The Judy Garland Show with Jack Jones and Ken Murray (episode 22, aired 23rd February 1964)

In the previous blog post from The Judy Garland Project I wrote that episode 21 of The Judy Garland Show had provided television audiences with an opportunity to see much of Garland’s material from her early 1960s concert tours. This has subsequently enabled future generations to get some feeling for what it would have been like to see Judy on stage in the last decade of her career.

 

Show 22 is a sequel of sorts to episode 21 in that it too features several songs from the Carnegie Hall LP:

‘Swanee’

‘Almost Like Being in Love/This Can’t Be Love’

‘Just You, Just Me’

‘A Foggy Day’ (seated with Mort Lindsey at the piano stool)

and ‘If Love Were All’

Although some of the songs in this episode had already been sung by Judy in previous episodes, it is refreshing to hear her sing them again in a concert-format show, uninterrupted by other business.

‘Just in Time’ (sung previously on Show 9) makes a return here. Judy seems incredibly relaxed in this performance. The Pioneer Artists DVD includes two takes. In the second take of the song she nails it.

Years before her film outtake from In The Good Old Summertime (1949) was archived as a DVD extra by Warner Home Video, ‘Last Night When We Were Young’ TV audiences got a rare chance to see Judy sing this song in this week’s episode.

Another treat from Show 22 is the ‘Judy at the Palace Medley’ (from the Miss Showbusiness LP and her Palace Show of 1951). Garland Introduces the medley by reminding the audience that it was the goal of all vaudeville performers to play at the Palace. Something which Judy achieved three times throughout her career.

Judy’s guests this week are Jack Jones and Ken Murray. Jones sings ‘Love With the Proper Stranger’ and ‘Wives and Lovers’ standing in front of a setting that looks like multiple Connect 4 games! It is a welcome return for Mr Jones which gives the series a sense of consistency. The same effect is given by the repeated appearances of Vic Damone).

The version of Ken Murray’s scene on the Pioneer Artists DVD looks like it has been rescued from a kinescope recording. This weeks clips are mostly from Hollywoods silent era. There are some priceless shots of Charles Laughton pretending to hide behind a car. Footage of stars such as Gloria Swanson, Gary Cooper and Jean Harlow arriving for the premiere of King of Kings in 1927 looks like the opening scene of Singin’ in the Rain (1952).

 

Judy joins Jack for a Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy themed medley. They sing

‘Will You Remember’, ‘Rosalie’, ‘I’ll See You Again’, and ‘Lover Come Back to Me’.

Jack informs Judy that he was born the night that his father recorded ‘The Donkey Serenade’ from The Firefly (1938). “Oh I love that song!” Exclaims Judy. They end the set by duetting with this number – Allan Jones’s biggest hit.

Show 22 ends with only one song during the Trunk segment, ‘When the Sun Comes Out’ which Judy had first sung on Show 1. This episode is undoubtedly another concert to treasure. The following week would see an unusually placed return to an earlier format…

Garland’s Gowns (by Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie):

There are three costume changes in this show. Judy wears the twin set with bow at the neck during the Ken Murray scene that she had worn in Show 21 during her duet with Mel Torme. During the MacDonald/Eddy duet she wears the dress with a lattice design worn previously in episode 19 (with the Kirby Stone Four).

The most memorable outfit from this show however is the zebra-striped dress she wears during the concert scenes. In Show 18 she had worn a long zebra skirt with a plain top and a cape. In Show 22 we get the full zebra effect. Another Aghayan success!

 

The Judy Garland Show with Louis Jourdan and The Kirby Stone Four (episode 19, aired 2nd February 1964)

Show 19 opens with Judy singing ‘San Francisco’ in front of an orchestra on the studio stage. This is a hint at the style of show that Judy wanted her programme to be and which would finally be granted the following week with her first full, televised concert.

Her guests this week are Louis Jourdan – who joined MGM at the tail end of the studio system – and The Kirby Stone Four. Ken Murray returns again with some treats include footage of John Barrymore and Delores Costello acting on a silent film set for The Sea Beast (1926). There are also some marvellous shots of Marie Dressler, behind the scenes footage of Gigi (1958) being filmed in France, and Maurice Chevalier’s test singing ‘Louise’ for Innocents of Paris (1929).

