A Date with Judy (film)

Last updated
A Date with Judy
A Date With Judy film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Screenplay by
Based on A Date with Judy
radio series
by Aleen Leslie
Produced by Joe Pasternak
Starring
Cinematography Robert Surtees
Edited by Harold F. Kress
Music byErnesto Lecuona
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • July 29, 1948 (1948-07-29)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.3 million [1] or $2 million [2]
Box office$4.6 million [1]

A Date with Judy is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy Technicolor film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell and Elizabeth Taylor. [3] [4] The film is based on the radio series of the same name.

Contents

The film features Powell's soprano singing voice and also features musical performances by Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda and Spanish bandleader Xavier Cugat. The songs "Judaline" and "It's a Most Unusual Day" also debuted in the film.

Plot

In Santa Barbara, California, snobbish teenager Carol Pringle tells her best friend Judy Foster that famous bandleader Xavier Cugat will be the guest of honor at the dance that night. Carol convinces her younger brother Ogden "Oogie" Pringle to cancel his dance date with Judy, claiming that women are more drawn to men who ignore them. Judy becomes infuriated and vows to end their friendship. Dejected, Judy visits "Pop" Sam Scully's drugstore, where she meets Pop's handsome nephew Stephen Andrews. He agrees to escort her to the dance as a favor to Pop. At the dance, Oogie sees Judy with Stephen and becomes jealous. While Oogie tries to divert Judy's attention away from Stephen, Stephen meets Carol and they dance together.

Realizing how much Judy means to Oogie, Carol schemes to reunite them by telling Judy that she has convinced her wealthy father to give Judy and Oogie a program on his radio station. At a dinner arranged by Carol, Oogie tries to make amends with Judy, but when Judy accidentally falls, she wrongly accuses him of pushing her. Although Stephen assures Oogie that he would never take Judy from him, she tells her father that she is in love with Stephen and intends to marry him.

After a circumstantial misunderstanding, Judy believes that her father Melvin is having an affair with rumba instructor Rosita Conchellas. Judy runs home and gives her mother a beauty makeover to make her more appealing to her father.

Upon learning that Carol is in love with Stephen, her father Lucien performs a background check on Stephen. Stephen confronts Lucien, declaring that he now understands why Carol is spoiled and egotistical. Lucien pledges to be more attentive to Oogie and Carol. Oogie visits Judy's house and tries to serenade her, but they argue when he says that he is taking a fishing trip with his father and might not return in time for their radio show.

The next day, Judy and Carol see Melvin escorting Rosita to his car. That night, at Judy's parents' anniversary celebration, Judy and Carol accuse Rosita of having an affair with a married man. Rosita misunderstands the accusation and believes that they are talking about Cugat, her fiancé. Rosita explains that she was teaching Judy's father the rumba as a surprise for his wife and children. Judy and Carol realize their mistake and apologize to Rosita. Judy reconciles with Oogie after she learns that Carol is in love with Stephen, and Stephen agrees to resume his romance with Carol in a few years when she is older.

Cast

Songs

Production

Original theatrical trailer A Date with Judy - teriler.jpg
Original theatrical trailer

The A Date with Judy radio show ran from 1941 to 1949 on NBC, and from 1949 to 1950 on ABC. The character of Judy Foster was portrayed on the radio by Dellie Ellis (later known as Joan Lorring), Louise Erickson and Ann Gillis.

Thomas E. Breen was originally set to costar in the film with Jane Powell, and Leslie Kardos was set to direct. Selena Royle replaced Mary Astor, who withdrew from the film because of illness. [5]

According to a biography of director Vincente Minnelli, a musical number entitled "Mulligatawny" created by Stanley Donen was cut from the film before its release. [6]

Release

The film spent four weeks at the top of the U.S. box office, [7] earning theatrical rentals of $3,431,000 in the United States and Canada and $1,155,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,495,000. [1] [8]

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Thomas F. Brady wrote: "Hollywood has developed an extensive and rigid set of conventions for its unceasing stream of comedies of adolescence, and 'Judy' adheres carefully to all of them. But within the limits of this familiar pattern, the picture is pleasantly entertaining. ... Not to be curmudgeonly, one has to admit that the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer formula for adolescent comedy is just about as good as any other formula which has been worn smooth by years of exploitation. Altogether, 'Judy' will provide acceptable summer entertainment for anyone who isn't too tired of standard movie juveniles and their attitudes." [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Miranda</span> Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer and actress (1909–1955)

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, known professionally as Carmen Miranda, was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Powell</span> American actress (1929–2021)

Jane Powell was an American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Powell appeared in films, television and on the stage, performing in the musicals A Date with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Hit the Deck (1955).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xavier Cugat</span> Spanish-Cuban musician and bandleader

Xavier Cugat was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

<i>Thats Entertainment!</i> 1974 film by Jack Haley Jr.

That's Entertainment! is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film That's Dancing!, and a third installment in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotty Beckett</span> American actor (1929–1968)

Scott Hastings Beckett was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the Our Gang shorts and later costarred on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger.

<i>A Date with Judy</i> Radio show

A Date with Judy is a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which ran from 1941 to 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbe Lane</span> American singer and actress (born 1932)

Abbe Lane is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader and musician Xavier Cugat, more than thirty years her senior.

