The Little Girl with the Great Big Voice

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of quite possibly the most famous entertainer in history. Eighty eight years ago today, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Francis and Ethel Gumm welcomed their third daughter, Frances Ethel Gumm. Being the youngest of the family's children, she was immediately nicknamed Baby. Almost as soon as she could walk and talk, she could sing and dance.

At the age of thirteen, she signed a contract with MGM, the biggest studio with the greatest stars. At first they weren't sure what to do with her, and so she spent her first three years at the studio in forgettable movies. Then, in 1939, she was chosen to star in what would become her most well known film, one that would immortalize her and make her known to people all over the world: The Wizard of Oz.

She would stay at MGM until 1950, where her films were hugely popular and successful: Meet Me in St Louis, The Clock, Easter Parade, For Me and My Gal. Well liked by audiences, hers was a regular voice on the radio, singing and cracking jokes with the likes of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. She toured the country entertaining troops during World War II along with Lucille Ball, Greer Garson, James Cagney, and Mickey Rooney among others.

In 1950, she left MGM to embark on a series of concert tours. This was quite a risky venture. Concerts were considered old fashioned and dull and nobody knew how Garland would be received. They needn't have worried though; the concerts were highly successful and Judy was once again on top. In 1954, she took yet another big risk: She decided to make another movie: a musical version of the 1937 film A Star is Born. Directed by George Cukor, the film ran almost three hours. It was extremely successful and, yet again, Judy was back. She was nominated for a Best actress Academy Award but lost out to Grace Kelly. Groucho Marx called it "The biggest robbery since Brinks".

In 1961Judy made yet another "comeback" when she appeared at New York City's Carnegie Hall. Garland sang, danced, talked with the audience and cracked jokes for two hours. It stayed at number one on the Billboard chart and won four Grammys.

But success wasn't without its price. Since childhood, Judy, along with many others in the industry, were on a steady diet of pills. She was taking Benzedrine during the day to give her increased energy to be able to cope with a long day of filming. Because of these, she couldn't sleep, and so she was prescribed Barbiturates to help her sleep. She soon developed a very serious addiction, to the point where she could no longer function without the aid of pills. Although she had tried on numerous occasions to overcome her addiction, she never could, and on June 22, 1969, Judy Garland died of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. She was 47 years old.

It's tough for me to talk about Judy Garland and stay neutral. I've loved her since I was in the fifth grade. She is one of my favorite actresses and one of my favorite singers.  Listening to her sing really puts me in a better mood and helps a bad day brighten up. I'm not sure what I can say about her that hasn't been said before, but, I really am glad that she was around, if only for a short while. She gave so much and touched more people than she could ever know, and continues to inspire people years after her death.

Happy Birthday, Judy

Well, bust my buttons! That's a horse of a different color!

The Wizard of Oz, 1939
 





As usual, it's going to be a little difficult for me to write this without being all gushy and sentimental and saying that I love this movie simply because, well, I always have.


The Wizard of Oz was my first taste of classic cinema I suppose. I've been watching it literally as long as I can remember. It became a full-blown obsession when I was in the fifth grade, and it's stayed that way ever since. The VHS that Ihad included a documentary titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic. I used to watch this all the time and because of it, I was able to drop names like nobody's business. Never mind that I had no idea what I was talking about, but I knew Luis B. Mayer, Victor Flemming, George Cukor, David Selznick, Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Mervyn LeRoy, Gale Sondergaard, Liza Minnelli and even Adrian. Like I said, I probably couldn't have told you who most of those people really were, but I'm sure that I sounded very pretentious rattling off names like that at ten years old. 

It was also the film that introduced me to Judy Garland, who I've always adored.  In the fifth grade, I would have listed her as my favorite actress. She remains among them today. 

I guess I really need to give credit to the Wizard of Oz for introducing me to classic film. I didn't even know it at the time, but it was my first viewing of classic films and so I guess that Citizen Kane needs to move over and give The Wizard of Oz that title.

Toto, that's not polite! We haven't been asked yet!

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

So this should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows the first thing about me. My favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz. Always has been.  I honestly can't remember ever not loving this film.One of my earliest memories if of watching The Wizard of Oz every single time I went to my grandparent's house. I would lie on my grandmother's bed and for two hours be completely lost in the film. .

 Even today, I never fail to be completely captivated by this film. No matter how many times I've watched it before, I'm always up for watching it yet again. I must have seen it about a thousand times. 

Even though the film is seventy years old, it still feels fresh and new and exciting every time you see it. It's not dated, it hasn't gone out of style, and it never will.  

It's kind of hard for me to be objective about The Wizard of Oz and not base my opinions solely on sentiment. It just has always had the most special place in my heart and no matter how many other films I've fallen in love with, nothing has ever managed to take Oz's place. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I was pretty much raised on it but there are other things that I've always loved about this film. Namely, Judy Garland.

The second thing people should know about me is that I absolutely adore Judy Garland. I have since I found out who she was when I was in fifth grade. I think that learning about who she was as a person and all her struggles at such a young age sort of helped influence who I am today. I can remember having anti-drug classes in school and not really caring about the science of addiction and all that. Instead, Judy Garland was my motivation to stay away from drugs. She still sort of is- I am especially terrified of sleep aids because of what happened to her. 

And I've always loved her in this film. It's one of my favorite performances by an actress ever. It's just so honest and pure. You believed every word she said. You can feel her desperation and longing when she sings Over the Rainbow. You can see the wonder and amazement in her eyes when she first enters Oz. You feel her heart break when she thinks that she's not going to get home. You forget that she's Judy Garland. She actually makes you believe that she's just a little girl from Kansas that wants to get home to her aunt and uncle. It's one of the most beautiful performances ever captured on film.

I credit George Cukor for the feel of this film. He was initially hired to direct Gone With the Wind around the same time as The Wizard of Oz was scheduled to start shooting. Before reporting to the Gone With the Wind set, he had a few days to drop by the Oz set and was absolutely appalled at what he saw. The studio had attempted to make Judy Garland into a kind of Shirley Temple look alike, with a curly blonde wig and lots of make up. Cukor immediately had Judy's wig and make up removed and had her hair put into pigtails. Before leaving, he told her to remember that she's "Just a little girl from Kansas." 

I've always loved this movie because sometimes I like to feel five years old again. I love the beauty and innocence of it. I think it's nice that you can escape for two hours into a film in today's world where there's not a lot of beauty to be found.