User Reviews

Given how Judy Garland scored so well in another period piece, Meet Me In St. Louis, it was a natural that she be cast in In The Good Old Summertime even if she was a replacement for June Allyson. It's called serendipity.

The film is a musical adaption of MGM's The Shop Around The Corner in which James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan played the anonymous correspondents who love what each other write, but can't stand each other in person. It doesn't help that the two of them are co-workers in a department store.

Van Johnson takes the Stewart part in In The Good Old Summertime and early 20th century Budapest is transferred to early 20th century Chicago. Johnson and Garland work in a music store with Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton and that's owned by S.Z. Sakall. Sakall is far more lovable as he always is than Frank Morgan in the same part in The Shop Around The Corner. A bit thick, but lovable. He does think he has talent on the violin, the same way Jack Benny did on his radio program. He plays it as well as Benny did and even playing it on a Stradivarius doesn't help.

Except for one new song, Merry Christmas, the rest of the score is interpolated period favorites like Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland, I Never Knew, I Don't Care and of course the title song. Judy is really in her element doing these numbers. In fact two of the early century's great musical performers, Blanche Ring who introduced In The Good Old Summertime, and Eva Tanguay whose specialty song was I Don't Care, were still alive to see Judy do both of their numbers for the current audience. I've often wondered what they must have thought.

Buster Keaton is strangely subdued in this film. He only gets one real comic moment doing a pratfall on a dance floor and breaking a violin in the process. I'm betting some of his material wound up on the cutting room floor.

At the very end of the film, little Liza Minnelli all of three at the time made her screen debut. If you like period pieces as I do and the music of the era as I do or if you liked The Shop Around The Corner or the most current adaption of the piece, You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, than you will appreciate and enjoy In The Good Old Summertime.

If you do like it, that's a very good sign.

I won't go into plot details, as it's been done by so many other reviewers before me. Instead, I'll just share my observations as a fan of classic musicals, and specifically of Judy Garland.

Personally, I think it was during 43-46 period when Judy looked and sounded the best. And incidentally, it was also the period when the classic MGM studio system was at the apex of its efficiency in churning out one great musical after another before its demise later in that decade.

In Good Old Summertime, one can't help but realize, with much regret, that the greatest period of the good old musical films and of Judy Garland was beginning to wane. And it is noticeable from quality of music scores and from changes in her appearance also.

Of course, it's still a very enjoyable movie, especially if you watched one of the other movies based on the same story. And Judy still looks amiable and sounds great even when she had to sing in such self-deprecating manner as in 'I Don't Care', which feels very different from other instances of similar comic approach of her previous films like 'When I Look at You' in Presenting Lily Mars, or 'Couple of Swells' from Easter Parade, for example.

Even though the movie is categorized as a musical, it's certainly not Harvey Girls where you can enjoy such trademark MGM scenes, like that big, complex sequence as 'Atchison Topika and the Santa Fe'.

Back then, the Freed Unit with so many talented actors and actresses were so efficient that they didn't need too many camera cuts or even extensive rehearsals to create a such captivating 20 min long sequence.

In Good Old Summertime, Judy Garland is almost the only person who sings, and there is no 'sequence' to talk of, as most of the numbers are done by her singing solo, except for the Barbershop Quartet and 'I Don't Care' numbers.

In general, songs are less memorable than those from her other movies. There's a Christmas song which Judy sings beautifully as usual, though it just isn't on par with 'Have Yourself a Merry Christmas' from Meet Me in St. Louis.

Judy still looks attractive, but not more so than in her earlier movies. Her personal troubles in real life begin to take their toll on her appearances by the time she appeared in this movie. Van Johnson is amiable, but he's certainly not her ideal partner in a musical film, as he can't really sing or dance like Mickey Rooney or Gene Kelly.

All in all, it's a still very enjoyable movie, but if you are a Judy Garland fan like me, you might want to try her other films first, preferably one from the 43-46 period, if you haven't seen them all already.

And when you have already seen most of them, and when you are sure to understand why people keep praising Judy Garland and her movies from her better days even today, then with a preparation of your mind for experiencing some regrets and pangs which might result from seeing her lesser self in a lesser kind of a musical, you are ready to enjoy this movie as a devote Judy Garland's fan.

It's something similar to what it requires to enjoy her late year recordings like the famous Carnegie Hall album. It pains to notice how she lost her range and her once impeccable vibrato became one that sounds artificial and forced.

