I love this movie so much

Sadly Over-hyped

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I just watched this movie again for the upteenthtime. (I have lost count.) I am always amazed at the talent of both stars, and that talent comes through in this movie beautifully. The musical numbers for both are wonderful to watch, reminding me that Judy could dance, something that isn't always remembered about her. As others have noted, the story is thin but who cares? This is pure entertainment and a chance to see two amazingly talented people work together in one film.By the way, I watched the movie on video tape (yes, my vcr still works) that I bought at the Judy Garland museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota a few years ago. The museum is in her child hood home, and you can stand right on the landing at the bottom of the stars where she and her sisters performed at home. As a Judy fan, it was quite a thrill. So enjoy this movie for what it is - a showcase of two of Hollywood's greatest talents singing and dancing their way into our hearts.

Everyone who knows of Judy knows the story behind Summer Stock - no point in repeating it yet again. And of course everyone knows of "Get Happy," which has, with changing times and tastes, probably become her signature song even more than "Over the Rainbow." What isn't as known is the movie itself, a putting-on-a-show feature that on the surface seems more than a little ramshackle, and out of date even for 1950, but is actually an interesting, touching, more than worthy showpiece in Judy's film canon, and in movie musicals in general. It is, along with In the Good Old Summertime, my favorite of her films.The cast is of high quality - other than Phil Silvers (who seems out of place at times, although he has his moments) hamming a bit for my tastes, this is a really solid group. Both Silvers and Eddie Bracken add something different to the usual style of this genre. Bracken is both nerdy and oddly endearing, and in spite of only having a small number of scenes with Gloria DeHaven (pretty and polished in a very underwritten role), they have believable, sweet chemistry that makes you happy for them at the end, rather than just wanting to get them out of the way. Marjorie Main adds her usual impeccable comic timing and warmly rough touch. Ray Collins offers strong support and character work as Bracken's father - he has one of those so distinctive voices characters actors had back then.Then we have our leads, who are both superb. Judy looks a bit poorly made up at times, and is stuck in some unflattering getups that remind me of what she wore in her earliest MGM days, but she is in this film a perfect blend of neurosis and confidence. You aren't frightened for her, the way you often are in her later films. Yet she isn't as pulled together here as she sometimes was in her biggest '40s pictures. She's more open. She's a blend of everything that made her an enduring icon. And she, in spite of her legendary difficulties, throws herself into everything - singing, dancing, comedy, dramatic acting. Even if she may have only filmed a small amount of time a day, you wouldn't know it from watching her work. She makes this picture a worthy farewell to her time at MGM in a way that a glossier, "bigger" picture, the kind she'd regularly made before being burnt out, would not have been. This is Judy saying - take my flaws and love me for them. And we do. Gene is simply fantastic in a role that could have easily been a throwaway, but becomes so much more thanks to his earnest portrayal. Even the name (Joe Ross) is generic, but you get caught up with this decent guy who just wants to put on a show and never expects to fall in love. One of my favorite moments is the pure ache as he listens to Judy plaintively singing "Friendly Star" - letting us see just how much he treasures her and how much her own obvious angst over their love for each other is weighing on him.Indeed, it's the angst in this film that sets it apart from many of Judy's adult MGM musicals, where she and the leading men fell for each other in large part because that's what the script called for. Summer Stock is oddly modern in that it really lets us see the process and the pain of a love story. This works in large part because Judy and Gene Kelly have incredible, all-encompassing chemistry. This is a love story first, a musical second.The numbers are, for the most part, pretty good. Some seem a bit cheap by Judy standards, although that can add to their charm ("Howdy, Neighbor!" for instance). The Portland Fancy dance sequence is a great deal of fun. And "Friendly Star" is in many ways the high point of the film, and one of Judy's most tender performances. "Get Happy" is, of course, a marvel, but one that has been shown so many times it's difficult to react today.There are lots of small bits to enjoy as well, my favorite being the moment where Silvers and Bracken crash into each other and end up accidentally wearing the other's glasses. Of all the Judy movies, this is the one I have the fondest memories of and want to rewatch (some parts more than others, admittedly) most often. As a final note on a brilliant legacy, and on a charming genre of film, a wonderful and ageless romantic pairing - it's perfectly imperfect.

