The hardships faced by Judy Garland throughout her movie career are covered in many books. But despite her struggles, she starred in some of the gems of Hollywood’s Golden Age, among them The Wizard of Oz (1939), Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and A Star is Born (1954). So why did the film historians David Fantle and Tom Johnson choose to focus their new book on Garland’s performance in 1950’s Summer Stock? As they write in C’mon, Get Happy, it’s because the film serves as a novel lens through which to view Garland’s life and career. At the forefront of Fantle and Johnson’s analysis is “Get Happy,” a song-and-dance number that sees Garland expressing emotions she was far from feeling. In other words, her performance is remarkable. At Film Forum, the authors will introduce Summer Stock with a pre-show presentation.
—Jack Sullivan