Posted by “A girl named Judy Garland does a heartwarming song about her love for Clark Gable, which the audience seemed to like.” – “The New York Herald-Tribune” on “Broadway Melody of 1938,” 1937
February 21, 1937: Sophie Tucker dubbed Judy the next “Red Hot Mama.” Sophie was known as the “Red Hot Mama” so passing the mantle to Judy was the highest of praise. Sophie’s quoted as saying, “Judy’s got just about everything. And I’m teaching her the rest.” I wonder what Roger Edens thought of that? 🙂
February 21, 1941: Judy on the cover of Vecko Revyn magazine, with a photo on the inside. On the right, from inside the magazine, is a photo of Judy with her tutor on the set of Andy Hardy Meets Debutante in 1940.
Scans provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
February 21, 1942: Judy was scheduled for a For Me And My Gal rehearsal, but canceled. The assistant director’s notes state: “Cancelled Rehearsal Today Due to Fact Judy Garland Did not want to rehearse.” It wasn’t easy keeping up with Gene Kelly!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
February 21, 1945: The Harvey Girls filming continued on MGM’s Back Lot #3, on the “Billy The Kid Street” which was dressed up to be the fictional town of Sandrock, New Mexico. The scenes filmed were on the “Exterior R.R. Station.” Time called: 10 a.m.; Judy arrived on set at 12:20 p.m.; dismissed at 3:50 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland on the MGM Backlot” pages for details about all of Judy’s films shot on the studio’s fabled backlots.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
Poster image provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
February 21, 1946: This two-page ad appeared in the Film Daily trade magazine. It’s anyone’s guess as to why MGM had a Santa-themed ad in February.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
February 21, 1947: Filming on The Pirate continued with scenes shot on the “Interior Manuela’s Bedroom” (wedding dress) and “Interior Hotel Bedroom” sets. Time called: 9 a.m.; Judy arrived at 9:20 a.m.; dismissed: 6:30 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
February 21, 1959: Here is a short review of Judy’s very first concert album, “Garland at the Grove.”
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s “Garland at the Grove” pages here.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 21, 1960: Here’s a fun article about our favorite witch, Margaret Hamilton. 
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
February 21, 1961: Judy’s legendary 1961 concert tour officially started on this day at The State Fair Auditorium in Dallas, TX. The tour would reach its peak, of course, at Carnegie Hall in NY that April.
Judy was reunited, offstage, with her sister Jimmy, who lived in Dallas with her husband.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 21, 1964: Another videotaping of a “Judy Garland in Concert” episode of “The Judy Garland Show,” “Episode Twenty-Three” at CBS Television City, Stage 43, Hollywood.
The theme of the show was “Songs From The Movies.” Judy sang: “Once In A Lifetime” and “I Feel A Song Coming On” (medley); “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You” and “Toot, Toot, Tootsie” (medley); “Dirty Hands, Dirty Face”; “Love Of My Life”; “The Boy Next Door”; “On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe”; “Alexander’s Rag Time Band”; “You’re Nearer”; “Steppin’ Out With My Baby”; “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”; “The Man That Got Away”; “Be A Clown” and a reprise of “Once In A Lifetime.” The show aired on March 8, 1964.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
I have always been curious as to how soon George Murphy (the original “Harry Palmer”) and Gene Kelly changed roles. I guess it was decided before these February rehearsals. It was said Murphy really resented the swap for a while, and one can hardly blame him, but the movie wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. “Palmer” is sooooo “Pal Joey.” Also wonder when they changed the title from “The Big Time” (not a bad title, btw) to “For Me and My Gal.”
This picture seems to mark the beginning of the trend of Judy’s lateness, or just calling out randomly. This behavior was something she never seemed to do in the earlier pictures, but would do quite frequently from here on in. (except, with Astaire, who said she was only “occasionally late.”).
Thanks for another fund entry!
The Daily Music Reports for the film’s recording sessions kept the title “Big Time” throughout all of the session, even to the last scoring session in August 1942. I would think that was to keep consistency but then again, “In The Good Old Summertime” was “The Girl From Chicago” for several sessions but was changed. Some newspaper columns gave the title as “The Big Time” when the first blurbs about Judy’s assignment to the film were published. I think it was only a few months into production when it was changed.
Murphy would have been completely wrong in the lead unless the character were drastically changed. You’re right, the “Pal Joey” type wouldn’t work for him. Lucky for us Gene Kelly was around! The film is one of my all time favorite Garland films because it shows off her incredible versatility.
It’s one of my favorites, too, as Garland looks SO healthy, slim, and beautiful – and mature. Her voice had grown more mature, and her reading of “After you’ve Gone” is my favorite here (most fans prefer her “older” versions, but the beauty here just cannot be topped for me). Lastly, other than “Ziegfeld Girl”, this was Judy’s only musical DRAMA at MGM.
Thanks again!
I agree! I hadn’t thought about it being one of the few musical dramas but you’re right. The rest are, while wonderful, more musical comedies. 🙂