JUDY GARLAND BIOGRAPHY "Beyond The Rainbow" DVD, A&E ~ Rare Documentary -90 min.

Description: This is a rare Judy Garland biography from 1997. This rare promotional DVD comes in a plain jewel case with basic information stamped on it. The DVD is sealed. The DVD is in perfect mint condition and has never been viewed. The quality of the picture and sound is 100% perfect. Fully guaranteed. See my other items for 2 more documentaries on Judy Garland (a total of 3 documentaries) . Buy 2 or more DVDs and get free shipping! Judy wouldn't be able to sing anymore, but what stories she could tell! Now it remains for others to tell them, and they do, they do, in this terrific "Biography" special. This is easily one of the best, most candid and most fascinating "Biography" shows ever produced, partly because its subject seemed to live a dozen lives rolled into one and partly because co-producers and co-writers seem to appreciate fully what made Garland great and wonderful as well as a first-class pain in the neck to work with. Their 90-minute film is full of pungent and poignant reminiscences from friends and cronies, most of them of Garland's generation. Among them: June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, Eddie Bracken, Robert Goulet, Margaret Whiting, Jackie Cooper, Ann Miller, Betty Comden and Adolph Green and even Hugh Martin, who wrote the lyrics for "Meet Me in St. Louis." Martin sings the original lyric for "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and explains why Garland insisted he change it. It was too sad, and she didn't want to come off that way. For whatever reason, the producers were not able to interview Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli, but they dug up plenty of footage of her talking about her mother on shows of the past. Others represented in previously filmed interviews include the late Vincente Minnelli, Dore Schary and George Cukor. Garland herself is seen chatting entertainingly with Jack Paar and Barbara Walters. The producers also found three living Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz," including Meinhardt Raabe, who played the coroner. We also hear from the widow of the doctor who brought Judy Garland into the world and who, fatefully enough, talked Garland's father and mother, Frank and Ethel Gumm, out of having an abortion. They had two children already and were hurting for money. World-famous at age 16 for playing Dorothy Gale in "Oz," Garland went on to a singing and acting career of tremendous, almost self-parodic turbulence and heartbreak. But since she came out of the vaudeville tradition that said "the show must go on," she continued to dazzle and frazzle audiences until the end. It took Jones and Fricke a year to convince A&E that Garland was worthy of a "Biography" special and another year and a half to make the program. Among the rare performances that are included is the unforgettable finale of a 1955 CBS Garland special. Garland, still in hobo makeup from a previous number (probably "A Couple of Swells," from "Easter Parade"), sits down on the edge of the stage and sings "Over the Rainbow" as she never quite sang it before, tinged with rueful bitterness. It was and remains a show biz landmark. Best of all are the friends and associates of Garland, who remember her for her talent, her wit and all the bad things that happened when others tried to exploit her. At MGM, young Garland soon found herself on a studio-administered diet of uppers and downers to wake her up and put her to sleep and to help control her weight. Ann Miller recalls a doctor who insisted on giving Garland drugs even though they were clearly making her miserable. "I could have taken a pot and hit him in the head," Miller says, clearly (and touchingly) still angry. Writer-producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who had an affair with Garland, remembers saying "The girl needs help" and trying to get her to a psychiatrist. But studio boss Louis B. Mayer objected, saying he didn't want the word getting out that MGM stars were crazy. They say that for many gay men, Garland was a symbol not of pathos but of resilience. The gay connection goes way back, apparently; Garland's father had affairs with men, it is reported, and Liza's first husband was gay entertainer Peter Allen. Jewison remembers a meeting with Garland backstage at an ice rink in the early '60s. She asked Jewison to wait a moment while she made a phone call. He sat there as she sang "Over the Rainbow" to someone at the other end of the phone and then added, "Happy birthday, Mr. President" before hanging up. She'd called John F. Kennedy in the White House and given him a gift only she could possibly have given. Instead of ending with "Over the Rainbow," which would have been easy and obvious, the program concludes with Judy singing "Look for the Silver Lining" from "Till the Clouds Roll By,"

Price: 21.99 USD

Location: Chino, California

End Time: 2024-12-21T16:28:39.000Z

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