Summer Stock Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Summer Stock Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 1, 2019

Featuring Judy Garland’s last starring role in an MGM musical, Charles Walters' Summer Stock seems like it should be an all-out extravaganza celebrating the leading actress’ considerable success during the last two decades. Instead, it’s a lightweight and rough-around-the-edges production that never quite gels as a cohesive, satisfying story, but it’s still plenty entertaining with great choreography and musical numbers. Garland stars as 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 without giving notice. 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 father 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…

There’s more to Summer Stock, but not much: it’s substantially thinner than its 109-minute running time implies but manages to stay afloat on the unwavering charisma and enthusiasm of Garland, Kelly, and a respectable host of MGM regulars. There’s the expected fish-out-of-water gags, some obvious tension between our two leads -- which intensifies considerably, once Jane’s dancing skills are recognized by the director and she’s given a chance to join the show -- and no shortage of memorable songs along the way. It’s unfortunate, then, that Summer Stock’s closing show (put on by the theater troupe, with you-know-who in the spotlight) feels like an afterthought: our initial impression is jarring because the modest barn rehearsal space is suddenly a full-blown show, and we barely saw them practice a fraction of the songs from it. Chief among them is Garland’s career highlight “Get Happy” (famously filmed several months after the rest of the film, after the actress lost fifteen pounds); it’s a great moment, but somewhat spoiled by the show it’s lazily shoe-horned into. (And the less that can be said about Kelly and Phil Silvers’ awful “Heavenly Music”, the better, although the chorus of barking dogs is pretty funny.) As a whole, Summer Stock’s final act leaves something of a sour taste in the mouth, but what comes before it is certainly entertaining enough to satisfy fans of the cast.

Warner Archive’s brand-new Blu-ray package aims to replace their parent company’s 2006 DVD, and does so with a terrific new 1080p transfer, lossless audio, and a welcome assortment of ported-over bonus features. This isn’t exactly a recommended blind buy due to the main feature’s fundamental flaws; even so, established fans should definitely take the opportunity to upgrade. Although Summer Stock wasn’t exactly on the top of many Blu-ray request lists (musical or otherwise), its bright Technicolor visuals and memorable music obviously benefit from the superior format.

Summer Stock Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, the pre-widescreen Summer Stock looks very good on Warner Archive's new Blu-ray. Although I do not have their parent company's 2006 DVD on hand for a direct comparison, this disc is advertised as being sourced from a brand-new remaster and is extremely clean from start to finish. Fine detail and textures are quite strong, especially in regard to clothing and background production design, with a steady layer of natural film grain that hasn't been processed with any obvious noise reduction. But the real star here is Summer Stock's vivid Technicolor palette, which isn't always evident in some of the farmhouse and barn interior shots but really packs quite a punch in other scenes; primaries are especially bold but do not succumb to over-saturation or bleeding. The much darker final-act show also looks quite good, with spotlighted areas that avoid excessive blooming and a strong level of shadow detail that similarly doesn't fall victim to black crush. Overall, this is an extremely stable 1080p transfer that wrings a surprising amount of detail out of what sounds like an ordinary-looking film on paper.

One note about the picture: I detected a few slight but noticeable color fluctuations at various points during the film, which range in duration from "blink and you'll miss it" to 10-15 seconds and typically display a very subtle shift between cold and warm tints. A few examples of these fluctuations can be found at 4:17 (After Esme knocks and enters), 1:18:55 (Joe tap-dances with a newspaper), 1:23:30 (Reading a review in "Variety"), and 1:30:09 (Jane and Esme talk outside). Since a dye-transfer was used by Warner Archive for color reference, these pulses are most likely part of the source material and not a flaw of the transfer. Same goes for the freeze-frame on Garlands' face shortly after singing "Friendly Star" -- it was an intentional editing choice made during production, not a defect.

