... you can learn from:
The Pirate (1948)
Manuela: Someday Macoco is going to swoop downupon me like a chicken hawk and carry me away.
Before you ask no, I have absolutely no freaking idea what that line of dialogue spoken by Judy Garland (born 99 years ago today!) is supposed to be about. And that's why it's amazing, and why I will begin whispering it to strangers on the street from this day henceforth. Oh, Judy. So giving, so true. In case it wasn't clear already I've never seen The Pirate, although unlike most musicals from this period which I stay away from on general principle I have long wanted to see The Pirate because hello Gene Kelly in shorts. (See my previous post about this, with the clip, right here.)
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4 comments:
Still haven't pulled the trigger on this one eh? It's a rococo fever dream, even Gladys Cooper's widow's weeds are replete with sequins!, and of course Gene in those shorts is a sight to behold.
It's actually playing on TCM today, they're playing a raft of Judes pictures in celebration of this here 99th birthday (I'm sure next year on her centennial she'll be Star of the Month and they play all her work plus special features) wrapping up with the cherry on the cake that is her version of A Star is Born.
Oh I wish I'd noticed it was on TCM, I'd have set the DVR. Maybe they'll have it on demand. I just keep forgetting I want to see it until something like today reminds me.
Never liked GK. But man, he looks hot in this.
Frankly, it's really difficult to sit through The Pirate. The best sequences are all among the footage on Gene Kelly in That's Entertainment. Of the films that Kelly and Judy did together, you're much better off with either For Me and My Gal or Summer Stock. Of Judy's movies, Babes in Arms, The Clock, Girl Crazy and A Star is Born are all great, but don't discount A Child is Waiting or I Could Go on Singing. If you can sit through all of it, both hers and Montgomery Clift's performances in Judgment at Nuremberg are devastating! Judy was a far better actress than she ever got credit for.
A visit to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, MN is worth it, too!
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