There is a change of format in this show in that there is no comedy spot, and so, the opening number is not followed by a comedy sketch, but rather, more music. The Kirby Stone Four provide this, and are joined by Judy at the end of their performance, when she sings ‘Whispering’. When they invite Jourdan onto the stage he wants to swing ‘Baubles, Bangles and Beads’ but Garland wants something more romantic and threatens that they won’t pay him! Louis is convinced to change his tune and sings ‘I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad’, backed by some Gay Nineties belles.

In contrast to the Merman episode which Coyne Steven Sanders argued had a cheap look due to its lack of scenery, Show 19 features perhaps the most fully built and furnished set construction of the entire series for Judy’s rendition of ‘Paris is a Lonely Town’ from Gay Purr-ee (1963). The camera tracks through a very elaborate set made to look like a French apartment furnished with antique furniture. Judy stands by the window with the Eiffel Tower in the distance to sing Mewsette’s mournful ballad.

At the song’s conclusion, she moves across the set and sits at a table to sing ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ with deadpan face. It gradually becomes apparent, however, that she is sending up the Kern/Harbach song. Fricke discloses that Judy ‘hated the song’ (Fricke, 2003: 277). The room becomes engulfed in smoke and firefighters break into the apartment and remove the fixtures and furniture including some life size cut outs of Wizard of Oz (1939) characters. The elaborate set is struck before our very eyes. Although it is amusing it is not quite as laugh-out-loud hilarious as it could have been. Maybe it needed camping up a bit more or would have benefitted from some more raucous audience laughter.

The other musical scenes in this episode are the Jourdan / Garland duets of children’s songs: ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’, ‘Huckleberry Hound’, and ‘Give a Little Whistle’. In the last song Judy puckers up but no sound comes out. She confesses that she can’t whistle! It is a charming scene, but not the most memorable.

For the Trunk segment, Judy once again mentions her admiration for Irving Berlin, and sings ‘What’ll I Do When You Are Far Away’. She finishes Show 19 with ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’. This is a response to requests from viewers but this performance does not reach the lofty heights reached in Show 16. Perhaps the memories of that spectacular rendition were too strong for the magic to be repeated.

On reflection, this episode is arguably a bit of a lull, but the following week’s episode was going to be another landmark of the series…

 

Garland’s Gowns (By Ray Aghayan and assistant Bob Mackie):

Judy wears a floor length dress, with a lattice pattern of sequins in the opening concert appearance. For the ‘Paris’ scenes she wears a white dress with jewelled neckline. Judy has changed into an embroidered and beaded top with a flowing skirt decorated with feathers for the children’s song medley. This is shown to its best advantage during the waltz to ‘Some Day My Prince Will Come’ at the end of the scene.

In the Trunk segment Judy wears the pale dress with large sequins at the cuffs that she wore in Show 17.

Further reading: 

Fricke, John, 2003, Judy Garland, A Portrait in Art and Anecdote, New York: Bullfinch press

The Judy Garland Show with Martha Raye and Peter Lawford (episode 18, aired 26th January 1964)

This is another great example of The Judy Garland Show during the latter Colleran era, particularly due to the presence of the zany Martha Raye – a musical comedy star who had been married to David Rose prior to Judy’s marriage to the same musician. Judy’s co-star from Easter Parade (1948), Peter Lawford is the other main guest, although there are no nostalgic references to their previous work together. Sometimes it is good to look forward rather than back. Lawford would appear with Garland on television once again in 1968 on the Mike Douglas Show. On that occasion they did discuss their work on Easter Parade and particularly ‘Fella With An Umbrella’.

This week’s episode also features an early TV appearance by Rich Little. He performs his uncanny impressions of Hollywood stars with Judy seated beside him. His rendition of ‘The Man that Got Away’ with the voices Jack Benny, George Burns, Fred MacMurray, Jack Hawkins, John Wayne, Alfred Hitchcock, Walter Brennan, and James Mason has Judy in hysterics. Movie maker Ken Murray is also invited back this week. He says Judy has made it possible for Murray to have ‘open house’ for the general public to see the movies he’s been showing to friends at home for the past twenty five years.

