Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows
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| Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows | |
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| Directed by | Robert Allan Ackerman |
| Produced by | Robert L. Freedman John Ryan |
| Written by | Lorna Luft Robert L. Freedman |
| Starring | Judy Davis Victor Garber Hugh Laurie |
| Music by | William Ross Jim Harrison |
| Cinematography | James Chressanthis |
| Editing by | Dody Dorn |
| Distributed by | American Broadcasting Company Momentum Pictures, (UK) |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 170 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows is a 2001 television film based on the memoirs of Lorna Luft, the daughter of Judy Garland.
[edit] Plot
Christmas 1924: Two year old Frances Ethel Gumm (Judy Garland's real name) makes her debut performance singing "Jingle Bells" and runs off stage before coming back on, then she does it again before being carried off by her father, Frank Gumm. Judy's mother, Ethel, who is unhappy with her marriage due to her husband being gay, plans to move to California in hopes that Judy and her sisters, Suzie and Jimmie will get a chance at becoming movie stars.
1935: Frank Gumm takes Frances, now using her stage name of Judy Garland (Tammy Blanchard) to the studios of Metro Goldwyn Mayer to audition. At first, MGM chief, Louis B. Mayer is not impressed with Judy's rendition of "Zing! "Went the Strings of my Heart", but when Judy sings a different song, and impressed Mayer says "Little girl. Big voice". Judy signs an MGM contract, but the studio are not sure what to do with her, so they keep giving her radio appearances. Tragedy strikes one night when Judy is told that her father has been rushed to hospital due to a problem with his ear. Judy is also told that doctors have put a radio beside her father's bed, so he'll be listening. While Suzie and Jimmie are in tears over their ill father, their mother shows no emotion at all. The next day, Frank Gumm dies.
1939: MGM purchases the rights to L. Frank Baum's classic children's book, "The Wizard of Oz". Rumours spread that Shirley Temple might be playing Dorothy, but, when 20th Century Fox refuse to let her out of her contract, Judy is delighted when she is cast. Judy is prescribed some pills to help her sleep and to give her energy to work, and she is also forced to lose weight. Judy is then seen filming the Yellow Brick Road dance with the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion. On the first take, they all close in and shut Judy out, prompting director, Victor Flemming to yell "You three dirty hams! Let that little girl in there!". The film turns out to be a huge success, and Judy is catapulted to international stardom.
Early 1940s: Judy begins a romance with bandleader, Artie Shaw, who has already been married and divorced twice, which causes much concern. Regardless, Judy continues to see Artie until he elopes with Lana Turner, leaving Judy heartbroken. Then, while filming the "I've Got Rhythm" sequence for "Girl Crazy", Judy is continually being reprimanded by her director, Busby Berkeley over not putting enough energy into her performance. Eventually, Judy collapses on the set, and is granted three weeks rest, despite the doctors instruction that she needed six. The narrator of the film then reveals Judy married composer, David Rose when she was just nineteen. Their marriage lasted only nine months.
1944: Judy (now played by Judy Davis) meets Vincente Minnelli (Hugh Laurie), who is the director of her next film, "Meet Me in St. Louis". Judy is then shown filming the "Trolley Song" sequence. Garland and Minnelli married in June 1945, and while on their honeymoon, Judy tells Vincente she's pregnant, and throws away her pills, vowing never to take them again.
1947: Now a mother to Liza, Judy is forced to renew her contract with MGM. While filming "The Pirate", Vincente Minnelli finds out that Judy is taking the pills again. The marriage spirals downwards from there.
1950: Judy is suspended indefinetley, and tries to commit suicide by slashing her throat with a broken glass. Judy is then fired by MGM, and her marriage to Vincente Minnelli falls apart after she discovers him in bed with another man (which is never shown). During this time, she meets Sidney Luft (Victor Garber). Sid helps Judy with her showbusiness comeback at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.
Early 1950s: Judy marries Sid Luft, and a few months later, gives birth to a second daughter, Lorna. In January 1953, Judy's mother Ethel dies in a parking lot after a heart attack. Judy also makes "A Star is Born", her first film since MGM fired her. She receives an Oscar nomination, losing to Grace Kelly (Judy gave birth to a son, Joey, on the night of the Oscars).
Late 1950s: Judy is now struggling with debts, and her marriage to Sid Luft starts to crumble.
Early 1960s: After overcoming a life-threatening illness, Judy tours America, the high point being a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. As her marriage to Sid Luft continues to collapse, Judy wins custody of their two children.
Mid 1960's: Judy gets her own TV series, but after it's cancelled, she is forced to go on the road again, leading to a disastarous concert in Melbourne, Australia. Garland later marries for a fourth time, this time to Mark Herron. This marriage is short-lived as Herron turns out to be gay, and Judy throws him out. Lorna begins to understand the connection between her mother's erratic behaviour and her medication. Sidney Luft eventually becomes concerned for Lorna and Joey, especially after Lorna collapses from exhaustion, so he taks them to live with him in Los Angeles.
1969: Judy Garland marries for a fifth time. Her new husband is Mickey Deans. The couple settle in London. Liza, Lorna, and Joey call Judy on her forty-seventh birthday on June 10th, and say they will come and spend the summer with her. Sadly, two weeks later, Judy dies from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.
