A Date with Judy (film)

A Date with Judy

A Date with Judy film poster
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Produced by Joe Pasternak
Written by Dorothy Cooper
Dorothy Kingsley
Aleen Leslie (characters)
Starring Wallace Beery
Jane Powell
Elizabeth Taylor
Carmen Miranda
Xavier Cugat
Robert Stack
Music by Ernesto Lecuona
Cinematography Robert Surtees
Edited by Harold F. Kress
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • July 29, 1948 (1948-07-29)
Running time
 113 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1,353,000[1][2]
Box office $4,586,000[1]

A Date with Judy is a 1948 MGM musical film starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, and Elizabeth Taylor.[3][4] Directed by Richard Thorpe, the movie was based on the radio series of the same name.

The film was photographed in Technicolor and largely served to showcase the former child star Elizabeth Taylor, age 16 at the time. Taylor was given the full MGM glamor treatment, including specially designed gowns.

Robert Stack appears in a prominent supporting part. Many others in the MGM stock company appear in their customary roles, including Leon Ames as a dignified father figure, the same role he played in the Judy Garland film Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and top-billed Wallace Beery in his penultimate role as a contrasting "rough and ready" father figure.

The film features the soprano singing voice of young Jane Powell, and is also a showcase for the musical performances of the Latin American singer Carmen Miranda and bandleader Xavier Cugat. In this film, she is given to humorous malapropisms such as "His bite is worse than his bark" and "Now I'm cooking with grass". The songs "Judaline" and "It's a Most Unusual Day" also debuted in this film.

Plot

The big high school dance in Santa Barbara is coming up. Judy Foster (Jane Powell) expects boyfriend "Oogie" Pringle to be her escort, but he declines. Meanwhile, Oogie's sister, sophisticated senior Carol Pringle (Elizabeth Taylor), has booked famous bandleader Xavier Cugat and his orchestra for the dance.

Cugat's lady friend, Rosita Cochellas (Carmen Miranda), is a dance instructor. She is secretly giving rumba lessons to Judy's dad, Melvin Foster (Wallace Beery), who wants to surprise his wife with a dance for their upcoming wedding anniversary.

Soda shop owner Pop Scully (Lloyd Corrigan) introduces a disappointed Judy to his handsome nephew Stephen I. Andrews (Robert Stack), who volunteers to take Judy to the dance, even though he's considerably older. Judy finds him dreamy, and having Stephen as her date definitely makes Oogie jealous.

Stephen, however, falls for the beautiful Carol instead. This is annoying to Judy, as is her discovery that her dad is seeing Rosita behind her mother's back, presumably carrying on a romantic affair. Misunderstandings abound, including Rosita trying to explain the situation to her boyfriend, Cugat.

During the dance scene in which Mrs. Foster dances with Xavier Cugat, the song is the instrumental version of "The Walter Winchell Rumba", which Cugat and his band played during their normal gigs. The words, can be heard during a PBS Lawrence Welk show called, "The New York Show" by Gail, Sandy, and Marylou.

Cast

Production

Although Xavier Cugat is credited in the opening credits as "Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra," the end credits simply bill Cugat as "Himself." The A Date with Judy radio show ran from 1941 to 1949 on the NBC network, and from 1949 to 1950 on the ABC network. The character of "Judy Foster" was portrayed on the radio by Dellie Ellis, Louise Erickson and Ann Gillis. Pre-production news items in HR indicate that actor Thomas E. Breen was originally set to co-star in the film with Jane Powell, and that Leslie Kardos was set to direct. A Dec 1947 HR news item notes that Selena Royle replaced Mary Astor, who withdrew from the film due to illness. A contemporary HR news item lists Marcia Van Dyke in the cast, but her appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. A biography of director Vincente Minnelli notes that a musical number entitled Mulligatawny, which was created by Stanley Donen, was cut from the film before its release. Actress Patricia Crowley portrayed "Judy Foster" in the ABC television series A Date with Judy , which ran from 1951 to 1953.[5]

Reception

The film was a hit, earning $3,431,000 in the US and Canada and $1,155,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $1,495,000.[1][6]

Critical reception

"Jane Powell was used to playing good-girl types, but for Elizabeth Taylor A Date With Judy represented a chance to build a whole new image. The role of sultry bad-girl Carol in the film gave her the opportunity to show the world that she was no longer a child, but a beautiful young woman. A direct contrast to Powell's girlish wholesomeness, Taylor's character was more mature, and costumes and makeup strategically played up her sensuality (...) Musical number highlights in A Date With Judy include the popular "It's a Most Unusual Day" and "Judaline." However, it's the "Brazilian Bombshell" Carmen Miranda who nearly steals the show in a supporting role as rhumba teacher Rosita. Her energetic rendition of "Cuanto Le Gusta" alone makes watching A Date With Judy worthwhile." said Andrea Passafiume of the Turner Classic Movies [7]

Soundtracks

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ↑ Another source puts the cost at $2 million Variety February 1948
  3. ↑ Variety film review; June 23, 1948, page 6.
  4. ↑ Harrison's Reports film review; June 19, 1948, page 99.
  5. ↑ DetailView: A Date with Judy
  6. ↑ "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46
  7. ↑ "ARTICLES: A Date with Judy (1948)". Andrea Passafiume. p. Watch Turner Classic Movies on TCM. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

External links

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