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By
BILL CONIFF
I think "I Could Go On
Singing" is greatly underrated. I actually
consider it better than the excellent "A Star Is
Born," which frankly -- George Cukor, forgive me
-- needed some of the cuts it got.
In the semi-autobiographical role of Jenny Bowman,
Judy Garland gives an amazingly vulnerable and
vital performance. She's in great vocal and
physical form for the musical numbers, and
although she doesn't look her best (you'd swear
she was 10 years older than her actual age), she's
fully engaged dramatically as well. Her hospital
scene with Dirk Bogarde, where she talks about the
life of a performer, has so much subtle shifting
between emotions that it takes one's breath away.
That alone should have earned her an Academy Award
for this performance.
But the film offers even more than that. It's
extremely well directed by Ronald Neame. The
musical numbers boast very creative camerawork
that considerably heightens the excitement -- "It
Never Was You" is a case in point, where the
camera starts with a wide shot and ever so slowly
glides in. It's breathtaking. These numbers are
the closest we have to seeing Judy Garland "in
concert" in a movie (it can be argued that her TV
series did the same on the smaller screen).
And the supporting performances are very fine.
Bogarde, always an excellent actor, holds his own
against the force of nature that is Garland by
playing yin to her yang. The other actors are
equally good. The script, too, is solid, and it
refuses to take the easy "happy ending" route at
the end, to its credit.
Unfortunately, MGM has released this movie with
minimal care. The image transfer should have been
much better (the reds, in particular, are highly
unstable) and anamorphic (enhanced for widescreen
television). This film also deserves a commentary
track and other extras, and there are none here.
In particular, I wish they'd capture Neame's
comments before he leaves us. He is 93 as of this
writing, and he recorded a charming commentary for
the new DVD of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." In
fact, in that commentary he briefly alludes to
directing Garland in "I Could Go On Singing" and
how, when she was on the set and not "indisposed,"
her performance would be so riveting that he could
not cut away from her (the hospital scene
mentioned above is an example).
Even lacking extras, this bare-bones DVD is
inexpensive, so don't hesitate to buy it. Perhaps
if MGM sees a high demand for this title, it will
release a Special Edition in the future -- not
likely, I know, but we can always hope. |
