In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Miklós László (play)
Samson Raphaelson (earlier screenplay)

Release Date:

29 July 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

It's turn of the century America when Andrew and Veronica first meet - by crashing into each other....

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Pen Pal | Stradivarius | Foreign Language Adaptation | Letter Writing

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Judy Garland	...	Veronica Fisher
Van Johnson	...	Andrew Delby Larkin
S.Z. Sakall	...	Otto Oberkugen (as S.Z. 'Cuddles' Sakall)
Spring Byington	...	Nellie Burke
Clinton Sundberg	...	Rudy Hansen
Buster Keaton	...	Hickey
Marcia Van Dyke	...	Louise Parkson
Lillian Bronson	...	Aunt Addie

Also Known As:

I Don't Care (USA) (working title)
The Girl from Chicago (USA) (original script title)
The Good Old Summertime (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:PG | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The deleted song "Last Night When We Were Young" (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg), sung by a heartbroken Judy Garland in her bedroom, already had been cut from an earlier picture: Metropolitan (1935), vocalized by Lawrence Tibbett, who also made a commercial recording for Victor. Miss Garland, after discovering the Tibbett record, considered this impassioned lament her favorite song. Judy's prerecording was issued on several albums by MGM Records over two decades, beginning in 1951 with the 10-inch LP "Judy Garland Sings." On CD, the audio is featured on the Rhino Handmade release of the soundtrack, which is paired with the score of Miss Garland's Summer Stock (1950). On three notable occasions, Miss Garland returned to "Last Night When We Were Young": together with acclaimed jazz pianist Joe Bushkin on her half-hour CBS-TV special (with Nelson Riddle serving as the arranger and conductor), broadcast the evening of October 8, 1956 on "General Electric Theater" (1953); for her best-selling Capitol album, released in October 1956, simply entitled "Judy," arranged and conducted by Mr. Riddle, the LP updated to a Collectibles CD which also contains Garland's 1955 Capitol album, "Miss Show Business"; and for the February 23, 1964 telecast of her CBS series, "The Judy Garland Show" (1963).

Goofs:

Continuity: When singing "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland", Veronica lifts the harp several times. Sometimes the bottom of the harp is plain wood, but sometimes it is covered with green felt.

Quotes:

Veronica Fisher: Mr. Larkin, what about his mind? Did you find him intellegent, witty...
Andrew Delby Larkin: Witty? No, no, not witty, but then you can't judge a man when he's out of a job.
Veronica Fisher: Out of a job!
Andrew Delby Larkin: Well, yes.
Veronica Fisher: He never said anything to me about that.
Andrew Delby Larkin: Well he probably didn't want to worry you. But he thinks you can both live quite comfortably on what you make.
Veronica Fisher: [horrified] Did he ask you what I make?
Andrew Delby Larkin: Well, after all, he is your fiance.

Movie Connections:

Featured in So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Merry Christmas

Conventional, But Beautifully Done

This story of two co-workers who loathe each other--and then perversely fall in love when they correspond anonymously through a lonelyhearts club--has been filmed three times, first in the 1930s as THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER with stars James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan and most recently in the 1990s as YOU'VE GOT MAIL with stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. This 1940s musical version, which sets the story in an early 1900s Chicago music shop, stars Judy Garland and Van Johnson.

Although the score is not in the least memorable, Garland is in fine voice, and although they lack any real chemistry she and Van Johnson play well together. More appealing is a romantic subplot concerning shop owner S.Z. Sakall and his long time ladyfriend Spring Byington, who are extremely charming in their roles and quite a bit of fun to watch. Fans of Buster Keaton will also enjoy seeing him in a small cameo role, and film buffs will be delighted to see Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli make her film debut in the movie's closing moments.

Although there is a great deal to enjoy here, the material is highly conventional, and the project would have benefited from a more gifted directorial vision. A quality product with remarkable stars--don't expect too much and you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer