Genre:
Music
Release Date: 10/20/2009
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 59 min
Distributor/Studio: Classic World
In this 1963
holiday episode of
The Judy Garland Show, a large crop of guest stars, including
Judy Garland's three children, joins the singer for a bevy of classic and contemporary songs, most of them Christmas-themed. Opening with one of her signature tunes,
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from
Meet Me in St. Louis,
Garland makes her way through
"Consider Yourself" (from
Oliver),
"Little Drops of Rain" (from
Gay Purr-ee), and, of course,
"Over the Rainbow" (from
The Wizard of Oz).
Jazz singers
Jack Jones and
Mel Torme also turn up;
Jones solos on
"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and
"Lollipops and Roses", while
Torme duets with
Garland on one of his own classics,
"The Christmas Song" (also known as
"Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire").
Joey Luft and
Lorna Luft,
Garland's two school-age children by third husband
Sidney Luft, get their chance to shine, as does eldest daughter and future superstar
Liza Minnelli. The entire program is staged as a mock Christmas party, complete with dancing
Santas, visiting carolers, and a couple of medleys featuring the entire ensemble.
Garland begins the show by inviting viewers into her "home" -- actually a split-level set dressed to resemble a palatial living room. Episode 15 of
Garland's short-lived
CBS television show,
The Judy Garland Christmas Show was taped on December 6, 1963, and broadcast a few weeks later on December 22. Astute viewers will note that
Garland flubs a line from
Torme's
The Christmas Song, earning a chuckle from its composer, and then deliberately substitutes the word "rainbow" for "reindeer" in the next line -- an allusion to her own signature tune.
Torme served as a consultant for almost the entire run of
Garland's show and their sometimes contentious relationship has been documented in numerous books, including
Torme's own
The Other Side of the Rainbow.
~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
This
holiday classic encapsulates everything that is both ridiculous and sublime about
Judy Garland -- as a singer, if not as an actress. The throaty perfection of her voice enjoyably roughened by years of booze and pill abuse, the star begins with a touching rendition of
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," originally written for her by
Hugh Martin and
Ralph Blane for the
Vincente Minnelli-directed chestnut
Meet Me in St. Louis. Here, though, instead of singing to her onscreen sister,
Garland sings to her real-life children,
Joey and
Lorna, with a mixture of maternal tenderness and interpretive pathos. Forty-five minutes later,
Garland closes with her signature tune
"Over the Rainbow," still managing to wring melancholy hope from it almost 25 years after
The Wizard of Oz. In between these two
tour-de-force songs,
Garland plays ringleader to an absurd holiday circus that veers from precious, but off-key, performances by the aforementioned children to the smooth songcraft of
Mel Torme and
Jack Jones. The show also features proto-
Sally Bowles swagger from
Garland's other daughter,
Liza Minnelli, age 17. There's plenty of showbiz hokum on display, but
Garland's interpretive gifts and strong choice of collaborators turn even the show's stagiest moments into solid entertainment. Her duet with
Torme on one of his own tunes,
"The Christmas Song," features plenty of backstory for
Garland fanatics; for everyone else, it's simply a wonderfully off-the-cuff rendition of a holiday favorite. The group hymns go on a little too long, while
Garland's woozy banter seems both comic and tragic given her eventual death from a drug overdose. But with the possible exception of her post-
JFK rendering of
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" a few weeks later, the bookend classics from
The Judy Garland Christmas Show represent the singer's defining television moments.
~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
;)
