A must for Garland fans.
This program was telecast *live* from the CBS studios, not, as the reviewer from Columbia, MO states, taped at New York City's Palace Theatre. There was no such thing as videotape at the time of this Ford Star Jubilee broadcast. The videocassette was transferred from a kinescope, shot on film from the East Coast telecast and then broadcast to other time zones. Garland isn't in the best voice, in part because this *was* a live show, with millions tuned in watching. And the cassette doesn't contain the complete show, plus having some "glitches" along the way. But it is an opportunity to see a genuine Legend, in the final portion of the program re-creating her famed early '50s Palace performance (although of course David Wayne was not part of that engagement).
Not to be missed
Many years ago, a group of us used to gather in a small apartment in lower Manhattan and watch old kinescopes (some in pretty poor condition) of Judy Garland. We would always end with "We're a couple of swells" followed by "Over the Rainbow" which I had thought was from the Ford Star Jubilee. Your reviewers, up until recently, have panned this tape and never mentioned the end; I thought I was mistaken and so put off buying it until now. Well, anyone who can watch her sitting on the stage floor in that tramp outfit singing a marvelous rendition of Over the Rainbow without a tear in your eye must have emotions of steel. The surprise was how good the rest of the concert was, with some truly memorable versions of her standard hits. This tape is a steal at this price. Don't pass it up!
She was the greatest
Anytime one can experience the brilliance of Judy Garland is time well-spent. While this video is not the greatest in terms of picture quality (it's from the original kinescope), it does show the only filmed version we have of most of Garland's original Palace Theater show. There's a strange cut during the 'Swanee" number, and her guests (David Wayne and an unknown Oriental girl singer) seem extraneous. When it's just Judy it's sheer pleasure. There will never be another like her.
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