Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Robert Allan Ackerman

Writers (WGA):

Lorna Luft (memoir)
Robert L. Freedman (teleplay)

Release Date:

25 February 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Dorothy found the end of the rainbow. Judy spent her life looking for it.

Plot:

The Judy Garland story from the 1930s until her death.

Plot Keywords:

Child Star | Prescription Drug Addiction | Carnegie Hall | Film History | Stepfather

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Judy Davis	...	Judy Garland
Victor Garber	...	Sid Luft
Hugh Laurie	...	Vincente Minnelli
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Roger Edens
Sonja Smits	...	Kay Thompson
Jayne Eastwood	...	Lottie
Daniel Kash	...	Arthur Freed
Alison Pill	...	Young Lorna Luft
Aidan Devine	...	Frank Gumm
Stewart Bick	...	Artie Shaw
Tammy Blanchard	...	Young Judy Garland
Amber Metcalfe	...	Lorna Luft, age 6
Al Waxman	...	Louis B. Mayer
Marsha Mason	...	Ethel Gumm
Krista Sutton	...	Lorna Luft, adult

Also Known As:

Judy Garland: L'ombre d'une étoile (Canada: French title)
Me & My Shadows (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Parkwood Estate, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

Final film appearance of longtime Canadian actor Al Waxman who played Louis B. Mayer; he died before the film was first broadcast.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Judy sings the wrong "Eli Eli" to Louis Mayer. We hear her sing an Israeli song that begins "Eli Eli" but had not yet been written at the time. (It's more properly known as "Walking to Caesaria.") An entirely different "Eli Eli," one of the most popular Jewish songs in the early days of the phonograph, is what we should have heard.

Quotes:

Judy Garland: I'm only *really* at home in the light of the spotlight.

Movie Connections:

Features The 27th Annual Academy Awards (1955) (TV)

She overcame the Wicked Witch only to be destroyed by demons

Lorna Luft wrote and produced this epic tale of her mother Judy Garland's often-tragic life in the spotlight.

Frances Gumm starts her life out becoming an actress and singer. She changes her name to Judy Garland and signs a contract with MGM studios who promise her a big break.

That break comes in the form of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard Of Oz. But fame comes at a price. Addictions to drugs and alcohol plus failed marriages and piles of debt leave Judy sprialling out of control.

It's the touching true story of Judy Garland. From her humble beginnings to her dramatic end, this is quite simply, brilliant.

Tammy Blanchard, who plays the younger Judy Garland is so much like her, it's not even funny - and her acting is fantastic, also. 9/1O