Ladies and Gentlemen!
It was a little bit soon than I thought it was going to be, however, we have made it to my favorite Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland film: Strike Up The Band
Jimmy Connors has high hopes of making his school band into a dance band. With his would also be the once in a lifetime chance to perform in Chicago in front of Paul Whiteman, and winning his contest. His best friend, Mary, is in full support of this dream and is will to do anything and everything she can to help. When Jimmy gets smitten with the new girl, Barbara, Mary starts to largely be the one to make sure the dream comes to fruition. They have to raise $200 to get the whole band to Chicago and audition. They come up with a plan for the band to put on a show at their local theater and make some money that way. Jimmy missing the meeting to secure the location when he takes Barbra out on a date. Mary take the meeting herself and they put on a 1890's themed show for the community. They earn about $150 from the show and have to come up with another way to make more. The whole band is invited to Barbara's birthday with a surprise, Paul Whiteman and his band are performing. After securing a $50 loan from Whiteman, the band is on their way to Chicago! That is until one of the their friends finds out he is badly injured and needs emergency surgery. They need to charter a plane to get him to the right hospital in time. It costs about $200. They give the money, and all their hopes of competition, go with their friend. However, Barbara is a good friend to have. Her father heard what the kids did for their friend, and used his connection with the railroad to get the band to the competition just in time to Strike Up The Band.
I love this movie! There are so many reason to love it but I will say just a few.
When you are talking about some of the greatest comedic actresses of all time, Judy Garland is usually always left off that list. I learned a long time ago that Lucille Ball, hilarious actress in her own right, would say that Judy Garland was one of the funniest people that she had ever known. Watching this movie I have to agree with her.
Ms. Garlands performance in the "Gay 90's" show is one of the funniest scenes in any movie. You can tell that she is adoring playing for fun on that stage. The one scene that comes to mind that could beat this scene is the one with Gene Kelley in The Pirate but we will get there soon enough!
Watching this movie again, I reminds me how much I am in love with Mickey Rooney. He is an actor that most people know of without knowing they know him. He is the voice of Santa in all of the 70's cartoon tv movies, and the for the the fox in The Fox And The Hound. He is one of the most diverse and underrated actors. He was not considered this at the time, but for some reason some of the biggest, and best, stars fade over time.
While I was hoping that I didn't have to watch the movie so soon, I am still glad to watch it. I really love reliving this movie as many times as my DVD let me. Which was a really true statement because it no longer works, and I had to buy it on streaming just to keep it in my roster.
If you want the best the Judy and Micky have to offer, Strike Up The Band is the move you need to see next.
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