“Miss Garland’s ‘Look for the Silver Lining’ is socko, and she repeats with ‘Sunny’ and ‘Who?'” – “Variety” on “Till The Clouds Roll By,” 1947
January 3, 1925: “The Gumm Sisters” (Judy and her two sisters) performed at a party for Alice King, held at the home of W.C. Tyndall in their hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
January 3, 1938: Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry
January 3, 1939: Filming resumed on The Wizard of Oz with scenes shot on the “Haunted Forest” set. Note that a couple of the photos feature the stars’ stand-ins, Bobbie Koshay for Judy Garland and Stafford Campbell for Ray Bolger. Filming on the ultimately deleted “Jitterbug” number did not begin until January 9th.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
January 3, 1941: Babes on Broadway was the focus of this ad placed by MGM in the trade magazine “Showmen’s Trade Review.”
January 3, 1943: For Me And My Gal was still opening in theaters around the country. During this time, just about every town had a theater and films sort of snaked their way from the cities to the towns and then the smaller towns over a period of several to many months.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
January 3, 1944: Judy returned to filming Meet Me In St. Louis after a short break. She had become ill on December 26, 1943, and was, per MGM records, in the hospital on the 26th & 27th. It’s not noted what Judy was being treated for, although it was probably exhaustion.
This first day back was devoted to filming scenes on the “Interior Master Bedroom/Upper Hall” sets. Time called: 10 a.m.; dismissed: 5:50 p.m.
The “Interior Master Bedroom” set is not seen in the final cut of the film. Originally, there was a scene in which Judy’s Esther helps her mother (played by Mary Astor) get ready to go out for the evening prior to the teen’s party (“Skip To My Lou”). All that remains of the scene are photos.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 3, 1945: This full-page ad appeared in various trade magazines promoting Meet Me In St. Louis and its huge success. The film had premiered in St. Louis, Missouri, the previous November 22nd and then in New York on the 27th.
Also, on this day, Judy had wardrobe and hair tests for The Harvey Girls. Time called: 10:30 p.m.; Judy arrived at 12:20; dismissed: 5:30 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
January 3, 1946: The second preview of The Harvey Girls took place in Chicago. The first preview was in Inglewood, California, on July 12, 1945. The film was released on January 18, 1946.
The reason for the delay in its release is simply that MGM had quite a lot of films in release, and The Harvey Girls had to wait its turn. It proved to be worth the wait as it became one of Judy’s and MGM’s biggest hits, grossing over $5,175,000 at a cost of $2,524,315.06.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
January 3, 1947: Two ads for a couple of Garland Decca singles. Note that the 1943 Decca selection of songs from Girl Crazy is also listed, which is an indication of the album’s continued popularity.
Record labels from the Rick Smith Collection. Thanks, Rick!
Listen to “For You, More Me, For Evermore” (with Dick Haymes) here:
http://www.thejudyroom.com/songs/For-You-For-Me-For-Evermore.mp3
Listen to “Don’t Tell Me That Story” here:
Listen to the alternate take of “Don’t Tell Me That Story” here:
Listen to “There Is No Breeze” here:
January 3, 1947: Till The Clouds Roll By went into general release after it had premiered at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in December 1946.
Judy was a guest star in the film, playing the role of Broadway legend Marilyn Miller. Judy filmed her musical numbers (“Who?” “Look For The Silver Lining” and “Sunny/D’Ye Love Me?”) just prior to going on maternity leave to give birth to Liza Minnelli. Judy’s participation in the film cost MGM $467,305, which was 20% of the film’s total cost of $2,841,608. It grossed well over six million when it was released. It was also the first of a series of composer biopics that MGM would make over the next eight years.
The Jerome Kern score was so popular that the newly formed MGM Records chose it as their first album to be released, and it was the first “soundtrack album” (of songs as recorded for the film and not studio versions made later) ever released. Previously, RCA had released a few songs from Disney’s “Snow White,” but that release was more of a sampler of songs from the film and not an actual soundtrack album. This MGM Records release ushered in a new era in soundtrack albums. The label released soundtrack albums for all of Judy’s subsequent MGM films.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Till The Clouds Roll By here.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Till The Clouds Roll By soundtrack pages here.
January 3, 1948: Easter Parade continued filming on the “Interior Hannah’s Hotel Suite” set as well as the “Interior Don’s Living Room” set. Judy was in makeup at 7 a.m., on the set at 9 a.m., and dismissed at 4:30 p.m.
Judy had not yet pre-recorded her reprise of “It Only Happens When I Dance With You,” which takes place on the “Don’s Living Room Set,” meaning this day’s shooting was most likely the first part of “I Love A Piano” (the on-stage portion of this song had been filmed on December 5, 1947, along with “Snooky Ookums.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
January 3, 1955: In his syndicated column, Erksine Johnson noted Judy’s displeasure with news of more cuts to A Star Is Born.
Also, on this day, Judy was featured on the March of Dimes radio show. The show was most likely pre-recorded. Listen to that appearance here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
January 3, 1962: The second day of three days of rehearsals in Burbank, California, for Judy’s upcoming TV special with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. This was Judy’s first special in six years. The special began taping on January 5 for a February 25 broadcast on CBS. The special was originally titled “Miss Show Business” but would be changed to simply “The Judy Garland Show.” Since then, and due to Judy’s 1963/64 series, also titled “The Judy Garland Show,” this show is generally known as “Judy, Frank, and Dean.” Whatever the title, it’s a wonderful show!
Published on this day was this blurb about the brilliant Kay Thompson and her assistance with the special. Thompson was probably Judy’s closest female friend and Liza’s godmother.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.