Pigskin Parade (1936) Directed by David Butler source 20th Century Fox B&W

"That little gal can sing!"

MGM received two bids for Judy's services...Universal wanted her for "Three Smart Girls" the studio sent them Deanna Durbin) and Fox wanted her for "Pigskin Parade" (MGM accepted). But the role of a pigtailed, drawling hillbilly in barefeet made Judy wince. And playing second banana to Stu Erwin as the local boy who could throw a melon farther than anyone in town seemed to give proof to her theory that she wasn't talented enough or sexy enough to get a real part (she was 14 and ultra sensitive) . But Judy got four solos (one was cut from the final product) and that was enough to put this "little" picture on top as one of Fox's moneymakers of the year.

Also:
.Early in 1937, Judy's first recording available to the public was released by Decca...
"Stompin' at the Savoy" and "Swing, Mr. Charlie".

Broadway Melody of 1938 (l937) Directed by Roy Del Ruth MGM B&W

"Dear Mr. Gable.."

Judy's first MGM feature film! Her sensational song number "Dear Mr.Gable..", done at a private studio birthday party for the star, was written into the picture just for her and, in a movie that included such stars as handsome Robert Taylor, dancing star Eleanor Powell, funny Buddy Ebsen and even Sophie Tucker, little Judy Garland stole the show! The Hollywood Reporter review read: "The sensational work of young Judy Garland causes wonder as to why she has been kept under wraps these many months". The Los Angeles Herald-Express put it bluntly: "(Judy) really walks away with the picture. Here is not only a complete artist, but a personality that takes you by storm."

Also:

.Judy recorded "Dear Mr. Gable.." backed by "You Can't Have Everything" for Decca.

.She also became a regular on CBS radio's "Jack Oakie's College"

This was the first picture Mickey Rooney and Judy (he called her "Joots") did together but there were 8 more in store because they proved to be invaluable to MGM as a team.
As usual Mickey played the smart aleck with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar while Judy was the level-headed kid who got him out of trouble and on the right track. Pal Freddie Bartholomew was supposed to play the part of Roger but when schedules conflicted, MGM scooped up a kid from New Zealand ( Ra Hould renamed Ronald Sinclair) who did a bang-up job. Sophie Tucker, of course, played Sophie Tucker playng Judy's aunt!
The movie didn't make a lot of money but it made a money-making duo out of Garland and Rooney! As Mickey put it "We made magic together!".
Judy gets to sing one song in the film "Got a New Pair of Shoes".

Also:
.Later, before the picture finished shooting, Judy was also in preproduction for
"Everybody Sing", the very first time she worked on two movies at the same time.

Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) Directed by George B. Seitz MGM B&W

"Andy & Betsy"

Judy was teamed again with the Mick and once again she played the wholesome, gal-next-door Betsy Booth who chases Mickey while he chases Ann Rutherford. "No glamour. That's my problem" laments Betsy while Judy herself echoed the same sentiments offscreen. The fact that her nemesis Lana Turner was also in the film seemed to seal her fate. Studio head L.B. Mayer wanted Mickey to be Andy Hardy on and off screen, and he also wanted Judy to stay the sweet little girl who never loses her innocence. But time stops for no one even the little big man at MGM! Judy was now 16!

While I have found several references to an auto accident on May 24th, 1938 involving Judy ( she apparently suffered three broken ribs, a sprained back and a punctured lung)she was back at work on June 11th, the day after her 16th birthday.
Variety commented that"they will have to find a permanent place for Miss Garland in the future Hardy's" while Motion Picture Daily states "(Judy comes) close to taking the honors out of (Mickey Rooney's) hands".

Also:
.Judy recorded one 78" single for Decca...""Cry, Baby,Cry" backed by "Sleep, My
Baby,Sleep" with Spike Jones on drums.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Directed by Victor Fleming MGM Color/B&W

"Over the Rainbow"

MGM wanted to start filming "OZ"in April, 1938 but, since it required a lot of special preparation, the film never got off the ground until mid-October. Since Judy had to bow out for school hours (at least one a day) everyone got a daily hour off...except Judy!
But when production did start, the problems came like dominoes toppling on a board. Buddy Ebsen had to be replaced by Jack Haley after he suffered an almost lethal reaction to the Tin Man's makeup.Mervin LeRoy, the producer, fired Richard Thorpe as director, then after a temporary replacement(George Cukor) called in Victor Fleming. Fleming had to leave to do "Gone With The Wind"before filming was finished so it was King Vidor who did the final scenes and turned out the lights. The Munchkins arrived with a new set of problems(besides reported hotel orgies and getting drunk,one of the male midgets fell into a toilet so male aides were assigned to them to help with "personal hygiene"). Margaret Hamilton was burned badly when she was disappearing in "a burst of smoke and fire and a clap of thunder" and when the scene was reshot her double suffered the same fate. Even Toto wasn't exempt when his paw was heavily stepped on and a look-alike pooch had to be found to do some of the shots.