But at least, it's Judy Garland and I believe that would suffice to enjoy it for most her ardent fans. As to what seems deficient, they can supplement it by their memories of what she has been in her prime time.

What a charming, little, easy to watch movie this was.

Nothing great, nothing heavy or new but simply just great easy entertainment with great performances from Judy Garland, Van Johnson and Buster Keaton in a small but fun role and apparently also Liza Minnelli in an even smaller, and her first role.

The story is simple but charming and effective. It's an early version (but not the earliest) of "You've Got Mail". It's not really a musical, just merely a movie that just happen to have some songs in it. The songs are nothing spectacular like you would expect when you hear the word 'musical'. So, if you don't like musical movies this movie might still be very well worth your time as well.

Don't let the year it was made in scare you of. This is a movie that doesn't ever get outdated, mainly thanks to its fun and easy to watch, kind of atmosphere.

7/10

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This pleasant version of the romance-by-correspondence story is worth seeing for the good cast and for the musical additions. This kind of light story depends heavily on the leads, and they do well here. "The Shop Around the Corner" is still the best version, due in large part to Jimmy Stewart and the rest of a fine cast. The 1990's remake was watchable because of the two sympathetic lead performers, but otherwise its script and direction weighed it down with too much extraneous material. Setting aside comparisons, "In the Good Old Summertime" in itself is enjoyable and is generally well-crafted.

This adaptation makes good use of Judy Garland's talents, and she in turn delivers a fine performance. Van Johnson is agreeable, if sometimes a bit bland, as the leading man. The rest of the cast is good as well, and although Buster Keaton does not get a lot to do, it's still great to see him in the cast. The story in itself is fairly thin, but it has a light, good-natured atmosphere and some lively material. The settings are believable, and they go along well with the story. There's easily enough to make "In the Good Old Summertime" worth seeing.

Funny that a movie which has 'Summertime" in its title spends most of its duration in the Winter. No matter, this is a charming and quaint musical from MGM. Judy and Van are anonymous pen pals, who also happen to work together, each of them not knowing the other is their mystery 'friend'.

It's a little disconcerting watching Judy Garland, as lively as ever, in her second to last MGM musical from the studio's classic period. It's unfortunate she was dropped a couple years later, because even in this minor film, she is wonderful, using her talents to better the story with her cinematic personality and melodic singing. She had a gift for comedy and a talent for drama as well.

Van Johnson, in one of his few memorable musical film roles, is good as Judy's counterpart. His role seems more like a character Gene Kelly would have played, a bit of a 'smart Alec'. I think if Kelly were cast instead, there would have been more of a balance in this film, because as it is, much of the singing in this film comes from Judy...she really is the only singer in the whole cast. The songs, themselves, are period pieces which are pleasant enough. Aside from the title tune, there is the "Dreamland" number, which is nice, Judy's rousing "I Don't Care", and her amusing song with the Barbershop Quartet. The other actors in the cast are also good. Buster Keaton has a funny, but modest role as a shop worker, along with Spring Byington and S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, as the shop owner.

Overall, a pleasant film. Not quite what I would think of as a musical, as the songs are modest filler, not showstoppers. This is not on par with "On the Town" or "The Pirate", but it is enjoyable enough. Good costumes, charming sets, and lovely Technicolor contribute to the look of an antique hand-colored postcard. In that sense, it's something of a curio; amusing, but not quite a gem.

Pleasant atmosphere and songs fill out this cozy situational period piece. Garland seems at ease and Johnson pulls it off -- they play co-workers who despise each other at work, but are secretly in love as correspondents through the mail. Similar to "Meet Me in St. Louis", without its excellence in story and character, but with much of the same studio-concocted charm. Keaton does a few falls, making the best of his last MGM film.

You've got to admit, Judy Garland never looked prettier or acted funnier than she did in this movie. The plot line is simple yet complicated: Boy and girl write to each other. They fall in love. They meet, not knowing that the other is really their pen pal. They hate each other. Boy figures it out. Boy falls for girl. Girl falls for boy. You can only guess the ending. They made a re-make with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, now known as "You've Got Mail." It was one of my favorites and when I found out that Judy Garland was in the second movie based on the story, I had to have it! I'm so glad that I bought it. I love this movie. The songs "I Don't Care" and "Barbershop Chord" are ADORABLE! I suggest that anyone who likes Judy Garland or a good old fashioned movie. Definitely one of her best!