The clips on this occasion are focused on sports and include: Dick Powell, Bing Crosby, John Barrymore, Harry Langdon, Bob Hope, Wil Rogers, Leslie Howard, James Gleason and Judy herself watching some tennis. Peter Lawford is shown surfing and sleeping! Apart from the interludes provided by Rich little and Ken Murray, the rest of the 50 minutes are devoted to music.

*****

Judy opens the show with a spirited performance of ‘76 Trombones’ from The Music Man. Although she is miming to a playback whilst strutting around the brass band it is a very energetic recording, and Judy probably needed oxygen after singing it!

Martha Raye’s solo spot is a rendition of ‘Takin’ a Chance on Love’, which she sings and dances with some of the programme’s chorus boys. This is followed by Lawford’s scene in which he is attended to by his Butler and mini-skirted maids. The bare set is dressed with furniture while Lawford sings ‘It’s So Nice to Have a Man Around the House’. By this point in his career Lawford had become much more louche in style than he was during his MGM era – the influence of his association with the Rat Pack, no doubt. Lawford’s lady guest as announced by the butler is Judy Garland and in this sketch she seems every bit as resistant to Lawford’s charms as Hannah Brown was to Johnny in Easter Parade! Judy sings ‘I’m Old Fashioned’, but by the end of the song, Lawford has sneaked off to bed “feeling queasy” and is replaced by the butler.

The highlight of the show and one of the most hilarious scenes of the entire series comes net. It is the Glenn Miller medley sung by Martha Raye and Judy. Garland introduces the scene as dress rehearsal footage. The producers had decided to use this clip because of the spontaneous mischief demonstrated by both stars. Raye punctuates the performance with face-mugging, drawing attention to Judy’s flubs, and there are hints at a girl-on-girl flirtation that sends them into fits of giggles.

The musical comedy sketch in the second half of the show does not quite live up to the laughs provided by the Glenn Miller scene. Lawford introduces a medley of current pop songs sung earnestly and with straight faces by Raye, Garland and himself. The scene succeeds however, in highlighting how poor the current trends in music were compared to the rest of the material that Judy and her guests sing on the show, especially in the Trunk spot that follows.

In this week’s finale, Judy sings ‘All Alone’ by Irving Berlin, and ‘Oh Lord I’m On My Way’. Although the orchestra plays ‘Maybe I Will Come Back’, Judy does not sing it, and walks off out of sight to the rear of the stage during the end credits. It would seem that she has grown tired of regularly singing this song.

 

Garland’s Gowns: (By Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie)

Judy wears an exceedingly glamorous outfit in the Trunk spot this week. A zebra-striped skirt with a white top and dark cape. The inside of the cape has matching zebra stripes. This outfit would suggest that Aghayan was getting ever more experimental with his costumes.

Earlier in the show Judy wears a wool cape and pillbox hat. During the Glenn Miller sketch she wears a skirt, blouse and waistcoat (possibly what was under the wool cape). In the 1960s pop medley she wears a white sparkly top and white skirt. It is the same outfit she wore for ‘By Myself’ in the Vic Damone episode the previous week. The zebra skirt and cape, however, is undoubtedly the most striking costume of he series so far.

The Judy Garland Show with Chita Rivera, Vic Damone, Louis Nye and Ken Murray (episode 17, aired 19th January 1964)

By this point in the series, it seems that the production team were getting things right. This episode has a similar formula to the previous two that had been broadcast and a lot more time is devoted to music. In comparison to the earlier show with Count Basie in which Judy is off screen for almost half an hour, Show 17 has got much more Garland magic for our enjoyment! Judy sings numerous songs from her repertoire including ‘Better Luck Next Time’ from Easter Parade (1948), ‘By Myself’ from I Could Go On Singing (1963) and her ‘Almost Like Being in Love/This Can’t Be Love’ medley from the Carnegie Hall LP. There is also a Broadway mini concert of material from West Side Story that Judy sings with Vic Damone, so this is clearly an episode sparkling with highlights. Judy is also given the full glamour treatment as evidenced by the opening number ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’ in which she is backed by a chorus of ‘Fred Astaires’ in evening wear. She is also evidently delighted throughout the show as evidenced by her beaming smiles throughout.

