| By Kim | pg 1 of 16 |
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So, before I start, let me confess that my knowledge of all things Judy Garland is not that extensive. I mean, sure, I've watched The Wizard of Oz a bunch of times, and I've seen Meet Me In St. Louis and Easter Parade, but that's about it. So, if I fail to point out where the movie veered away from the facts, please accept my apologies in advance. I'm no expert on Judy. I'm just here to (hopefully) bring the funny. Okay, boys and girls, pop some uppers because here we go!
Before the movie starts, we get a warning that "the following dramatization is based on the book Me and My Shadows by Lorna Luft." In other words, Judy's kid wrote the book, so this is all from her point of view. Take things with one large grain of salt and call me in the morning.
The movie starts with a voice-over by Lorna Luft. I don't know if it's really her doing the voice-over, but then again, why wouldn't it be? Lorna says that it's hard to be the daughter of a legend. She wonders what would have happened if her mother had been allowed to stay "Baby Frances Ethel Gumm, daughter of Frank and Ethel Gumm." Well, Frank and Ethel were original with the baby names there, huh? You have to wonder why they waited to name their third child after themselves, instead of doing so with the first one. Were they trying to avoid looking egotistical, or did they just run out of ideas by the time little Frances came along?
Anyway, as Lorna does the voice-over, we see a sign that announces that the Gumm Sisters are performing, and that tonight will be the first appearance of "Baby Frances Gumm." This took place in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 1924. Two little girls sing and dance onstage as Frank Gumm stands in the wings with a little girl in his arms. From the orchestra pit, Ethel Gumm mouths the words to the song, which ends, and the audience applauds. Baby Frances runs out onstage and says, "Hi!" which causes the audience to laugh. She's cute. She rings a little bell and sings a verse of "Jingle Bells," with her mother coaching her from the pit. The audience applauds, so she runs back out and does another verse. Her mother and father laugh and applaud along with the audience. In the wings, Frank squeezes the hand of the man standing next to him. Hmm, interesting. Ethel sees this and gives a worried look. Meanwhile, Baby Frances runs out for another verse as her father tries to yell to her to get off the stage, and he finally walks out and carries her off, but he's laughing the whole time.
Lorna voice-overs that the incident we just saw began her mother's love affair with her audience, and that "Baby Gumm" was on the road with her sisters until she was twelve. Sometimes they did as many as eight shows a day. Ethel walks backstage and hugs Frances, saying that she's going to be a star. Lorna voice-overs that to distract herself from her troubled marriage, Ethel was determined to make Frances a star. In case you didn't get that from her saying it while Frank glanced at his male "friend." Lorna tells us that they moved west to be closer to the movie studios. And probably away from Frank's "friend" too.