While it is not one of the best films of either Judy Garland (in her last MGM musical) or Gene Kelly, Summer Stock nevertheless is a treat for fans of either of them or both and it showcases their talents well.One shouldn't expect an awful lot from the story (true this said for a good deal of musicals before and during this period), it's certainly not disposable because Summer Stock does such a good job in entertaining and moving the viewer but it is rather weak in how thin as a wafer and trite it is, some parts also could have been developed longer to help them and some of the characters' motivations (particularly in the case of Gloria DeHaven) ring true better. Bumbling Phil Silvers is an acquired taste, some will find him funny, others annoying. For me he was a mixed bag, because at some points he was very amusing and then there were other points where he did grate (his accent in the Dig, Dig, Dig number is not for the easily offended either) and didn't seem necessary. The number Heavenly Music will also evoke mixed reactions, it will induce laughs for some and an equal share of cringes from others, for this viewer the campiness of the number got overly-silly to the point it got irritating and jarred with the rest of the film.However, Summer Stock looks fabulous, being shot in gloriously colourful Technicolor (clearly loving the ever photogenic Garland) and having good use of lighting, lavish costumes and handsome and never cheap sets. The film is very energetically and whimsically scored, the swinging Happy Harvest , restrained Friendly Star and particularly the characterful and sweet You Wonderful You instrumental arrangements standing out, and the songs apart from Heavenly Music are great, deserving a better distinction of having only two memorable songs or something like that. Especially good are the rousing Get Happy (an instant classic and one of Garland's signature tunes for very good reason), the charming You Wonderful You and the incredibly heartfelt and intimately filmed Friendly Star. Summer Stock boasts equally strong choreography, Portland Fancy perfectly shows what made Garland's and Kelly's partnership here click so well and is one of the finest dance duets in a Garland film and Kelly's newspaper routine is some of his best solo work. A large part of Kelly's appeal was how he did things that don't seem all that special or interesting and turned them into something truly extraordinary.The script is good-humoured and warm-hearted with a great deal of witty humour and charm, and while the story is not perfect in any shape or form it's at least breezily paced and cheers one up after a hard day complete with some nice emotional investment. Summer Stock is directed beautifully, and while there are reservations about Silvers the cast are very good indeed, Garland and Kelly in fact wonderful. Unlike some viewers, while a little jarring in Get Happy Garland's fluctuating weight didn't bother me because she is so charming, emotive, is exquisitely photographed, copes with ease with the dancing and sings an absolute dream, especially in Friendly Star. Kelly is at the top of his game with the dancing, he sings pleasantly and he's a dashing leading partner. His and Garland's partnership is a joy. Gloria DeHaven does make a real effort bringing some charm to a character that is quite shallow and doesn't have an awful lot to her and her voice is radiant, and Eddie Bracken is admirably more restrained than usual. Hans Conreid doesn't have an awful lot to do but is suitably smarmy.All in all, in her last MGM musical Judy Garland went out on a high in a film that even with its faults is very easy to 'get happy' to. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Imagine a barn the size of a Broadway theatre where you can go without having to head into the Big Apple. That's what happens here. Since they can't bring Mohammed to the Mountain, they do just the reverse. In this case, it is a Broadway producer who brings his show to the country and hopes that his star's sister will allow them to put it on there, surrounded by hay, cows, horses, ducks and farming equipment. This singing farm woman (Judy Garland) has just bought a prize tractor, singing "Happy Harvest" as she heads home to find her kitchen under attack by Broadway personalities like producer Gene Kelly, comic Phil Silvers and a hundred chorus boys and girls who will probably eat her out of house and home. Spoiled sister Gloria De Haven is the star of this show, and doesn't care who she inconveniences. Housekeeper Marjorie Main is shocked to learn of the dozens of strangers she has to cook for, and Garland's uppity gentleman caller (Eddie Bracken) is aghast by the presence of city folk in their community, his society leader father (Ray Collins) equally shocked. But when De Haven gets temperamental, she leaves the show in the lurch, and overhearing Garland sing, Kelly makes a proposal she might find difficult to turn down.Yes, this show literally is corny, and Garland and Kelly give it their all in their third and last teaming. Garland is remembered for the classic Harold Arlen song "Get Happy!" which she sings here in a finale filmed long after the rest of the movie had wrapped, but for me, her best moment is "Friendly Star", a haunting solo she sings while dealing with all the issues surrounding her. Kelly gets a snazzy dance number where he utilizes various props he finds in the barn and ultimately includes a squeaky floor and a newspaper. Silvers and Kelly lead a group dance number, "You Gotta Dig For Your Dinner", where they dance on the kitchen table, and later in the show within the show, they get a comic number, "Heavenly Music", where they play stereotypical country hicks that may bring groans to some, giggles to others. There's also a rousing barn dance, "The Portland Fancy", where city folk and country folk go up against each other in showing what each of these groups can do.Charles Walters, who directed Judy to great success opposite Fred Astaire in "Easter Parade", makes "Summer Stock" a fun, light-hearted return for Judy to the "Let's put on a show!" theme that she did early in her career with Mickey Rooney. It's all colorful and harmless, and ultimately a decent swansong to Judy's 15 year association with MGM. So, if you feel like singing, sing, whether its in the shower, the barn or on a tractor.