Quaint would really be the best way to describe this. Mild but colorful reworking of The Shop Around the Corner trades that films exquisite pathos for a sunny tone and loses something in translation but is miles ahead of the travesty that is You've Got Mail. The musical score is full of charming songs from the period socked across by the great Judy although she seems terribly jittery here. Of all her films this is the one where her resemblance to Liza Minnelli is the strongest so it seems fitting that Liza plays her daughter in a bit at the end. As for the rest of the cast, Spring Byington and Cuddles Sakall are cute and well matched in a much more gentle version of the shop keeper and his wife than the original film, but Buster Keaton is almost totally wasted in a small part.

Having previously seen this movie twice before, I was very glad to show this film to Mom right now, as she had never watched this. Judy Garland is in fine form, as always, when both singing, dancing, and acting especially when doing comedy. Van Johnson is also fine as the leading man and matching her in getting laughs as well. Some of that may be because of Buster Keaton who besides being one of the supporting cast, also helped devise the hilarious scene when Ms. Garland and Johnson first meet, which isn't a pleasant experience for either of them, that's for sure! S. Z. Sakall is also funny in his own way as their boss and Spring Byington is also a fine match for him. Oh, and there's a nice surprise at the end if one is familiar with what a certain future star looked like when a toddler! So on that note, me and Mom recommend In the Good Old Summertime. P.S. Since I like to cite when anyone associated with my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, is involved in something else, here, it's the writers Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett who also wrote IAWL.

This affable film is a musical remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 classic "The Shop Around the Corner." Though actually it's not so much a musical as it is a movie with some songs added, nearly all of them performed by Judy Garland, who happens to be the best reason for seeing this movie at all.

Lubitsch's film is, of course, perfect in every way and needed no remaking, but if someone had to remake it, they could have done a worse job than this. Garland is delightful in the role originated by Margaret Sullavan, and Van Johnson makes a surprisingly strong stand-in for James Stewart (and even sounds remarkably like him at times). Instead of a curio shop, the action takes place in a music store, which provides more opportunities for spontaneous singing. This film is nowhere near as dark as the original, and one of the best parts of the Lubitsch version, the subplot involving the store's owner, is pretty much written right out of this version.

The title doesn't make a lick of sense, since nearly the entire film is set during Christmas. I guess "In the Good Old Wintertime" didn't have the same ring to it.

Grade: A-

This is assuredly one of the best adaptation/sequels to a major movie ever designed. The original Raphaelson/Lubitsch version, SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, was wonderful, but the idea to change it into a musical (a vehicle for Garland and Johnson), the changes made to do so and the casting are extraordinary. One musical number with Garland and a quartette is dated, but is immediately followed by another with her solo that is a trademark performance (and knowledgeable viewers will marvel, here and in the scene where Garland enters the house to tell her 'aunt' of the disasterious occurence at the restaurant, at how much Garland looks like her daughter, Lisa Minnelli, will look in later years - and Minnelli, 18-months-old, appears here in her screen debut in the final scene as Garland's daughter!). One can count on one hand the number of times that a successful adaptation has been made of a previously successful film, and this one goes to the top of my list!

First, the technicolor on this 1949 film is just beyond outstanding. You will see shades of green and purple that will blow your mind away.

Judy Garland is as good as she can be in a character that is perhaps not the most well developed but a good vehicle for her otherworldly talents.

Buster Keaton provides some classic comedy relief.

Sakall is as solid as always.

Van Johnson is OK but his character is terribly absurd and the whole story is just ridiculous average to below average quality for this period. The writers and director alternate between wanting to make this standard 40's Hollywood melodrama and alternate to 1930's screwball but it just never clicks.

The most emotional part is the ending which I won't give away but look for Liza Minelli as a toddler.

I suppose the only fair way to review this movie is to watch it first without having already seen The Little Shop Around the Corner. I can't do that, however, and it leaves me comparing the two, which is never to Summertime's advantage.

On the one hand, I don't like some of the things that were added, like Van Johnson's strange relationship with the violinist.

On the other, when Summertime repeats Shop, sometimes with virtually the same dialogue, I'm disappointed that Van Johnson doesn't do the lines as well as James Stewart. And Sakall doesn't give the store owner the depth that Frank Morgan did in Shop.