The Tea for Two segment has been replaced here by Ken Murray’s guest appearance in which he screens his home movies, whilst Garland and he make spontaneous comments over them. Louis Nye provides stand up comedy.

Let’s return to the beginning of the show. After ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’, Judy introduces her guest Chita Rivera to Nye. Nye claims to lack confidence and pretends to be a jittery and sensitive wreck, to which Judy and Chita serenade him with ‘I Believe in You’ from the musical How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. This gives him the big build-up that he needs for his sketch.

Judy welcomes her other male guest, Mr Damone with another musical intro, this time singing, “There’s a somebody I’m longing to see…” Damone was one of her favourite guests and returned several times to The Judy Garland Show. His solo is ‘You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You’. Simply staged in semi darkness, the set pulls away to reveal Chita Rivera who removes her feather-trimmed cape to sing and dance ‘I’ve Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’’. It’s always refreshing to have a dancing guest artist on the show too, and Rivera’s energetic delivery provides another high spot.

Judy’s solo of ‘By Myself’ closes the first half of the show. It is worth noting her memory for choreography – she retains some of the same moves from her movie performance, circling around mid song and walking off during the applause.

Once the commercial break is over, it is time for the Ken Murray spot. “And now the man who makes movies of people who make movies!” exclaims Judy. Mr. Murray is quite modest about the significance of his work, simply stating that he shot 16mm films to send back home to his family rather than mailing postcards. Judy is genuinely surprised to see the footage, which makes for great reaction commentary. To the shots of herself playing tennis at a charity event in the late 1930s she jokes “quite plump! Now I know what Louis Mayer had in mind…” There are clips of many of Garland’s old co-stars and friends including Mickey Rooney, Ann Rutherford, Jane Powell, June Allyson and Van Johnson. Murray has even managed to convince Eleanor Powell to dance for the camera in her own back garden! The footage is priceless.

The West Side Story mini concert provides a follow-up to Garland and Damone’s Porgy and Bess medley a few episodes before. The vocals are pre-recorded because there were plans to release this as part of an LP. It must be difficult to sing to a playback that you haven’t had much opportunity to become familiar with during a weekly television show. Unfortunately the lip-syncing is more noticeable in this performance than any others in the series, which is a bit distracting at times. The quality of the singing can’t be faulted though!

Suddenly the end of the episode is upon us and it is time for the Trunk section. Judy talks about Fred Astaire and what a great honour it was to dance with him in Easter Parade. “I don’t know if I kept up with him very well but I did my best!” she says modestly. For this rendition of ‘Better Luck Next Time’, Judy does not have to break down and sob at the end like Hannah Brown did! Instead Judy smiles and sings her ‘It’s Almost Like Being in Love’ and ‘This Can’t Be Love’ medley. She has the audience in her palms.

Garland’s old co-star George Murphy is the ‘cousin’ mentioned during ‘Maybe Will Come Back’. During the credits, Judy exits via the audience and sits with Lee Remick (wife of the show’s producer, Bill Colleran). Joey and Lorna then join Mama for hugs and are encouraged to bow. In a series of so many spectacular shows it is easy to sometimes overlook some episodes. What a treat to rediscover this episode again!

 

Garland’s Gowns (by Ray Aghayan and assistant Bob Mackie):

There are numerous costume changes in Show 17. By this stage, Judy had moved well into the high-glamor era of the series and looks dazzling in all her outfits. During ‘They Can’t Take that Away from Me’ she wears an incredibly elegant velvet top and long skirt. The top is constructed into a cape at the back and has mink cuffs at the elbows.

For ‘By Myself’ she has a sparkly top with a low neckline and long skirt, and looks much more sophisticated than in the notorious red dress she wore for the same song in I Could Go On Singing! In her mini concert with Vic Damone Judy wears a sequined blouse and white skirt, and in her final costume change at the end of the episode she wears a white skirt and top – the latter of which is buttoned up at the back and has oversized sequins at the cuffs.