Pasión teatral

Too bad that JUDY GARLAND was at her most attractive, photographed with great skill and looking fabulous--while coping with a script that had to be an insult to anyone's intelligence--even way back in 1943!

VAN HEFLIN proves that he had a certain comic flair (although a little exaggerated) and was certainly worthy of a better role than the one he copes with here. Supporting players Spring Byington and Fay Bainter lend solid support--but it's all just too weak in the story department for anyone to overcome the ridiculous script.

Judy manages to get through the material in good shape--showing comic skill in many scenes and emotional maturity in others. The ending is rather predictable and is followed by a show biz finale that seems to be tacked on to give the film a plush fade-out in which Garland has a change to dazzle us with her musical talent. Which she does.

But, all in all, lacks the charm and credibility it should have had to make it truly worth watching. Among the supporting players, Connie Gilchrist and Richard Carlson do some nice work. Carlson is surprisingly gifted at comedy and should have attempted more such roles.

Worth noting: the doorknob business is the only original touch in the whole show!

Presenting Lily Mars (MGM, 1943) is a cute film, but in my opinion it could have been better. Judy Garland is great as always, but some scenes in the film seem out of place and the romance between her and Van Heflin develops all too quickly.

I mean, one minute he's ready to beat her butt, but the next minute he falls in love with her. I believe that this production, the film editing, and the script ( even though the photography was great, the scenery was nice and the costumes were nice as well) could have been a little better. It feels as though the production was too rushed.

The supporting cast was good as well, especially little Janet Chapman as the second youngest daughter daughter Rosie. She at the age of 11, looks really cute and it's a shame that she didn't develop into a teenage comic actress. She's much better in this film than in her previous films as Warner Brothers in the late 1930's (except for Broadway Musketeers 1938, she's really good in that), when they tried to make her into a Shirley Temple/Sybil Jason hybrid. Overall, this film could better, but in the end, Judy gave it her all.

First of all, she never looked better... sort of the apotheosis of all that evil energy MGM spent in turning Frances Gumm into Judy Garland. Blondish (and not a wig), thin (but not too thin), energized and comic (working her mannerisms rather than the reverse), and she sounds great. Moreover, Hollywood and Tarkington were made for each other, and the payoff works here as well. Clever americana, with truly inspired set pieces surrounding Judy's attempts to get "discovered" by "local boy makes good" producer, Heflin.

The tacked-on, mega-production ending is a real clunker and can leave a bad aftertaste. Avoid the ending if you can pull yourself away. But for this grandiose, ill-fitting finale, an almost perfect Garland musical and as good as she gets (which is the best singing actress ever to grace the screen).

One more point in Garland's favor: she plays the perfect "straight man" in two comic scenes with her on screen younger sister. Given Garland's reputation, let alone the instincts of any actor not to be upstaged, one can't but admire her generosity. Her self-confidence and generosity in these scenes make the film that much funnier and stronger.

Finally caught up with this one on Turner Classic Movies, in a pristine video transfer, doing full justice to Joseph Ruttenberg's glowing black-and-white cinematography.

Opinions on this one among other IMDb-ers seem, not surprisingly, rather mixed, since the clichés that form the basis for this script are not quite sufficiently redeemed by a generally excellent supporting cast, as well as very deluxe art and set decoration, including a stunning nightclub set. (It almost makes one want to exclaim, "Who needs Technicolor?!?")

But Judy, looking really lovely, performs her heart out and more than holds her own amidst the sort of sentimental claptrap that Louis B. Mayer insisted be fashioned around her maturing femininity. It's also said that Mayer dictated that the final overblown production number should be tacked on to conclude the picture, with Charles Walters, later to be one of Garland's most congenial directors (after the bloom was off the rose of Vincente Minnelli's Svengali-like love affair with Judy), dancing up a storm with her, making one wish that he'd done quite a bit more performing in front of the camera .

Any film, by the way, that gives the wonderful Connie Gilchrist a chance to appear for even only a few minutes of its running time is simply not to be missed. What a treasure she was!

This was one of the Judy films that I've been wanting to see for a long time, as it does not appear to be avalible on video in the UK, So I got it from the USA, and luckily my televideo can play NTSC tapes!

This is one of my fave Joots movies. She plays a stronger character then in any of her early MGM movies. -For once she isn't running after a man she cannot have, and is not feeling unattractive compared to a more glamourous star. (poor Judy who had a low self esteem was often put in these roles) She plays Lily Mars, a strong willed, ambitious and stubbon young lady who is determined to be noticed by a big Broadway producer, and will do it by any means. Judy really shows her comic talents in this movie, and looks lovely.