Judy Garland: The Voice of MGM

The Judy Room blogger Brogan provides a meticulous account of Judy Garland’s time under contract at MGM from 1935 to 1950. Born into a family of vaudeville performers in 1922, Garland joined her older sisters’ act when she was only two and eventually became the breakout star for her superior singing. After the trio disbanded in 1935, Garland’s agent negotiated a contract with MGM that jumpstarted the 13-year-old’s movie career. Brogan recounts Garland’s tumultuous stint at the studio, describing how MGM refused to serve her anything but chicken broth so she wouldn’t gain weight and how she came to rely on a variety of pills to keep up with her punishing shooting schedule. Unfortunately, granular passages detailing the making of Garland’s MGM films often lose sight of Garland herself, comprising lists of the order in which scenes were shot and amusing if tangential trivia about production snafus (while shooting The Wizard of Oz, Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, was badly burned in a special effects shot gone awry and couldn’t return to filming for two months). What distinguishes this volume are the generous and intimate photos of Garland’s life off set, including snapshots from her vaudeville days and images of her caring for daughter Liza Minnelli at home. The lavish presentation jazzes up an otherwise stiff chronicle of the legendary actor’s early film career. Photos. (June)