This film potentially had a lot going for it. Judy Garland as the star. George Murphy as the love interest (in the first half of the film) and the father (in the second half of the film), Charles Winninger as Mthe father/grandfather, Athur Freed as producer, and Norman Taurog as director. But it turned out -- in my opinion -- to be a disaster, though it was a money maker.
As a couple of other posters indicated, the usually reliable Charles Winninger ruined the film. It's about as bad a characterization as one could imagine. There's a huge difference between being a curmudgeon and being an...well I can't use the word I want here. I'm not sure whether it was Winninger's fault, the writer's fault, or the director's fault, but I found that the character made me dislike the film overall. And then, after being a total jerk for the whole film, he makes a u-turn in the last five minutes of the film. Hiss, hiss, boo.
Another major problem here is that the film couldn't quite figure out was it was supposed to be. A comedy? Not exactly. A drama? Not exactly. A musical? Not exactly. A mess? Definitely.
The movie's not all bad. Garland is good, as she almost always was. However, I found the songs rather uninspiring, with perhaps the possible exception of the (somewhat) title song. George Murphy is reliable, but his dancing skills are wasted here, although his acting is fine.
The story started out as a somewhat dramatic one, but then seemed to change directions after the death of wife and mother Judy Garland...and became a sort of musical in the second half of the film, when Garland reappears as the daughter.
I may be Irish...but this was a waste of my time. Not recommended.
As a couple of other posters indicated, the usually reliable Charles Winninger ruined the film. It's about as bad a characterization as one could imagine. There's a huge difference between being a curmudgeon and being an...well I can't use the word I want here. I'm not sure whether it was Winninger's fault, the writer's fault, or the director's fault, but I found that the character made me dislike the film overall. And then, after being a total jerk for the whole film, he makes a u-turn in the last five minutes of the film. Hiss, hiss, boo.
Another major problem here is that the film couldn't quite figure out was it was supposed to be. A comedy? Not exactly. A drama? Not exactly. A musical? Not exactly. A mess? Definitely.
The movie's not all bad. Garland is good, as she almost always was. However, I found the songs rather uninspiring, with perhaps the possible exception of the (somewhat) title song. George Murphy is reliable, but his dancing skills are wasted here, although his acting is fine.
The story started out as a somewhat dramatic one, but then seemed to change directions after the death of wife and mother Judy Garland...and became a sort of musical in the second half of the film, when Garland reappears as the daughter.
I may be Irish...but this was a waste of my time. Not recommended.