C'mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock

by David Fantle, Savion Glover (Foreword), Tom Johnson

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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

312 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Randy Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge, crazy Judy Garland fan. There was never a question I would buy, ‘C’mon, Get Happy, The Making of Summer Stock.’ However, I was only pages into it when basic errors about Judy Garland’s life made it clear this was going to be a painful slog. To be fair they love Judy Garland and acknowledge her greatness but that isn’t enough to justify this pathetic excuse of a book.

Harsh? Let me back that up. The book has no storyline. It is merely a collection of interviews and compilations of facts about people associated with the film. Often pages are spent on non-Summer Stock topics. There is almost no critique of the film, no insight into what makes it special.

Worse, there appears to have been little original research. In a YouTube video promoting the book the authors claim as their big takeaway that Judy Garland wasn’t the only cause for delays in shooting the film. In the book the only thing they cite as another cause for delay was that new songs had to be written and scored etc. This is like apples and oranges. Judy caused delays on the set because she has such difficulty getting ready to perform. Taking breaks to produce new music frees up studio space and actors to do other things. And it doesn’t seem that the musical delays required more than a few weeks. This takeaway is limp and banal.

This book was published by an academic press and the authors have previously published books of Hollywood celebrity interviews. Perhaps editorial assistance could have given the book a narrative and pulled out of the authors interesting insights into the film. I wonder if they got anything beyond copy editing help.
I hope such weak tea passing as ‘history’ is just an aberration and not a trend.

[Vincent Desjardins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The musical "Summer Stock" might seem like an odd choice for a "making of" book, but since this film came near the end of MGM's Golden Age, and it was the last film Judy Garland made for MGM, it is a film that is definitely worth a closer look. "C'mon, Get Happy the Making of Summer Stock," gives readers a revealing glimpse into the workings of the Hollywood studio system and all the ups and downs of putting a musical on the screen. When "Summer Stock" was released in 1950, it had been almost a year since Garland had been seen on screen in "In the Good Old Summertime." In the meantime she had been dismissed from "Annie Get Your Gun," and at age 27 was just getting out of rehab when her doctors felt she was ready to return to work. It's fortunate that director Charles Walters, stars Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven and Phil Silvers were all involved with the making of "Summer Stock" as they all adored Judy and it was with their encouragement and hand-holding that she managed to finish the film. The plot of "Summer Stock" is not too far removed from some of the "let's put on a show" type musicals Garland had made with Mickey Rooney at the start of her career. This book does a great job of showing how the script changed over the course of development, how the songs were written and filmed and the day to day challenges of working with a great talent, who after making 28 movies in 15 years was nearing the end of her film career due to her various chemical dependencies. It's a minor miracle that the film is as good as it is. Although the film's story may not be all that original, the film definitely produced two iconic musical numbers - Gene Kelly's amazing tap routine that starts with a squeaky floor board and a newspaper, and Judy's rousing "Get Happy" finale number. This is a must read for fans of Garland, Kelly and classic musicals.

[John Kenrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to "Get Happy"!

