SUMMER STOCK (1950)

(Week 14: Gene Kelly)

SUMMER STOCK (1950)

Directed by Charles Walters

There is no reason for this story to be told again. Guy meets girl, and they put on a show. Originally this project was intended to reunite Judy Garland with Mickey Rooney, but due to his decline in popularity, they cast Gene Kelly instead.

This is the kind of movie I was afraid EASTER PARADE was going to be. The difference here is that I actually enjoyed that little story but got bored really quickly with this one. A theater troupe shows up unannounced to use a failing barn to put on a show. Garland's character, the barn owner, puts them to work and ends up taking over the lead role in the show. Surprise, surprise.

There is great chemistry between Kelly and Garland. They had worked together twice before, in FOR ME AND MY GAL and THE PIRATE. They shine when they dance together. However, they aren't giving their best performances here. The characters just aren't well written and give them little to work with. The love story isn't believable. The song numbers stick out of the story rather than being well integrated. Even though they are well choreographed and performed, they just don't help to tell the story. And when the musical numbers don't tell the story, they're just a waste of time.

Those who enjoy watching Garland and Kelly do what they do best will enjoy many of these song-and-dance numbers. Watching these scenes again, I enjoy them more out of context than in, including one of Garland's most iconic numbers, "Get Happy," which not only looks but also feels out of place within the context of the story, having been shot after the filming was completed and the number having nothing to do with the story or the character she portrays in the film at all.

If you are particularly fond of these let's-put-on-a-show stories, or if you are a big fan of Kelly and/or Garland, you might have a fine time watching this. Otherwise, I would skip it. SUMMER STOCK is a good, but far from great, movie musical.