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A DATE WITH JUDY
A Date with Judy is an affectionate slice of Americana from 1948 that takes a simple story with some surprisingly adult touches and wraps it in the accustomed MGM gloss.
Based on a famous radio program, this is the story of a hyperactive small town teen named Judy Foster, played by Jane Powell, who wants to run her life and everyone else's, especially her family. This film actually has two basic story lines: There is a romantic quadrangle between Judy, her taken for granted boyfriend Oogie (Scotty Beckett), whose sister Carol (Elizabeth Taylor), a spoiled and manipulative daddy's girl, is smitten with an older soda jerk named Stephen (Robert Stack) who only has eyes for Judy. The other story involves Judy's father (Oscar winner Wallace Beery) hiring a dance teacher (Carmen Miranda) to teach him how to rhumba in time for his upcoming 20th anniversary. These two simple stories are seamlessly woven together into a very entertaining musical comedy that entertains from start to finish.
The screenplay by Dorothy Cooper and Dorothy Kingsley has some adult touches that I didn't see coming...when Judy tells her dad that she is in love with Stephen and he asks her if the guy has proposed, she says that she may just ask him, something that I'm sure was pretty unheard of in 1948. The dynamic between Judy and Carol had a contemporary feel, like something out of a daytime soap opera...Carol is constantly pulling the wool over Judy's eyes in an attempt to steal Stephen from her and Judy can't see it.
Richard Thorpe's energetic direction serves the story and he gets what is required from his cast to make this work...Jane Powell is a little sugary but perfect in the title role and Elizabeth Taylor is a revelation in the role of Carol, looking breathtaking and well beyond her teenage years, in a role that would foreshadow a lot of her work as an adult actress. Scotty Beckett was an absolute charmer as Oogie and Stack made an impressive leading man, but if the truth be told, Wallace Beery very quietly walks off with this movie as Judy's blustery father...a man often clueless about what's going on with his family but not loving them any less for it. If you're a fan of MGM musicals, this one's a must.
A Date with Judy is an affectionate slice of Americana from 1948 that takes a simple story with some surprisingly adult touches and wraps it in the accustomed MGM gloss.
Based on a famous radio program, this is the story of a hyperactive small town teen named Judy Foster, played by Jane Powell, who wants to run her life and everyone else's, especially her family. This film actually has two basic story lines: There is a romantic quadrangle between Judy, her taken for granted boyfriend Oogie (Scotty Beckett), whose sister Carol (Elizabeth Taylor), a spoiled and manipulative daddy's girl, is smitten with an older soda jerk named Stephen (Robert Stack) who only has eyes for Judy. The other story involves Judy's father (Oscar winner Wallace Beery) hiring a dance teacher (Carmen Miranda) to teach him how to rhumba in time for his upcoming 20th anniversary. These two simple stories are seamlessly woven together into a very entertaining musical comedy that entertains from start to finish.
The screenplay by Dorothy Cooper and Dorothy Kingsley has some adult touches that I didn't see coming...when Judy tells her dad that she is in love with Stephen and he asks her if the guy has proposed, she says that she may just ask him, something that I'm sure was pretty unheard of in 1948. The dynamic between Judy and Carol had a contemporary feel, like something out of a daytime soap opera...Carol is constantly pulling the wool over Judy's eyes in an attempt to steal Stephen from her and Judy can't see it.
Richard Thorpe's energetic direction serves the story and he gets what is required from his cast to make this work...Jane Powell is a little sugary but perfect in the title role and Elizabeth Taylor is a revelation in the role of Carol, looking breathtaking and well beyond her teenage years, in a role that would foreshadow a lot of her work as an adult actress. Scotty Beckett was an absolute charmer as Oogie and Stack made an impressive leading man, but if the truth be told, Wallace Beery very quietly walks off with this movie as Judy's blustery father...a man often clueless about what's going on with his family but not loving them any less for it. If you're a fan of MGM musicals, this one's a must.