C'mon, Get Happy

The Making of Summer Stock

David Fantle, Tom Johnson

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781496838391
• eBook ISBN: 9781496846587
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

In their third and final screen teaming, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly starred together in the MGM musical Summer Stock. Despite its riveting production history, charismatic lead actors, and classic musical moments, the movie has not received the same attention as other musicals from MGM's storied dream factory. In C'mon, Get Happy: The Making of "Summer Stock," authors David Fantle and Tom Johnson present a comprehensive study of this 1950 motion picture, from start to finish and after its release.

The production coincided at a critical point in the careers of Kelly and an emotionally spent Garland. Kelly, who starred in An American in Paris just one year later, was at the peak of his abilities. On the other hand, Summer Stock was Garland's final film at MGM, and she gamely completed it despite her own personal struggles. Summer Stock includes Kelly's favorite solo dance routine and Garland's signature number "Get Happy."

The authors discuss in rich detail the contributions of the cast (which included Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken, Phil Silvers, and Marjorie Main); the director (Charles Walters); the producer (Joe Pasternak); the script writers (George Wells and Sy Gomberg); the songwriters (which included Harry Warren and Mack Gordon); and top MGM executives (Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary). The volume features extensive interviews, conducted by the authors, with Kelly, Walters, Warren, and others, who shared their recollections of making the movie. Deeply researched, C'mon, Get Happy reveals the studio system at work during Hollywood's Golden Era.

Additionally, the authors have written a special section called "Taking Stock" that buttonholes numerous contemporary dancers, singers, choreographers, musicians, and even Garland impersonators for their take on Summer Stock, its stars, and any enduring legacy they think the film might have. Artists from Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ben Vereen, and Tommy Tune to Garland's and Kelly's daughters, Lorna Luft and Kerry Kelly Novick, respectively, offer their unique perspective on the film and its stars.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction: Why Summer Stock?
• I. The Studio: MGM: Dream Factory in Transition
• II. The Story: It’ll Make Oklahoma! Look Like a Bum
• III. The Talent: It’s Up to You—Your Blood and Guts
• IV. The Production: How Dare This Look Like We’re Having Any Fun!
• V. The Musical Numbers: A Brilliant Creation!
• VI. Marketing, Reviews, Revenue, and Revivals: The Voice of Garland and the Feet of Kelly Are at High Tide in Summer Stock
• VII. Straight Up All the Way
• VIII. Taking Stock: Who’s Doing Anything Remotely Like It Now? I’ll Tell You Who—Nobody!
• Key Dates in the Making of Summer Stock
• Cast and Crew of Summer Stock
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix I: Setting the Tempo: Johnny Green and the MGM Orchestra
• Appendix II: Arrangements Have Been Made: Conrad Salinger and Skip Martin and the “MGM Sound”
• Appendix III: Summer Stock from Vinyl Album to Digital CD
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors