Judy Garland Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Judy Garland Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A star is reborn.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 29, 2025

Warner Archive has been stepping up their multi-disc collection efforts in recent months, and that's very good news indeed for anyone looking to fill up their shelves on the cheap: these low-risk sets simply bundle together a handful of like-minded titles in a space-saving format at wallet-saving prices. For pure value, look no further.

The wide majority of WAC's October collection slate focuses on some of Hollywood's biggest leading ladies including Judy Garland, Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford. The Judy Garland Collection serves up six of the starlet's music-themed productions: 1940's Strike Up the Band, 1943's Girl Crazy, 1944's Meet Met In St. Louis, the 1949 remake In the Good Old Summertime, 1950's Summer Stock, and finally the second iteration of A Star is Born from 1954; sadly, Garland would only appear on-screen in three more films before her untimely death fifteen years later.

For full synopses and reviews of each film in this collection, please follow the links below.

Strike Up the Band (reviewed by Randy Miller III) - Busby Berekely's lively but lukewarm Strike Up the Band film attempts to cash in on the success of Babes in Arms, a musical released the previous year also starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Sadly it can't quite measure up to that film in both song selection and story, as the paper-thin plot is stretched pretty thin over a two-hour period. But it's still a decent time despite the trademark hyper-showmanship of Rooney, and die-hard fans of both him and Garland will unabashedly enjoy themselves.

Girl Crazy (reviewed by Randy Miller III) - In the last of their eight joint films, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland tried to strike gold one more time with 1943's Girl Crazy, co-directed by Norman Taurog and choreographer Busby Berkeley. This round, Rooney plays rich young playboy Danny Churchill Jr., a premise that sounds ridiculous until we realize that everyone else is in on the joke too. But the screenplay drums up quick sympathy for Danny by making him immediately lose his situation: Danny Sr. (Henry O'Neill) puts a stop to the skirt-chasing and sends him to Cody College of Mines and Agriculture, a girl-free zone out West in the middle of nowhere. What, he doesn't want grandchildren?

Meet Met In St. Louis (reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman) - "Meet Me in St. Louis is rather strangely routinely passed over when most people think of holiday movies, but it is in fact one of the most quietly heartwarming films of its era and makes perfect Christmas fare, especially with the elegant (if rather sad in this version) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” one of the film’s highlights. But this is really a film for the ages, and for all seasons, one which may not be bombastic even in the slightest but which charms effortlessly with its deliberately small story."

In the Good Old Summertime (reviewed by Randy Miller III) - A fluffy musical remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 holiday gem The Shop Around the Corner, Robert Leonard's In the Good Old Summertime transplants the tale from 1930s Budapest to turn-of-the-century Chicago, where hopeful Veronica Fisher (Garland) wanders into Oberkugen's Music Company looking for a job... much to the dismay of salesman Andrew Larkin (Van Johnson, The Caine Mutiny), who's already on her bad side and almost never recovers. Once he realizes they're actually secret pen pals, the shop rivalry gets a lot more interesting. With a supporting cast including Buster Keaton (who choreographed a few scenes), S. Z. Sakall (Casablanca), and Spring Byington (You Can't Take It With You ), it's redundant but worth watching.

Summer Stock (reviewed by Randy Miller III) - In her last starring role in an MGM musical, Garland plays dedicated farm owner Jane Falbury who, along with her aspiring actress sister Abigail (Gloria De Haven), is stuck running things after two aging farmhands quit. A shiny new gas-powered tractor would surely solve their problems…but that’ll only happen if she ties the knot with docile kinda-boyfriend Orville (Eddie Bracken), whose wealthy dad Jasper (Ray Collins) owns the local supply store. Abigail has the bright idea of renting out their barn to her theater troupe, directed by fiancé Joe (Gene Kelly), for rehearsals. Now, if only if those city slickers could figure out how to milk a cow…

A Star is Born (reviewed by Kenneth Brown) - "An adaptation of the 1937 film of the same name, director George Cukor's A Star is Born tells the uncharacteristically bleak tale of Norman Maine (James Mason), an alcoholic celebrity who falls in love with a talented singer named Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland). Though the two are married soon after Esther becomes a famous stage and screen starlet, Norman's behavior begins to spiral out of control as his career stalls, leaving his dutiful wife with little choice but to pick up the pieces of their personal lives."

Judy Garland Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For details about each film's 1080p transfer, please follow the review links below.

NOTE: A Star is Born features the same slightly dated but serviceable VC-1 transfer as before.

Strike Up the Band

Girl Crazy

Meet Met In St. Louis

In the Good Old Summertime

Summer Stock

A Star is Born

Judy Garland Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, for more details about each audio mix, you know what to do by now.

Strike Up the Band

Girl Crazy

Meet Met In St. Louis

In the Good Old Summertime

Summer Stock

A Star is Born

Judy Garland Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This six-disc set ships in a hinged keepcase with separate hubs for each disc. Like other WAC collections, this one simply repurposes existing poster-themed covers as a paneled collage. One or more bonus features, identical to those found on the previous Blu-rays, can be found on each disc. Follow the review links for full coverage.

NOTE: The linked releases of Meet Me in St. Louis and A Star is Born respectively included a soundtrack CD and a DVD of extras, which are not included here. The latter is sorely missed, but there's still plenty to dig through.

Strike Up the Band

Girl Crazy

Meet Met In St. Louis

In the Good Old Summertime

Summer Stock

A Star is Born (no extras)

Judy Garland Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner Archive's new Judy Garland Collection serves up a half-dozen films from the celebrated actress' storied career. It's a pretty decent mix overall -- though I'd have loved to see 1945's excellent The Clock in here for a bit of contrast -- but, given her broad filmography, another volume may eventually be in the works. Either way, this is a predictably solid collection on all counts, from A/V merits to bonus features, so buy with confidence knowing you're getting a terrific group of discs for one low price. Recommended, unless of course you own most or all of them already.