The authors have done a ton of research, including a massive number of interviews, making this look back at the making of Summer Stock a delightful and info-packed trip back to the golden days of the MGM studio. We get Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, their genius as well as their flaws, in the last of their three films together. We get all the dish on how the old song "Get Happy" wound up the highlight number in an otherwise original score by other songwriters. And we see how Hollywood's greatest hit factory turned out the musicals that remain MGM'S greatest claim to fame. Fans of the two stars will find this a must read - I've been lecturing on MGM for many years, and I learned quite a bit I've never heard or read about before. If you are into musicals and the studio era, I suspect that you will enjoy this as I did.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching the movie, I began reading David Fantle’s and Tom Johnson’s C’mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock. After reading the book, I watched the film again, not more than a week after the last viewing. But what I learned from the book made the movie so much more enjoyable. It is a romp—not an MGM classic musical, as the authors point out—but it still features the talents of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly plus a host of supporting players that provide lots of entertainment. I loved the book, not only because of the facts it presented, but also because those facts were presented much differently than other “making of” books. After giving brief bios of all the players and the filmmakers, the authors got down to brass tacks. We find all about the movie and how it was created but also—and this is the part I loved—they present in depth analyses of each of the musical numbers, including the recording, the filming, the writing, the performances, and, in some cases, the public reaction. These authors also provide the reactions of critics, who repeatedly mention that Garland was “chubby” or “zaftig,” both of which are ways of saying she was fat. Yes, Judy had added pounds, but in my second watching, I specifically looked for those fat cells. By today’s standards, she did not look overweight at all to me. After all, Marilyn Monroe was said to be a size 12, and yet she is the universal standard for Hollywood sex symbols. Yes, Garland was padded a bit more than in her other films, and yes, in her iconic “Get Happy” number, she is noticeably slimmer. But the authors point out that that number was filmed and added at least six weeks to two months after Garland’s other filming for the movie was completed. This book concludes, we believe, with comments from other performers about their experiences working with or watching Kelly and Garland. Those observations and comments are well worth reading. But just when you feel the book is finished, the authors throw in an interview with the man who put together the CD of the soundtrack. We hear about the various iterations of the songs as they were released, first on LP and then transferred to CD, and finally, the definitive version this gentleman compiled for the Rhino records label. As an education in the recording industry, this article alone is fascinating. A few quibbles: another review slammed the entire book, using one example of inaccuracy when the authors say Phil Silvers joined the cast fresh off his triumph on Broadway in Top Banana. But, had this reviewer read more carefully, earlier the authors said Phil Silvers was yet to do his triumphant Broadway performance. This proves to me the editor was not doing his/her job. That should have been caught, and the authors would have clarified which was correct (the Broadway show came after Silvers’s appearance in Summer Stock.) Finally, I did get tired of hearing that Ginger Rogers replaced Garland in The Barkley of Broadway and that Gene Kelly directed On the Town. Yes, readers don’t always remember what they have read and need to be told again in other parts of the book, but the five or so references each of these two facts were presented as if we had never been told those facts. That is an insult to readers, in my opinion. But those are, as I said, quibbles. This book is the first I’ve read in months that I enjoyed immensely, and it made me appreciate the film even more after reading it.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book because I like books about movies being made, and I have a soft spot for Summer Stock which, while not quite a classic like other Gene Kelly or Judy Garland movies, is fun, and features Kelly at his sexiest. The book starts out well in its first hundred pages of so, but there was clearly not enough material here to fill out an entire book. There are 283 pages, though everything after 220 is extraneous including what amount to long sidebar articles about arranging and about the soundtrack album, and brief and totally superfluous appreciations from various current-day folks. The authors must have been getting paid by the word because the repetition of facts and details is out of control. How many times do we have to hear that Garland was supposed to be in The Barkleys of Broadway, or that Kelly felt he owed his career to Garland? When each production number is summarized, the names of the actors playing the roles are inserted over and over again. After a hundred pages, we know that Garland was playing Jane and Kelly was playing Joe. If this book had come in at 160 pages, say, I would have raised my rating by at least a half a star.

Ultimately, I was glad to have read this because of the information I learned about this overlooked MGM musical. Weirdly, they bring up the mystery of Nita Bieber, a background dancer who has no lines and is focused on for about one minute of screen time, and yet is billed above Hans Conried, who has a major supporting role. The authors spend over 3 pages on her, yet never really present a plausible reason (they speculate about a cut song, but I figure she must have been someone's mistress). I'm sorry I bought this book, and would suggest other Summer Stock fans checking it out of the library.

[Brian Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joyous, well-written, impeccably researched, and insightful examination of what makes Summer Stock (the Judy Garland/Gene Kelly pairing from 1950) such an enduring classic. Filled with insider information and interviews not only with those involved in the production but with more contemporary voices, C’mon, Get Happy is perfect for those who love films from Hollywood’s golden age and especially those who can’t get enough of its incredible stars—athletic and masterful Kelly and the luminous, one-of-a-kind Garland. Read the book! See the movie!

[Matthew Elfenbein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This history and biography of the people and creatives that made "Summer Stock" presents a detailed and nuanced perspective. At times, it feels like each chapter starts over again, especially when repeating information (not always a bad thing). The archival research and analysis of materials make this a great example of how to produce a historiography of a very specific time and place in Hollywood with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but it's not an easy read. Instead of giving us a woven narrative of how the film was made, we get small essays on the various aspects of the film, from the first script ideas to the legacy of the film. Some essays are exhaustive, and some left me wanting more. If you love the film, buy the book. Otherwise, borrow it from the library and skim it for the parts that interest you.

[Jared K · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing inside look into one of the most underrated Judy Garland films! Summer Stock has always been one of very favorites because of the song Get Happy and the humor that it is brought by Judy and the cast. This book was very informative, well written and researched and I recommend it to anyone interested in the making of an old MGM musical.

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst there are some good musical numbers the film would be memorable were it not garlands last MGM film.
The book really struggled to find a great deal to say much about the film and filming and it really ends about 214.It adds little to what we already know about the film.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched and structured studied analysis of this classic Garland/Kelly musical. One cannot conceive how it could more comprehensive. Fascinating insight into golden Hollywood movie making and its creative ways.

[Steve Aron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointed. It's basically a rehash of every Judy bio, many of the dates are incorrect, which makes one think the observations and quotes are as well.
My recommendation is save your money and watch the movie again.