Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled Judy at Carnegie Hall.
Mickey Rooney was an American actor, producer, radio entertainer, and vaudevillian. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era. He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, and one of the best-paid actors of that era. At the height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized the mainstream United States self-image.
Babes in Arms is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work farm by the town sheriff when their actor parents go on the road for five months in an effort to earn some money by reviving vaudeville.
Arthur Freed was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for An American in Paris and in 1958 for Gigi. Both films were musicals, and both were directed by Vincente Minnelli. In addition, he produced and was a co-lyricist for the film Singin' in the Rain.
Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The main film series was released from 1937 to 1946, with a final film made in 1958 in an unsuccessful attempt to continue the series. Hardy and other characters initially appeared in the 1928 play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol. Early films in the series were about the Hardy family as a whole, but later entries focused on the character of Andy Hardy. Rooney was the only member of the ensemble to appear in all 16 films. The Hardy films, which were enormously popular in their heyday, were sentimental comedies, celebrating ordinary American life.
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.
Babes on Broadway is a 1941 American musical film starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and directed by Busby Berkeley, with Vincente Minnelli directing Garland's big solo numbers. The film, which features Fay Bainter and Virginia Weidler, was the third in the "Backyard Musical" series about kids who put on their own show, following Babes in Arms (1939) and Strike Up the Band (1940). Songs in the film include "Babes on Broadway" by Burton Lane (music) and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (lyrics), and "How About You?" by Lane with lyrics by Ralph Freed, the brother of producer Arthur Freed. The movie ends with a minstrel show performed by the main cast in blackface.
Roger Edens was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "golden era of Hollywood".
Words and Music is a 1948 American biographical musical film loosely based on the creative partnership of the composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. The film stars Mickey Rooney as Hart and Tom Drake as Rodgers, along with Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, Ann Sothern and numerous musical stars. It was the second in a series of MGM biopics about Broadway composers; it was preceded by Till the Clouds Roll By and followed by Three Little Words and Deep in My Heart.
"Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. The song also appeared in the film version of Babes in Arms two years later.
"How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. It was introduced in the 1941 film Babes on Broadway by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in their first film together.
Everybody Sing is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin, and starring Allan Jones, Judy Garland and Fanny Brice, and featuring Reginald Owen and Billie Burke. The screenplay and story by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf had additional work by James Gruen and Milton Merlin with uncredited contributions from Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Dalton Trumbo.
"I Wish I Were in Love Again" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. In the original show, Dolores, the Sheriff's daughter, talks to Gus, her former boyfriend, who tries to woo her unsuccessfully. They then sing about how they do not care that their relationship is over. The song was omitted from the 1939 film version.
Judy Garland signed her first recording contract at age 13 with Decca Records in late 1935. Garland began recording albums for Capitol Records in the 1950s. Her greatest success, Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961), was listed for 73 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, was certified Gold, and took home five Grammy Awards.
June Preisser was an American actress, popular in musical films during the late 1930s and through the 1940s, many of which capitalized on her skills as an acrobat.
Girl Crazy is a 1943 American musical film starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Produced by the Freed Unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the stage musical Girl Crazy – which was written by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. It was the last of Garland and Rooney's nine movies as co-stars, the pair appearing only once more together on film, as guest stars in 1948's Words and Music.
Strike Up the Band is a 1940 American musical film produced by the Arthur Freed unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was directed by Busby Berkeley and stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, in the second of a series of musicals they co-starred in, after Babes in Arms, all directed by Berkeley. The story written for the 1927 stage musical Strike Up the Band, and its successful 1930 Broadway revision, bear no resemblance to this film, aside from the title song.
"Good Morning" is a song with music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed, originally written for the film Babes in Arms (1939) and performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
"F.D.R. Jones" is a 1938 satirical song written by Harold Rome. It was first recorded and released as a single by Ella Fitzgerald in 1938 and was performed by Judy Garland in blackface in the 1941 musical picture Babes on Broadway. The song satirizes the then contemporaneous practice of African American parents who named their children after Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States.
