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COMING TO BLU-RAY FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION ON AUGUST 4th!
NEW 2026 1080p HD Master from 4K scan of best quality preservation elements!
The original negative does not survive. The source elements are protection safety elements per Warner Classics VP George Feltenstein – watch that interview here: https://youtu.be/yB3QyiMsIog?si=jV2Kty9CNgMWvxIW&t=915
PRESENTING LILY MARS (1943)
MSRP: $24.98
BD-50
Running Time: 104 Minutes
B&W
Aspect Ratio: 16×9 1.37:1 with side mattes
Audio Specs: DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: ENGLISH SDH
NOT RATED
Presenting Judy Garland!
Whether swinging a hot number with Bob Crosby and His Orchestra or emoting a hilariously hammy version of Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene, Judy is a delight as a stage-struck Hoosier in this charming film based on Booth Tarkington’s novel. Lily is certain she has the talent to light up the Great White Way, so when big producer John Thornway (Van Heflin) visits her hometown, she expends all the candlepower of her charisma to impress him. He’s not impressed. He heads back to New York, and Lily follows, thumbing her way east on what she’s sure is a one-way trip to instant stardom.
At a mere 20 years old, Judy had already reached stardom. Presenting Lily Mars proves why, displaying her once-in-a-generation voice, gift for comedy, and enduring movie magnetism. Highlighted by memorable musical numbers and a grand finale alongside Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra, Presenting Lily Mars is MGM musical magic at its best.
Special Features:
- MGM Short: Heavenly Music (HD)
- MGM Tex Avery cartoon Who Killed Who? (HD),
Audio-only bonuses:
- Outtake song “Paging Mr. Greenback”
- “Where There’s Music” (complete sequence)
- Where There’s Music” (film version in stereo)
- Lux Radio Theater broadcast with Van Heflin and June Allyson (3/11/1946).
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Presenting Lily Mars here!
Scott, this is FANTASTIC news!!! Next to “The Harvey Girls” this is my all-time fave Garland pic. When this was not part of Judy’s 100th birthday releases, I figured there was no hope, as the picture is so forgotten. But here it is, at last!! You made my day, my friend.
I’m sure it’ll look amazing. It’s never been given the HD treatment. It was thrown on DVD twenty years ago, and that was the last. The Archive DVD reissue was just that, a reissue, not an upgrade.
Well you know I’m happy!!!
Oh good! Judy is at her loveliest and most beguiling in this one. “Tom, Tom The Piper’s Son” is one of my all-time Judy favorites. I always burst out laughing when she suddenly finds herself on stage with a full orchestra in the middle of a song and she just joins right in while the musicians look at her like she’s escaped from the looney bin. But after a few bars of vocal magic they are only too happy to let her keep going, and go-go-go she does. Swing, Judy, Swing! No one does it better. Note: I love that jaunty little shoulder-shimmy she does when she brings her arms up. She’s got the music in her! Truly she was a Natural Musician. God, what a gift. . . . .
Her comic timing was spot-on here, she’s often hilarious, generous to her co-stars and she looks so wonderfully healthy here. Very becoming costumes on her, and fabulous hair to boot! Truly a joy to watch.
Same bonus features as the DVD, looks like. What else can I say but “it’s about time, Warner!”