Yes, there are musical numbers here, but they aren't very interesting, though Garland gives her all to bring them off.

In short, this is probably a pleasant movie for those who don't know Shop. For those who do, it's a series of disappointments.

This story of two co-workers who loathe each other--and then perversely fall in love when they correspond anonymously through a lonelyhearts club--has been filmed three times, first in the 1930s as THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER with stars James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan and most recently in the 1990s as YOU'VE GOT MAIL with stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. This 1940s musical version, which sets the story in an early 1900s Chicago music shop, stars Judy Garland and Van Johnson.

Although the score is not in the least memorable, Garland is in fine voice, and although they lack any real chemistry she and Van Johnson play well together. More appealing is a romantic subplot concerning shop owner S.Z. Sakall and his long time ladyfriend Spring Byington, who are extremely charming in their roles and quite a bit of fun to watch. Fans of Buster Keaton will also enjoy seeing him in a small cameo role, and film buffs will be delighted to see Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli make her film debut in the movie's closing moments.

Although there is a great deal to enjoy here, the material is highly conventional, and the project would have benefited from a more gifted directorial vision. A quality product with remarkable stars--don't expect too much and you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A 1949 remake of The Shop Around the Corner (which in turn would be remade again as You've Got Mail in 1998 w/Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan) starring Judy Garland & Van Johnson. Garland needs a job so she saunters into a music shop (this being the early part of the 20th century the store sells musical instruments & sheet music) where customers often request a song be sung before a purchase can be made. Garland, being the not too shabby singer that she is, starts ringing up customers left & right securing a spot under manager Johnson's supervision which makes things tense since they both have taken a dislike for each other. Little do they know they're successful pen pals w/each other (they don't know each other's identity) whose love soars on the written page all in the hopes they'll meet face to face some day. On one occasion, Johnson sets up a date at a restaurant he frequents to finally meet his object of affection only to be blindsided by who his sweetheart really is. And so goes the romance which is a true musical since songs are only warbled when requested (rather than the norm of being used to propel the story forward) which could be a decent entree to the non-musical aficionado who wants a way into the genre. Good natured & sweetly conceived, this film is a wonderful costumer which will send you away smiling. Co-starring S. Z. Sakall as the owner of the establishment & silent film giant Buster Keaton as Garland's co-worker.

Most people know that June Allyson's pregnancy caused Judy to have to step in here. June, a minor talent next to Garland, would have been perfect for this light material. Judy is way too strong to play the mousey clerk in a music store. At the same time, the movie is inoffensive and offers Garland the chance to display that gorgeous voice. Van and Judy don't really go together but it is not a disastrous marriage. S. Z. Sakall plays S. Z. Sakall beautifully. The addition of the minor characters from the original adds nothing but for a silly plot element about a Stradivarius. Still it is never boring and the MGM luster really works here. Garland's singing is great but is inappropriate for this character. Take a look at the non-musical version if you want to see greatness. Or play a recording of "She Loves Me" to hear how this lovely play could be better musicalized.

Judy and Van have wonderful, even smoldering but innocent chemistry in this musical adaptation of Shop Around the Corner. Their unwilling attraction to each other is obvious and completely believable, unlike the James Stewart/Margaret Sullavan pairing, in which it is completely null and void.

Every actor is superb: Cuddles Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and the legendary Buster Keaton. What a cast!

This is a great movie, and the ending is better, funnier, and more satisfying than its predecessor.

Musical remake of "The Shop Around the Corner" is pleasing enough but is no match for the Ernst Lubitch masterpiece starring James Stewart and Maragret Sullavan. Garland is spunky as a woman who dreams of being swept off her feet by her pen pal. Johnson, in the role played by Stewart in the original, does OK as Garland's co-worker in a music shop. Sakall, billed with nickname "Cuddles," is definitely cuddly as the owner of the shop. Keaton's comedic talents are wasted. The subplot involving the Stradivarius and aspiring violinist Van Dyke, which was not in the original, wears thin. The musical numbers are nothing to write home about.

In 1940 Ernst Lubitsch had done a film called THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, based on the play PERFUMERIE by Miklos Lazslo. The comedy about two fellow employees in a store who fight all the time, and don't realize that the pen-pal they have grown to love is the same person opposite them became a film classic, and would be the first of many versions. The second version was this 1949 film, which would also be the first musical version (the second was the Broadway musical by Kander and Ebb SHE LOVES ME). Instead of Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullivan, Frank Morgan, Felix Bressart, and Joseph Schildkraut, this film would have Van Johnson, Judy Garland, S. Z. Sakall, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton.