But the film won Judy a miniature Oscar for best juvenile actor and "Over the Rainbow" won for Best Original Song!

Also:

.Jack Haley had to lip-synch his part in the song" We're Off To See The Wizard" to Buddy Ebsen's voice so that the soundtrack didn't have to be rerecorded!

.It was during OZ that both Mickey and Judy were assigned "companions" by Mayer to "look out" for their best interests. Mickey recognized them for what they were, studio "spies", but Judy was a bit more naive.

Babes In Arms (1939) Directed by Busby Berkeley MGM B&W

"The Dream Team"

This was Judy's first film with director Busby Berkeley, and though he would cause her trouble in later films, none was reported during this shoot. Judy only missed one day of filming due to illness. However, Mickey Rooney recalls that Buzz was often drunk on the set and once almost fell from one of the girders where he had climbed to set up shots of the dancers. To avoid a serious accident, the grips put a rope around his waist, tossed it over a"strut" and held it while he crawled about from girder to girder. Then they picked out the biggest extra around to hold the rope. However, several times Buzz fell off and dangled up there while the big guy held on for dear life.

Also:

.Judy became a regular on NBC radio's "The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope".

.In July 1939, Judy inked a new Decca contract (or at least her mother did it for her because she was a minor) and recorded her first made-for-records version of two Oz songs "Over the Rainbow" and "The Jitterbug" (cut from the film).

.BettyAsher, the studio "companion" assigned to her by Mayer during "OZ" was much in evidence either to watch Judy's diet or curtail her late nightclubbing.

Little Nellie Kelly (1940) Directed by Norman Taurog MGM B&W

'We're going to America"

This film contains the first and only death scene Judy would ever play. In dual roles as young Nellie and Nellie's mother who dies in childbirth, she has her first grown-up role after playing a succession of teenagers with angst. She also gets top billing!

Judy was still hurting from her crush on Artie Shaw and a brief affair with composer Johnny Mercer but she was thrilled when L.B.Mayer helped cut her 18th birthday cake and, two weeks later, she got her high school diploma from Los Angeles' University High School (even though she was tutored at the studio).

Also:
.Before "..Kelly" finished shooting, Judy signed a new MGM contract that called for a raise in salary from $600 to $2000 a week.

.Just after wrapping the picture, Judy had her tonsils out!

.She recorded "A Pretty Girl Milking a Cow" and "It's a Great Day for the Irish" from the film "Little Nellie Kelly" for Decca.

Ziegfeld Girl (1941) Directed by Robert Z. Leonard MGM B&W

Three Gorgeous Girls!

Shooting on "...Girl" began in early October,1940 and the film wrapped with no significant setbacks. Judy even had time to write a personal book of poetry that she shared with her mother and special friends.(the poetry was included in Anne Edwards' biography of Judy published in 1975). She prerecorded "We Must Have Music" and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" but they were cut when a new finale was filmed just one month before the movie opened. Judy must have been thrilled to be included with glamour gals Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr but I found no reports on how they got along.

Also:
.She recorded "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" and "We Must Have Music" (the songs cut from "Ziegfeld Girl) ; and "Our Love Affair" from "Strike Up the Band" for Decca.

.Was anyone checking up on that famous couple sitting at back tables on the nightclub circuit? David Rose and Judy Garland, please call home!

For Me And My Gal (1942) Directed by Busby Berkeley MGM B&W

"We're Going to the Palace!"

This was Judy's first real dramatic role and her first picture with solo billing above the title. It was also Gene Kelly's film debut after phenomenal success on Broadway. Shooting on the film began after Judy and hubby David Rose returned from a personal tour of five army bases in the Midwest.

But there were significant differences in her working schedule. Set call time was postponed until after 1 p.m. and quitting time was at about 5:30 p.m. leaving less than 5 hours on the set until almost the last week of filming. Judy was ill 13 times in the six month shooting schedule and the word on the set was that Judy was also increasingly nervous and agitated by Buzz Berkeley's berating and belittling her. Hedda Hopper claimed that Judy referred to the director as "Simon Legree". Add to that, things at home were falling apart and the marriage was only 7 months old.
But Judy's work on the film was flawless. This would be her biggest hit yet and the New York Herald-Tribune reported: "Miss Garland is someone to reckon with.". The Los Angeles Daily News said "She has the faculty (wonderful for her but tough on an audience) of melting your heart. And, in a sympathetic part, she is murder".

Also:

.Judy extended her contract with Decca (with required MGM approval) and recorded four songs ..two with Gene from the film: "For Me And My Gal" and "When You Wore a Tulip" on a 78 single plus "That Old Black Magic" and "I Never Knew" to be included in a later collection.
.Her role in this film won the heart of Tyrone Power.

Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) Directed by Vincente Minnelli MGM Color

Judy with heartbreaker O'Brien

Judy didn't want to do it. She felt the role of Esther was just another glorified "Andy Hardy" teen lookalike and a secondary role to the "little sister" played by heartbreaker Margaret O'Brien. Judy had just finished "Presenting Lily Mars", a much more glamourous role to rave reviews. But the studio had the role written especially for her , hired knowledgable producer Arthur Freed to create an entirely original musical and Vincente Minnelli was to direct it. So they wouldn't take her "no" for an answer.

But problems developed on the set. Judy was often late, frequently ill and sometimes when she did arrive, she couldn't work and went home. The reliance on pills was out of control. Therefore a movie begun on November 10th, 1943 never wrapped until April 10th. 1944. But again, Judy was superb in the work she did and the movie that cost $1,707,361.14 because of overtime and extra filming costs, got back $7, 566, 000 on its first release with more to come.

Also:
.Judy recorded an "Original Cast Album" for Decca including "The Boy Next Door", "Boys and Girls Like You and Me", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "The Trolley Song","Skip to My Lou" and "Meet Me in St.Louis".

The Clock (1945) Directed byVincente Minnelli MGM B&W

Talking it over..!

This was the only movie that Judy ever lobbied for and she fought hard. But soon she was having trouble on the set. She felt the director wasn't right for the picture and when a top star speaks, it bodes no good for a fledgling director. Fred Zinneman was out and Judy's choice, Vincente Minnelli, was in. Minnelli immediately made drastic changes in the script and the crew. First, he brought in a whole new cast of bit players. Then he changed the script and made New York the focus of the story instead of just the backdrop, allowing the city itself to manipulate the story and the characters.

But the lovers in the plot were soon getting competition from two lovers on the set...Judy and her director!

Also:
.Judy recorded "You Got Me Where You Want Me" and "Mine" with Bing Crosby for Decca.

.When "The Clock" finished shooting, Judy and Vincente Minnelli announced their engagement. They had been living together for two months.

The Harvey Girls (1946) Directed by George Sidney MGM Color

Pistol -packing

Believe it or not, this movie had been planned as a dramatic film for..Lana Turner. Judy wanted to do "Yolanda and the Thief" but Lucille Bremer got that one. So on December 29, 1944, Judy began work on "The Harvey Girls"with John Hodiak and very glamourous, leggy Angela Lansbury. Production sheets show that Judy was seldom on time, left early and was frequently off sick. But once again, although the movie took six months to film and cost $2,524,315.06, it grossed over $5,175,000.00 and was another huge Garland hit!

And on June 15, 1945, the man upstairs (no, L.B.Mayer) gave the bride away when Judy married Vincente Minnelli at her mother's home.

Also:
.Judy recorded "The Harvey Girls Album" for Decca. including the Oscar-winning song "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe".

Easter Parade (1948) Directed by Charles Walters MGM Color

Garland & Astaire!

Gene Kelly began rehearsals as Judy's co-star but when he broke his ankle one month into the shoot, Fred Astaire stepped in. Likewise, when Cyd Charise tore the ligaments in her knee, Ann Miller replaced her. The early calls for this film didn't seem to be a problem for Judy and her sick days were limited to 7 during the 4 1/2 month shooting schedule. But she was exhausted from the back-to-back work in "The Pirate" and "...Parade" combined with an interim stay at a sanatarium for a botched suicide attempt. The "beast" that stalked her seemed unrelenting.
But as always, the pain and weariness did not seem to diminish her fantastic performance and this film became her second highest grossing picture (beaten only by "Meet Me In St. Louis").

Also:
.Oct.26, 1947..Judy took time to appear in "Hollywood Fights Back" a radio show protesting the House UnAmerican Activities Committee.

.Judy did her last recording session with Decca (it would also be her last session for a label until 1953). She recorded 3 songs: "Nothing But You", "I Wish I Were In Love Again", and "Falling In Love With Love" She had done a total of 79 songs for Decca label.

Summer Stock (1950) Directed by Charles Walters MGM Color

"You Wonderful You"

Judy had already lost "Annie Get Your Gun" to Betty Hutton. Her inability to work with Busby Berkeley (soon to be replaced by Chuck Walters) was met with repeated sick days and frequent tardiness so Judy was put on suspension May 10th, 1949. By June of that year the gossip columns reported Judy would return to MGM in "Summer Stock" with Chuck Walters again directing.

She began prerecording for the film on October 13 but called off ill the following week and received a warning letter from MGM after missing 6 of the first 20 days of preproduction. There was no more difficulty and "...Stock" wrapped in mid-February. Then, in mid-March Judy returned for an extra solo, the fabulous "Get Happy" sequence she did in the tuxedo top and that would always identify the song with Judy.

