Judy Garland: The Signature Collection [DVD]

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 and 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 and her wonderful singing ability at even this early age.The warm and realistic Hardy family setting and Andy's awakening interest in girls make this a most enjoyable view.ZIEGFELD GIRL (Black and White 1941) - A very good screenplay about three new Ziegfeld recruits, Susan Gallagher (Judy Garland), Sandra Kolter (Hedy Lamarr) and 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) and 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) and songs, and 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 and 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) and later realises it was Murphy after all.The plot hardly matters, this film is a musical showcase crammed from beginning to end with lovely singing and dancing, and 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 and probably the point at which her serious personal decline began.We begin with the unforgettable "Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe" scene and 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 and the classy new "Harvey Dining Rooms" is full of humour.Early appearances of Virginia O'Brien, Cyd Charisse and above all 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 and 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 and there is a lovely elderly chemistry between the proprietor the eccentric Otto Oberkugen (S Z Sakall) and his cashier and 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 and 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 and wonderful. It is a combination of an excellent drama about the decline of a famous star Norman Maine (James Mason) and almost a separate musical charting the career of his protégé and later his wife Vicki Lester (Judy Garland).Cuts and 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 and 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 and has to be researched.Like all great stars Judy bowed out on a high.FINALLY - A true "Signature Edition" demonstrating all sides of Judy Garland's artistry.

This collection is a must have.The updated version of "A Star is Born" makes this film from 1954 a real epic with still shots and reconstructed scenes presented in wide screen format and the song "The Man Who Got Away". Plus the footage on disc two shows a recording of the film premier with stars arriving and being interviewed briefly at one point by Jack Carson who also features in the film. Peggy Lee,Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall,Gloria Greheme, Dean Martin,Gordon Macrae, and a host of others pass through,and of course Judy looking like a Queen with Sidney Luft "her wonderfull husband and producer" as she quotes.Both Judy and James Mason recieved awards for their roles in this film.It is great to see Gene Kelly and Judy in "For Me and My Gal" from 1942-especially for people like me who have grown up with the songs, but never seen the film.In "Ziegfeld Girl" a young Judy Garland is the icing on top of the fabulous cake: With Lana Turner as the girl with a heart, who heads for nervous breakdown. Heidi Lamar is the cool headed beauty who finds contentment with her man.The end sequence to this 1941 film in B/W about the follies really shows what it was all about--something close to heaven with a revolving spiral set with shimmering girls all around and guys below in black evening suits, against a backdrop of stars.An even younger Judy of 1938 features with Mickey Rooney in "Love finds Andy Hardy".Her characteristic vivacity and emotional wistfull appeal are showcased in "The Harvey Girls" of 1945,and with Van Johnson in the swinging "The Good Old Summertime" from 1949. Altogether this collection is Phenomenal.

The delivery went well, allthough some dvd clips inside the box were broken (due to the transport??) so that I have to buy new boxes in order to put my dvd's away in a nice way.The movies themselves were nice if you record the time in which they were made (many years ago).I bought the box because I wanted the movie "In the good old summertime" which is the original movie of (I guess) "you've got mail" with Tom Hanks. The other movies are all classics and the quality is good, although sometimes the movies would, when having a shorter duration, be much better. Still, if you like ALL the Judy Garland movies, this box is a recommendation to you, especially when considering the price. Enjoy!

Received very, very quickly. Got this as an Xmas present for my nan as she enjoyed my box set so much. Love old movies and I love Judy Garland. This is a must have for any Judy Garland fan =]

Her talent shines through everything she did and she was robbed of an Oscar in "A Star Is Born". Her screen-life was tremendous. I saw her twice on-stage and she was magic.

I bought this for my father, he was a big fan of Judy.

The films speak for themselves. This box set perhaps doesn't quite.First, there are 7 dvds, not 6. STAR IS BORN is the deluxe double disc edition. Major bonus! Second, the transfers are gorgeous... except for... LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY and IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME. No real complaint for HARDY. It's a bit scratchy. But tones and contrasts are near perfect and the focus is sharp.The ugly duckling is SUMMERTIME. The print appears too much like VHS. You know. That smeary, ever so muddy look. Hmmm...Okay. Go ahead and buy it anyway. Joyous stuff.

As new and quick delivery.Really worth considering, got the box set for the same price as a single DVD, and only one had been watched. Thank you.

Excellent! Recommended seller, quick delivery, DVD set new as described.

Ce coffret est un vrai plaisir de retrouver la grande Judy Garland dans certains de ses meilleurs film. Et , quitte à paraître un peu ridicule , c'est le Andy Hardy que j'ai préféré. Mais c'est pour "for me and my gal" que je l'ai acheté . Le grand air m'a toujours trotté dans la tête depuis ...

1. For Me And My Gal (USA 1942)mit: Judy Garland, Gene KellySprache: Englisch; UT: Englisch2. The Harvey Girls (USA 1945)mit: Judy Garland, Angela LansburySprache: Englisch; UT: Englisch3. In The Good Old Summertime (USA 1949)mit: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, Buster KeatonSprache: Englisch; UT: Englisch4. Love Finds Andy Hardy (USA 1938)mit: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Lana TurnerSprache: Englisch; UT: Englisch5. A Star Is Born (USA 1954) 2 DVD mit Bonusmit: Judy Garland, James MasonSprache: Englisch, Französich; UT: Englisch, Deutsch und vier weitere6. Ziegfeld Girl (USA 1941)mit: Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, James StewartSprache: Englisch; UT: EnglischEs gibt Extras in Form von Kurzfilmen, Cartoons, Making-ofs und Trailern.Die Bild- und Tonqualität ist für das Alter der Filme sehr ordentlich.Die sieben DVDs befinden sich in zwei Hüllen, diese in einem Pappschuber.Fazit: Bei diesem Preis (Stand: August 2010) kann man nichts falsch machen!

Good

Einfache Verpackung, keine Zugaben, kein Hefte dazu oder Extras, aber darum geht es doch auch nicht. Es geht um die Filme. Ich bin der Meinung, dass diese CDŽs eine sehr gute Übersicht der Qualitäten von Judy Garland zeigen. Sie kann singen, sie kann tanzen, sie hat Sinn für Humor und sie ist einfach bildhübsch. Mein Favorit ist absolut "The Harvey Girls". Auch durch die Rolle von Angela Lansbury.Preis Leistung absolut OK. Empfehlenswert.