I watched the restored version, which is longer than the theatrical version. The film itself had been lost, but the soundtrack was found, so they put still images where the film would be. It made a lot more sense with the extra stuff put in.
This was one of Judy Garland's last films. That's probably why she put such effort into singing everything. Her character, Esther/Vicki's husband, Norman, is an alcoholic. Judy in real life suffered from addiction and eventually passed away from an overdose. There is a deeper theme of addiction and depression in this film that is slightly hidden by all the happy singing. So I feel that this was very personal project for her. It is pretty dark that way. The film dragged on a bit, but it was okay. I will give it a 5/10.
This is either a drama with a lot of music or a musical that actually work as a drama. I lean towards the second. I agree it is dark and particularly poignant considering Garlands mental state at the time.
ReplyDelete