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.

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.

Starting in 1936, most of the the major film studios in Hollywood, on a rotating basis,and at no charge, would make an annual theatrical short to be shown country-wide and, following the showing, the lights would come up and ushers, employees and owners would then pass buckets (mostly) from front-to-back and down each aisle for the patrons to drop money in for the support of the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital (tuberculosis sanatorium) located at Saranac Lake in Essex County, New York.

It was not a let's-make-a-salute short to Will Rogers per se (albeit archive footage of Wil Rogers was used in every one of these)...it was a funds appeal to support the hospital.

The studio that produced it would primarily use performers under contract to that studio, but the film itself was distributed through the hundreds of film exchanges throughout America of all of the major studios(and not just that year's producing studio), plus it was distributed via National Screen Service.

THe suggestion here is before so-called "reviewers" start their "expert" critiques of the Will Rogers Memorial Funds annual shorts, they should at least have a bit of film knowledge in their Critics Kit and know exactly why the short was made.

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.

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."