<i>Springtime in the Rockies</i> 1942 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Cummings

Springtime in the Rockies is an American Technicolor musical comedy film released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1942. It stars Betty Grable, with support from John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Horton. Also appearing were Grable's future husband Harry James and his band. The director was Irving Cummings. The screenplay was based on the short story "Second Honeymoon" by Philip Wylie.

<i>Nancy Goes to Rio</i> 1950 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Nancy Goes to Rio is a 1950 American Technicolor musical-comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon, based on a story by Jane Hall, Frederick Kohner, and Ralph Block. The music was directed and supervised by George Stoll and includes compositions by George and Ira Gershwin, Giacomo Puccini, Jack Norworth, and Stoll.

<i>This Time for Keeps</i> 1947 film by Richard Thorpe

This Time for Keeps is a 1947 American romantic musical film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Esther Williams, Jimmy Durante, Johnnie Johnston and opera singer Lauritz Melchior. Produced by MGM, it is about a soldier, returning home from war, who does not wish to work for his father's opera company or to continue his relationship with his pre-war lover.

<i>Neptunes Daughter</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Edward Buzzell

Neptune's Daughter is a 1949 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalbán, Betty Garrett, Keenan Wynn, Xavier Cugat and Mel Blanc. It was directed by Edward Buzzell, and features the debut of the Academy Award–winning song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Frank Loesser.

<i>Week-End in Havana</i> 1941 film by Walter Lang

Week-End in Havana is a 1941 American Technicolor musical film directed by Walter Lang and starring Alice Faye, John Payne and Carmen Miranda. The film was produced and distributed by Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox. It was the second of three pictures the two stars made together and the second Faye film to have a Latin American theme, typical of Fox musicals of the early 1940s. Faye was pregnant during filming. It is also known by the alternative titles A Week-End in Havana and That Week-End in Havana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selena Royle</span> American actress

Selena Royle was an American actress of stage, radio, television and film and later, an author.

The Chez Paree was a Chicago nightclub known for its glamorous atmosphere, elaborate dance numbers, and top entertainers. It operated from 1932 until 1960 in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago at 610 N. Fairbanks Court. The club was the epitome of the golden age of entertainment, and it hosted a wide variety of performers, from singers to comedians to vaudeville acts. A "new" Chez Paree opened briefly in the mid-1960s on 400 N. Wabash Avenue and was seen in the film Mickey One with Warren Beatty.

<i>Hit the Deck</i> (1955 film) 1955 film

Hit the Deck is a 1955 American musical film directed by Roy Rowland and starring Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Pidgeon, Vic Damone, Gene Raymond, Ann Miller, and Russ Tamblyn. It is based on the 1927 stage musical of the same name – which was itself based on the hit 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne – and was shot in CinemaScope. Although the film featured some songs from the stage musical, the plot was different. Standards featured in the film include "Sometimes I'm Happy", "I Know that You Know", and "Hallelujah".

<i>Honeymoon</i> (1959 film) 1959 film

Honeymoon, also shown as The Lovers of Teruel in the United States, is a 1959 film by the British director-writer Michael Powell based in part on the ballet El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla. The film stars Anthony Steel, Ludmilla Tchérina and Spanish ballet dancer Antonio, and features Léonide Massine.

<i>Luxury Liner</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Richard Whorf

Luxury Liner is a 1948 romantic musical comedy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Technicolor. It was directed by Richard Whorf, and written by Richard Connell, Gladys Lehman and Karl Kamb (uncredited). It was originally titled Maiden Voyage.

<i>Holiday in Mexico</i> 1946 film by George Sidney

Holiday in Mexico is a 1946 America Technicolor musical comedy film directed by George Sidney and starring Walter Pidgeon, Jane Powell, and Ilona Massey. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and marked Powell's first film for the Hollywood studio who had placed her under contract.

The Wedding Samba is a samba written by Abraham Ellstein, Allan Small and Joseph Liebowitz and recorded by Carmen Miranda with participation of Andrews Sisters for Decca Records on December 12, 1949.

A Date with Judy is an American television sitcom, two versions of which were broadcast on ABC between 1951 and 1953. A daytime version ran on weekly on Saturdays from June 2, 1951, to February 23, 1952. A primetime version with a different cast ran from July 10, 1952, to September 30, 1953.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
  2. ↑ "109-Million Investment by H'wood In Current Technicolor Features". Variety . Vol. 169, no. 11. February 18, 1948. p. 7.
  3. ↑ "Film Reviews". Variety . Vol. 171, no. 3. June 23, 1948. p. 6.
  4. ↑ Harrison's Reports film review. June 19, 1948. p. 99.
  5. ↑ The Hollywood Reporter . December 1947.
  6. ↑ "A Date with Judy (1948)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  7. ↑ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety . Vol. 172, no. 2. September 15, 1948. p. 3.
  8. ↑ "Top Grossers of 1948". Variety . Vol. 173, no. 4. January 5, 1949. p. 46.
  9. ↑ Brady, Thomas F. (1948-08-06). "The Screen: 'A Date With Judy' Arrives at the Music Hall—Carmen Miranda Provides Laughs". The New York Times . p. 22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.