Summer Stock Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 2.0 (mono) presentation of Summer Stock offers a faithful reproduction of its source elements. Not surprisingly, this is very much a dialogue and song-driven production, with the large cast regularly engaging in overlapping indoor conversations. This can often create a chaotic or cramped atmosphere but everything is handled nicely: dialogue is never unintelligible, even during some of the most crowded moments. Musical performances, for the most part, sound dynamic with a good balance between the vocals and lower frequencies. No major imperfections were detected along the way, aside from a few distorted and tinny-sounding lines sung by Judy Garland during "Get Happy"; these are due to recording anomalies in the original source material (common among MGM musical of the era) and not a fault of this audio mix. For these reasons, Summer Stock will likely never sound better than it does here.

Optional English SDH subtitles have been included during the main feature…but like most recent Warner Archive releases, are formatted in ALL CAPS (aside from, frustratingly enough, the names of those speaking).

Summer Stock Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As with all Warner Archive Blu-rays, Summer Stock includes extras from their parent company's DVD edition.

• Song Selection (14 clips) - Immediate access to the film's songs or main music cues. These include "Main Title", "If You Feel Like Singing, Sing", "Happy Harvest", "Dig, Dig, Dig For Your Dinner", "Mem'ry Island", "The Portland Fancy", "You, Wonderful You (1)", "Friendly Star", "You, Wonderful You (Dance)", "All For You", "You, Wonderful You (2)", "Heavenly Music", "Get Happy", and "Finale and Cast List". Since this feature was not mentioned in the press release or packaging, it's a nice surprise and should be standard for musicals.

• Summer Stock: Get Happy! (16:31) - This featurette gives an overview of the film's development and early casting concerns (health-related issues that plagued Judy Garland's career earlier in the decade, as well as the hiring of Gene Kelly after Mickey Rooney's declining box-office appeal), as well as the supporting characters and songs. Featuring comments from Garland biographer John Fricke, late actress Gloria De Haven (d. 2016), and others, Get Happy! is a relatively safe but thoughtful piece that newcomers should enjoy.

• Vintage Tex Avery Cartoon "The Cuckoo Clock" (7:06) - This Fred Quimby- produced short follows a cat who torments -- and is tormented by -- a cuckoo. If you shut your eyes, it sounds just like a Tom and Jerry short, from Scott Bradley's music to the recycled Hanna-Barbera sound effects. Although advertised in Warner Archive's press release as "HD", this short hasn't been fully restored like other recent cartoon extras on Blu-ray. It still looks decent enough, even though there's lots of dirt and debris near the beginning and end.

• Vintage Pete Smith Specialty Short: "Did'ja Know" (7:50) - Directed by Dave Barclay, this mildly amusing live action black-and-white short -- sub-titled "Have You Ever Wondered #3 with Dave O'Brien" -- presents a few tongue-in-cheek "facts" about new dads, the greeting card industry, noisy radiators, and more.

• "Fall In Love" Audio Outtake (2:00, DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio) - This short unused song is performed by Gloria De Haven, Phil Silvers, and Hans Conried and seems to be in excellent condition.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:55) - A wonderfully over-the-top piece of marketing that highlights Garland's singing, Kelly's dancing, and the most memorable songs. Anyone know what the hell "Musical Hey-Hey" means?

Summer Stock Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Charles Walters' Summer Stock may not be the most anticipated film -- musical or otherwise -- that's been resurrected from the Warner Bros. vaults, but it's still a light and crowd-pleasing production with lots of great music and dancing. Judy Garland and Gene Kelly make a great team and, considering it was both a "rebound picture" for her after serious health issues and her last feature with MGM, it's important from a historical perspective as well. Despite the film's paper-thin premise, overloaded cast, and left-field final act, it's elevated by fine performances and a rough-around-the-edges atmosphere that gives it a lot of scrappy charm. Warner Archive's Blu-ray package is a solid upgrade over their parent company's 2006 DVD, featuring a reliably excellent A/V presentation and the same solid assortment of bonus features. It's recommended mainly to established fans, as newcomers may want to try before they buy.