singing teacher sketch with Jerry Lewis in "The Patsy", he still brings a smile to your face. Unfortunately, Carlton Carpenter is not given a chance to show his dancing skills.Kelly plays the straight role, while Garland plays the exasperated farmer. Her comic frustration is brilliant. There's so much to analyze in her performance. The viewer can see that she is a nervous wreck. This makes the comedy that much funnier. She is in need of a good therapist and the Kelly character provides her with this. Her scenes with Bracken make you wonder, "Who is more nervous in this scene?" Of course, Bracken was playing nervous, while it's the real thing with Judy. Even in poor health, her singing is first rate and her dancing is terrific. She keeps up with Kelly in every step; there's no cheating. "Get Happy" is a classic, even if it doesn't really fit into the movie.The songs in the film are underrated. Harry Warren was a first rate song smith who had more hits in movies than even the great Broadway composers. "You, Wonderful, You" is a hidden gem that deserves more interpretations. The same is true of "Friendly Star". Garland used "Happy Harvest" and "If You Feel Like Singing" during her concert appearances. Saul Chaplin's "All for You" never made it to the original soundtrack album and got lost in the shuffle. Added after Harry Warren had moved on to his next assignment, it is a masterful opening number. The Skip Martin arrangement on "Happy Harvest" is excellent and it really swings at the end. Conrad Salinger's string arrangement on "Friendly Star" is sweet and restrained, without becoming saccharine.Although considered a minor film, "Summer Stock" is the best of the Garland-Kelly films. It avoids the uncomfortable plot complications of "For Me and My Gal" and is easier to take than the stylized and hit or miss comedy of "The Pirate". This is just a good, clean musical comedy that spotlights its players nicely.