But there are differences between the two films in setting and plot. Mr. Matuschek is driven into a depression (misdirected at his favorite, Kralek) due to awareness that his wife is having an affair with an employee. Here Sakall plays Mr. Obenkugen, who owns a music store (not a leather goods shop), and who is not married. He is in love with his secretary Nellie (Spring Byington), and plans to marry her. Joseph Schildkraut was the villain in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER as Ferencz Vadas. Buster Keaton is not villainous, but just clumsy. He does fill in as a technical rival to Johnson for Garland, but this is never fully developed in the plot (one wonders if scenes were shot that were cut involving Buster "dating" Judy). Judy also notes that there is another young lady in Johnson's life - Louise Parkson, a gifted violinist (Marcia Van Dyke). No such character is in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER.

But the basic situations of the former film's plot, and their resolutions, are the same. The flavor of the "gay '90s" is found throughout the film, in the choice of the music used (not only the title song, but such tunes as "I Don't Care!") and in the atmosphere of mid-western America with its barbershop quartets and singing waiters, and it's pretensions to culture (the business with Sakall's prized Stradavarius violin).

There is only one final, charming addition at the conclusion that is not in the first film - Margaret Sullivan's daughter did not make a special appearance at the conclusion as her child by Stewart. But Liza Minelli did make her first appearance here as Garland's child by Johnson. It was the only film the mother and daughter ever made together.

This film is the color version of Shop Around The Corner black & white which featured Jimmy Stewart. The differences are a mature Judy Garland, a decent performance from Van Johnson, and more. The film is well directed including some direction by stone face Buster Keaton.

Actually this is one of Van Johnson's better screen performances. This might be thanks to Keaton who was at that time teaching Lucille Ball comedy too. Johnson is actually pretty good here. So is Judy Garland as she shines in her musical numbers. I only wish more newer numbers were written for this picture as some of the older ones while well done seem worn by the late 1940's.

Still, it is so rare and so exciting to see Judy in prime time color. The story does get a little confused though as even though her and Van Johnson are in love by letter, the sparks between them never really seem to hit the screen in a physical way that well.

Van Johnson would continue his association with Keaton & Lucy including getting into television as early as 1957 because of Lucy while the other, Van Heflin, turned down being Elliot Ness on the Untouchables. Johnson ran up quite a string of television credits before retiring. Seeing the work of Johnson in this film shows he did take some advice from Keaton as this is his best comedy performance on film. Good thing his wife wasn't on the set.

It's the turn of the century Chicago. Veronica Fisher (Judy Garland) and Andrew Delby Larkin (Van Johnson) have a wrong-bird meet-cute. She gets a job at the music store where he works. They do not get along. Unbeknownst to both, they are anonymously writing letters to each other.

So this is You've Got Mail. It's a musical version of The Shop Around the Corner (1940). The music store makes it easy to transform it into a musical. The only minor step down is Van Johnson. He's a perfectly serviceable leading man but the other two versions have James Stewart and Tom Hanks. Both are all-timers. They are the perfect everyman. Van Johnson is not at that level. They already have Judy Garland. They're half way there.

Great cast but there wasn't the chemistry or magic of the movie it's based on, The Shop Around The Corner. And somehow, though each of the stars had shone brightly in other movies, they somehow seem uncomfortable in this one and are not seen at their best. It's hard remaking a great film and while they stole some of the lines directly from the first movie, they chose to diverge from the original in ways that watered down the story's effect. Somehow you don't care as much about any of these characters as much as you cared about all of the characters in the original - short of Vadas (whose character is not represented in this film as some others from the original are). Suffers, too, from its being made into a musical - too much the typical Judy Garland film where music doesn't always have a reason to be in a scene...it's just done to play to Judy's talents - not always a good move for a movie's integrity. Here, the plot gets lost in the stereotypical scenes where Judy is supposed to show off her talents. Judy Garland fans will enjoy this film, however, because here she seems truly happy and is at the peak of her singing talents. Perhaps if I weren't such a big fan of the original, I'd have liked this more. But, sorry, I found it a bit boring in comparison.