If I Forget You

Harmless little number, filmed, I think, as part of a fundraising effort for a hospital bearing Will Rogers name. As sung by the charming Judy Garland--she hits a particularly nice high note at one point--the number comes off as under-rehearsed, but nonetheless worth a watch and a listen.

This is a harmless little movie that is mostly forgettable except for the presence of Judy Garland. All the film consists of is Judy singing a song about the sad loss of Will Rogers--even though he actually died five years earlier! This isn't exactly timely! And, since Rogers isn't there, she sings to a Frederick Remington-style statue of him on horseback. No real plot or entertainment value, as the song is pretty forgettable. With such thin material, Judy does her best but it's a film that probably won't interest many today--I know I felt totally indifferent about it. In contrast, while Judy's much earlier short BUBBLES was truly dreadful (you really have to see it to believe it), at least it caused an emotional reaction within--IF I FORGET YOU just felt bland and flat.

If I Forget You (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Three-minute tribute to Will Rogers has Judy Garland singing the title song. I'm not sure why this short was limited to just the song, running three minutes, because most of these tributes has the star asking the audience to tribute money to his foundation. That doesn't happen here so you have to wonder why the short was so, well...short. The song is a pretty good one but I'd also question why the movie was so downbeat with Garland all puffy faced and looking like she's on the verge of breaking down. I'm not saying the short should have been a party but why not a more upbeat look at Rogers' life.

I found this drippy song interesting and somewhat moving only because I was a BIG fan of Will Rogers in the 1930's. A BIG fan, that is, for a little kid -- 10 years old when he died. (I went with a friend to hawk an "EX-TREE!!" edition of the local newspaper announcing the 1935 plane crash in Alaska, in which Rogers and Wiley Post -- another hero of mine -- died.)

In this mini-short -- only 3 minutes -- Judy sings the title song to a miniature statue of Rogers on horseback. Nothing happens; she just sits there looking dewy-eyed and runs through the song -- THE END.

One of the strange things about this bit of film is that it took MGM 5 years to come out with it. I've always (for the last 2 or 3 years, since this bit has been turning up on the cable) suspected that it's an excerpt from a longer production, maybe a one- or two-reeler. I have no evidence to support this, however.

It's worth watching if you're a fan or a history buff.

What this short lacks in length it makes up for with emotional punch. Probably if anybody else but Judy Garland had been singing this tribute to Will Rogers it would have seemed a bit over-the-top, but Judy pulls it off admirably. Perhaps it is knowing the details of her life and the pathos which seems to underlie every performance. Her sadness is real, the tune is beautiful, and the lyrics are incomparable. If you have ever known the sorrow of losing a loved one, then this song expresses this loss perhaps better than any ever written. Perhaps the reason it packs such a punch is the way we, Judy's fans feel about her: "Let my forsaking heart forget that it must beat old friend, if I forget, if I forget you."