Customer Reviews
Great collection but DVDs very minimal - By: G. Matthews, 21 Sep 2007 
No complaints with the films themselves but the DVDs have no options on them other than PLAY & SUBTITLES - they are not divided into chapters so you cannot go directly to the musical numbers like most classic musical DVDs. This is a pity as both my 8 yr old girl & 3 yr old boy love watching the music & dancing but some parts of these films are not suitable for young children (eg. the fighting, guns, & fire scenes in The Harvey Girls & the WW1 scenes in For Me & My Gal.)
A true "Signature Edition" of a wonderful artist. - By: pointone, 28 Dec 2006 I decided to watch the films in chronological order to understand Garlands development towards her ultimate triumph A Star is Born.
LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY (Black & White - 1938) Garland was fifteen when she made her first of three appearances as Betsy Booth alongside Mickey Rooney in his third of sixteen outings as Andy Hardy.
This film pulls together so much about their partnership in juvenile musicals that resulted in a livelong real life brother sister relationship between the stars (Rooney's words in "That's Entertainment"). It is also an example of the "ugly duckling" character Garland played in many of her early films & her wonderful singing ability at even this early age.
The warm & realistic Hardy family setting & Andy's awakening interest in girls make this a most enjoyable view.
ZIEGFELD GIRL (Black & White 1941) - A very good screenplay about three new Ziegfeld recruits, Susan Galllagher (Judy Garland), Sandra Kolter (Hedy Lamarr) & Sheila Regan (Lana Turner) as they experience the follies for the first time ("the Follies is like the rest of life but lived at a mile a minute" someone comments) & it's effect on their personal relationships makes this a special musical for me. Jimmy Stewart has a nice role as Sheila's jilted truck driver boy friend.
Spectacular dance scenes by Busby Berkley (Garland felt intimidated by this legendary disciplinarian) & songs, & in case the finale seems familiar, it is, it is culled from "The Great Ziegfeld") but with Garland superimposed on the top.
FOR ME AND MY GIRL (Black & White 1942) - A typical musical plot. Garland has boy, (her dancing partner George Murphy} then leaves him for Gene Kelley (in a superb film debut) & later realises it was Murphy after alll.
The plot hardly matters, this film is a musical showcase crammed from beginning to end with lovely singing & dancing, & the plot which spans WW1 resonates with America entering WWII after Pearl Harbour.
Judy Garland at her youthful best.
THE HARVEY GIRLS (Technicolor 1946) - Garland at the peak of her career & probably the point at which her serious personal decline began.
We begin with the unforgettable "Atchison Topeka & the Santa Fe" scene & from then on this is just a marvellously produced romp with a wonderful women's wardrobe in co-ordinated pastel colours superbly filmed in Technicolor, served up in a great DVD transfer.
Warm hearted the rivalry between Ned Trent (John Hodiak) the soft centred tough owner of the established Alhambra Saloon & the classy new "Harvey Dining Rooms" is full of humour.
Early appearances of Virginia O'Brien, Cyd Charisse & above alll Angela Lansbury as "Em" the queen of the Alhambra.
The final cut omitted a show stopping protracted musical routine "The March of the Doagies" that can be seen on "That's Entertainment III".
Quintessential Garland.
IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME (Technicolor 1949) - Set in a music shop this is more of a dramatic opportunity for Garland although she does demonstrate a few songs to customers. The plot of a couple disliking each other - Veronica Fisher (Garland) as a saleswoman & her supervisor Andrew Larkin (Van Johnson) whilst carrying on an anonymous loving correspondence. The plot may be fairly routine but the screenplay certainly is not & there is a lovely elderly chemistry between the proprietor the eccentric Otto Oberkugen (S Z Sakalll) & his cashier & long time sweetheart Nellie Burke (Spring Byington).
Lovely final touch is the screen debut (at eighteen months) of Liza Minelli.
A STAR IS BORN (Technicolor 1954) - It is only five years since "In the good old Summertime" but alcohol, barbiturates & amphetamines have aged Garland so much she looks in her mid forties instead of just thirty two.
"A Star is Born" is one of those films that are both flawed & wonderful. It is a combination of an excellent drama about the decline of a famous star Norman Maine (James Mason) & almost a separate musical charting the career of his protégé & later his wife Vicki Lester (Judy Garland).
Cuts & changes of direction lead to some strange juxtapositions, particularly the fifteen minute "Born in a Trunk Medley" that appears for seemingly no reason, inserted at a late date it just commences out of the blue & with no immediate relevance.
Also a major restoration in 1983 of material cut from the original release was extended to include scenes where the dialogue only remains supported by production stills, this is baffling as there is no reference in the Extras disc & has to be researched.
Like alll great stars Judy bowed out on a high.
FINALLY - A true "Signature Edition" demonstrating alll sides of Judy Garland's artistry.
I love Judy. A wonderful set - By: Mr. Nicholas Davies, 06 Nov 2006 What a fantastic colection of Judy films we have here. All six films are only availiable (except a star is born) to uk viewers in this box set. Anyone familiar with Judy will by now know that these films are an essential purchase. For me & my gal will remain my favourite of the six films because of the wonderful songs & story (especiallly the title track). There is only one film complete with a few extras (a star is born) which is a mild dissapointment, but on the whole we buy Judy's films to watch her perform & act rather than to watch extras, so I can't reallly complain.
Lovely work. Thank you Judy.