Life magazine: "The great song and dance actress makes this movie a personal triumph. Time called her "One of Hollywood's few triple-threat girls".

Also:
.Judy planned a 6-month vacation after the film was finished but was called back to replace pregnant June Allyson in "Royal Wedding". But Judy was being Judy and so she was later dropped from the film and suspended. It was the last time she would ever work on an MGM movie set.

.In April, 1951 Judy appeared before record crowds at the London Palladium and began her so-called "Concert Years".

A Star Is Born (1954) Directed by George Cukor Warner Brothers Color

"Born In A Trunk"

Sid Luft had the idea and took it to MGM in 1951 but L.B.Mayer felt it wasn't the kind of movie Judy should do. But Warner Brothers thought enough of it to call in Moss Hart to tailor the script and Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin to write the songs. Work began on the picture in August, 1953 but soon Judy was having sick days and by March she took a two week vacation and went off her "prescribed medication". The rest of the shoot went well and, while the picture was well behind schedule, most of the delay was laid at the door of difficult new Cinemascope procedures.

The original cut ran 3 hours and 16 minutes and was cut severely by 27 minutes damaging the final product. The cut portions ( what could be salvaged from recovered stock footage and movie stills) was restored in 1983. It is now considered one of the best loved films of all time. Judy won an Oscar nomination for Best Actress but was beaten by Grace Kelly who won for "The Country Girl". Even Kelly's father admitted "there should have been two awards"! (Judy was in the hospital on Award night with her new baby son, Joey).

Also:
.In 1953, just before starting the film, Judy signed with Mitch Miller and Columbia Records to do 4 songs and Columbia agreed to release the soundtrack of her next film.

.In 1955 Judy's first real fan club was started by a young man in Indiana. It lasted until 1966 and even published its own fan journal "The Garland Gazette".

Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) Directed by Stanley Kramer Universal B&W

Judy as Irene Hoffman

Judy filmed her scenes for this film in only 11 days but her performance in the role of German Irene Hoffman won her another Academy nomination as Best Supporting Actress ( she lost again to Rita Moreno in "West Side Story").When she was finished with the picture, Judy went back to the concert stage. It was 7 months before she ever saw the finished product...at a private screening.

Also:
.Capital record's album "Judy at Carnegie Hall" released in July, 1961, was on the charts for 95 weeks (13 of them in #1) . It won 5 Grammys including Best Solo Vocal Performance.
.In November,1961 Judy spent 3 weeks in Los Angeles recording her role as "Mewsette" for the full-length musical cartoon feature "Gay Purree".

A Child Is Waiting (1963) Directed by John Cassavetes ) United Artists B&W

How to help Reuben

This was a sensitive, well scripted movie with compassionate performances by both Judy and Burt Lancaster. Moreover, the supporting cast of mentally challenged children made it real. But apparently, as the fledgling director Cassavetes put it, it wasn't a subject audiences were ready to deal with yet and they stayed away. However, in my humble opinion, it is a film well worth watching.

On the other hand, this particular January began very badly for Judy with life at home in upheaval and the mood on the set going from bad to worse. On the home front, finances hit bottom, the house had to be sold and Judy's reconciliation with Sid Luft was a failure. On the set, Stanley Kramer was busy with another project and left the director's chair to young Cassavetes whose methods of getting the scenes done his way jarred everyone. Lancaster and Judy both wanted to kill him most of the time. Judy fell into her old ways of arriving late unprepared to work or not coming in at all. By the time the film wrapped after 4 months, the cast was overjoyed to be done with it. But again as always, Judy's bad temperament didn't show on camera.

Also:
.Judy fled to New York where she spent a week in the hospital recovering from exhaustion. Then she took the children to England against Sid's wishes. The headline in one paper read: "Judy Flees Country!"

I Could Go On Singing (1962) Directed by Ronald Neame United Artists Color

Singing was her life..!

Judy should have been as happy as a lark..the director was charming, her co-star Dirk Bogarde was a dear friend and they were shooting in London, scene of some of her greatest concert triumphs. They had even stocked her dressing room with goodies (flowers, Blue Nun wine and Bendick chocolates). But to no avail. Several hours after the first day's shooting, Judy was in a hospital because of an overdose of pills. It looked as though the roller coaster ride was beginning.

But Bogarde took things in hand. When Judy had all she could take and ran to the only place she felt safe (the bathroom) Dirk went after her. She was sitting on the toilet lid crying so he sat on the tub and told her they would rewrite the script the way she wanted. Judy read some of his note and visibly brightened.The two of them actually wrote the climactic hospital scene together. Or, as Dirk puts it, he wrote down what Judy dug up from her gut for the cameras. She breathed life into Jenny Bowman! "She was so good", he said, " she left you breathless"
It would be Judy's last film..