So that list I talked about in the first column of this series? The one put together by film historians, industry professionals, and others concerned about my general ignorance of movies made before the 1977? The column has caught up with my movie-watching. Which is to say, from now on I’ll be writing about movies that I’ve just seen, as opposed to re-watched. Which means that I won’t know in advance whether or not the movie will “change my life.” Which means I might have to watch a number of movies on that extensive list in order to find one that calls for a column.
Which means a lot more work for me, but a lot more fun for you, because I’m going to be coming at things with fresh enthusiasm. And, also, you’ll get a deeper understanding of my profound ignorance.
Case in point: Meet Me in St. Louis
Yes, it’s a musical. But dig: first of all, it’s strange. Very, very strange. The movie ranges from the quaintest of pastoral melodrama to wildly surreal imagery that’s just this side of The Wicker Man (the original). The flick’s also got songs you love, like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Or at least songs I love, because I love Christmas. But the reason this movie changes my life boils down to one person: Judy Garland.
Remember I told you about that big VHS collection my stepfather had? Well after he and my mom separated, my sister Gwendolyn and I would go over to his place every other weekend, where the big deal was that we’d each get to pick one movie to watch. That was our recreation. Little wonder that I love movies, right?
While I’d choose Watership Down or Clash of the Titans or a Doctor Who series or Ghostbusters or something, Gwendolyn always picked one of two movies: The Ewok Adventure or The Wizard of Oz. And until last week that’s about all I knew about Judy Garland.
This is what you do: watch Meet Me in St. Louis up until the end of the telephone call from New York. You’ll know it what you get there. When that’s over, read the Wikipedia page on Judy Garland, but stop when you get to the Leaving MGM section. Don’t read that bit. Then watch until you get to the end of the Halloween sequence. Then read the rest of the Wikipedia article. Then watch the rest of the St. Louis.
And when you’re done, if you feel like it, go to YouTube and watch Judy Garland, our dear miss Frances Ethel Gumm, sing “Down With Love”. Not that silly version Renee Zellweger – the real deal.
The life of Judy Garland tells you all you need to know about show biz: the discipline and experience required for excellence, the insecurity underlying it all, failure, redemption, relationships taking a back seat to ambition, the works. All of that pathos lurks underneath that bright-eyed wonder in Meet Me in St. Louis. Director Vicente Minnelli manages to play with all of the things that tear families apart while at the same time showing us all the love and hope that keep them together. He understands that the gloss only has meaning when set against the darkness. Maybe that’s why Garland married him. Maybe that’s why their marriage fell apart.
Honestly, I didn’t know a thing about Judy Garland until about a third of the way through this movie, I’m watching, and I’m thinking “My God, who is this woman?” Pretty sad for a guy involved with theater and movies his entire life, but there you go.
Movies that Changed My Life, in a nutshell.
Next week: Bogart and Bacall. No, not that one. Not that one, either. That other one.
