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Biography

Judy Garland: Beyond the Rainbow

  • Episode aired Mar 23, 1997
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
187
YOUR RATING
S9.E8
  • S9
  • E8
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  • IMDbPro
  • Documentary
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The life of the most talented singer/actress Judy Garland who been performing since the age of three with her two sister and hit stardom on films, but led tragedy on her life.The life of the most talented singer/actress Judy Garland who been performing since the age of three with her two sister and hit stardom on films, but led tragedy on her life.The life of the most talented singer/actress Judy Garland who been performing since the age of three with her two sister and hit stardom on films, but led tragedy on her life.
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
187
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Peter Jones
  • Writers
    • John Fricke(book)
    • Peter Jones
  • Stars
    • Judy Garland(archive footage)
    • Peter Graves
    • Jack Perkins
Top credits
  • Director
    • Peter Jones
  • Writers
    • John Fricke(book)
    • Peter Jones
  • Stars
    • Judy Garland(archive footage)
    • Peter Graves
    • Jack Perkins
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Photos

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    Top cast

    Edit
    Judy Garland
    Judy Garland
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Peter Graves
    Peter Graves
    • Self - Hostas Self - Host
    Jack Perkins
    Jack Perkins
    • Self - Hostas Self - Host
    Shana Alexander
    • Selfas Self
    June Allyson
    June Allyson
    • Selfas Self
    Del Armstrong
    Del Armstrong
    • Selfas Self
    Dirk Bogarde
    Dirk Bogarde
    • Selfas Self
    Eddie Bracken
    Eddie Bracken
    • Selfas Self
    Charles Busch
    Charles Busch
    • Selfas Self
    Johnny Carson
    Johnny Carson
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Betty Comden
    Betty Comden
    • Selfas Self
    Jackie Cooper
    Jackie Cooper
    • Selfas Self
    George Cukor
    George Cukor
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Bette Davis
    Bette Davis
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Mickey Deans
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Phil Donahue
    Phil Donahue
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Tony Duquette
    Tony Duquette
    • Selfas Self
    Deanna Durbin
    Deanna Durbin
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    • Director
      • Peter Jones
    • Writers
      • John Fricke(book)
      • Peter Jones
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    Storyline

    Edit
    The life of the most talented singer/actress Judy Garland who been performing since the age of three with her two sister and hit stardom on films, but led tragedy on her life.
    • tragedy
    • stardom
    • song
    • singing
    • actor's life
    • 29 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Documentary
      • Biography
      • History
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

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    • Connections
      Features Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Ups and Downs.
    Fame, fortune, and collapse. I've never been able to figure out why some public personalities go through this tragic arc while others don't. Sometime it seems that women are more susceptible to self destruction than men, or maybe it's just that the media pays closer attention to women because their collapses are sometime flamboyant. Once-famous men may wind up quietly drinking out of the bottle in some alley but they rarely go through what Judy Garland did. She was pretty nearly washed up at the age of twenty-eight, a fast case of self destruction. In later years, she was barely able to get through her stage appearances. The audiences loved her, especially the gay community, or so it seems. They pleaded with her to sing "Over the Rainbow" and were probably praying she didn't go irretrievably mad during a performance. Much of a man's celebrity depends on power and when he loses it, he tends to retire behind some kind of wall, like Citizen Kane or Greta Garbo. Women depend on something other than money and power, and when they lose it, the loss is far more personal and damaging. Garland's downfall wasn't nearly as tumultuous as, say, Frances Farmer's or Rita Hayworth's.

    This biography is pretty thorough. There are scenes from Garland's movies and recordings of her songs. She had a unique voice that seemed to begin somewhere in her abdomen, to be expelled through her nose. It clearly wasn't an opera-trained voice but it was pure and carefully controlled. Her dynamic range was great, from wistful to defiant and loud, even in the same song. I don't know how she, or anyone else, could deploy a vibrato so effectively. (I speak to you as your expert on singing, because I was once in a college musical.) She was attractive too, but again not in any ordinary way. Her dark eyes seemed to dominate her features. Her build, on the other hand, never leaped out at a viewer. She was no Jayne Mansfield or Jane Russell. And she carried her pelvic girdle about one standard deviation higher than the norm, rather like Gene Tierney. Age eventually eroded her looks, and her voice became hoarse, just as her life was turning into a lunatic kaleidoscope. The years don't discriminate well between those who are famous and all the rest of us.

    There are multiple talking heads, all claiming to have been friends with her at one time or another, sometimes dear friends. One of the more enjoyable is Ann Miller, a gal from Texas, who is forthright in condemning Louis B. Mayer for feeding Garland amphetamines to wake her up and barbiturates to get her to sleep. Miller get endearingly indignant over Garland's treatment. A surprising interview comes from Robert Stack, whose every screen appearance seemed to be modeled on a cigar-store Indian or a statue of some long-dead general in the park. When he's not making a movie, he's surprisingly animated and can be genuinely emotional, something I've noticed in his other live interviews.

    The program emphasizes her successes and her resilience, I think wisely. She was capable of outrageous acts later in her life, storming into Sid Luft's bedroom in the middle of the night, screaming and rotating blindly like a whirling dervish, completely out of control. But to concentrate on episodes like that has a bit of the tabloid about it. It reminds me of those cheap newspapers at the supermarket check out counter featuring photos of celebrities now grown old and fat. If we need that much Schadenfreude all we need to do is watch our political campaigns where characters are assassinated willy nilly. There's suffering enough in everyday life.
    helpful•3
    0
    • rmax304823
    • Apr 23, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 23, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Biography: Judy Garland - Beyond the Rainbow
    • Production company
      • Peter Jones Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

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    Mar 15Aceshowbiz

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