Date with Judy, A (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jul 30, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
-
Director
Richard ThorpeRelease Date(s)
1948 (June 24, 2025)Studio(s)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: A-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
MGM in its heyday turned out movies suitable for the entire family. Plots were simple, characters attractive, problems easily resolved. A Date with Judy charmingly represents this ethos in a musical comedy of young romance with a side order of adolescent misunderstanding.
The film opens with all the teenagers in town buzzing about the upcoming high school dance. Sixteen-year-old Judy Foster (Jane Powell) is sure that band leader “Oogie” Pringle (Scotty Beckett), brother of her best friend Carol Pringle (Elizabeth Taylor), will ask her to the dance. Oogie would like to do just that, but instead takes his sister’s well meant but misguided advice and sends one of the other boys in the band to escort Judy. Carol believes this will jolt Judy into seeing Oogie in a different light, not take him for granted, and fall into his arms at the dance. The plan backfires, of course. Pop Scully (Lloyd Corrigan), proprietor of the local ice cream parlor, feels sorry for the disappointed Judy and gets his college-aged nephew, Stephen Andrews (Robert Stack), to be Judy’s escort.
The Pringles are the wealthiest family in town, so naturally Carol is somewhat spoiled. At the dance, she casts a covetous eye on Stephen and tries to allure him with her beauty, sophistication, and charm. Meanwhile, Oogie tries to figure out how to compete with older, handsomer Stephen to get Judy back, as she refuses to forgive him.
More turmoil arises in Judy’s mind when she spots items in her father’s office that lead her to conclude he’s suffering a middle-aged crisis and having an affair. But the audience already knows what Judy doesn’t—that her father (Wallace Beery) has been taking secret rhumba lessons at his office so he can surprise his wife (Selena Royale) on their upcoming anniversary. To preserve the surprise, dance teacher Rosita Coachella (Carmen Miranda) often winds up hiding in his office closet.
Music is sprinkled throughout the film to shore up the paper-thin plot. The best-known of the songs, It’s a Most Unusual Day, is performed by Jane Powell and joined in the finale by the whole cast. Powell and Beckett join forces on I’m Strictly on the Corny Side, a broad novelty number. Powell solos on Through the Years and Love Is Where You Find It. Beckett and a male chorus serenade Judy with Judaline. Carmen Miranda performs Cooking With Gas and one of her signature tunes, Cuanta Le Gusta. Xavier Cugat, as himself, provides additional music with his orchestra while also playing Rosita’s boyfriend.
The light-as-air screenplay by Dorothy Cooper and Dorothy Kingsley integrates the simple romantic story with Judy’s genuine concern that her father’s straying will break up her picture-perfect family. But the misunderstandings give rise to comic situations, there’s usually a well-timed quip to keep things upbeat, and all is resolved in the end with love and laughter.
Powell is perky and energetic in the title role. Her diminutive size and youth, spunky attitude and operatic soprano, make her a perfect choice for the spirited Judy. She’s adept at delivering a comic line and serving as the center of an all-star cast. She appeared in many light musical films, mostly for MGM.
Beckett has excellent screen chemistry with Powell and it’s no stretch to accept the two as boyfriend and girlfriend. He was a regular in the Our Gang shorts from 1934 to 1935 and appeared in major Hollywood films including Anthony Adverse, Charge of the Light Brigade, and Marie Antoinette. His film career eventually waned, but he would later go on to star as Winky in the Rocky Jones, Space Ranger TV series.
Elizabeth Taylor, stunningly gorgeous, is a pleasure to look at. Only 16 at the time, she looks a bit older thanks to her wardrobe and make-up. Her role is not sympathetic, as the willful Carol seems to delight in giving advice to her brother and Judy that either results in trouble or is self-serving. Wearing a series of attractive dresses, she literally lights up the screen, though her role is essentially supporting. Taylor, of course, would become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Carmen Miranda plays the dance instructor fairly straight, without her trademark mangling of English and cornucopia headgear, but she does get a change to take center stage with two numbers. There’s a bit of comic language confusion in Cooking with Gas. For Cuanta Le Gusta, she wears a gold, slinky dress and looks like a decorative ornament. This was Miranda’s first picture for MGM.
Modern viewers might cringe at the stereotyped portrayal of the Foster’s maid, Nightingale (Lillian Tarbo), a Black woman who loudly sings Swing Low, Sweet Chariot while serving dinner or doing housework. The character was written and played for easy laughs but likely would get a far different reaction today. The high school girls’ main goal is to marry soon after graduation and start a family. There’s no indication that they could pursue a profession. Even Judy, with a beautiful soprano, never contemplates a career in opera.
Apart from these points, which reflect attitudes of the time, the film is highly entertaining, fast paced, and filled with enjoyable musical interludes. There’s a youthful exuberance about it that make it hard to resist, especially if you’re not seeking ponderous drama with deep themes. A Date with Judy will likely bring a smile to your face.
A Date with Judy was shot by director of photography Robert Surtees on 35mm film with spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1. Warner Archive has set a high standard for its older Technicolor films and this is no exception. The Technicolor hues practically dazzle in the women’s dresses, Carmen Miranda’s gold gown, and decor in the Pringle home. Elizabeth Taylor is especially striking, and director Richard Thorpe includes plenty of close-ups of her breathtaking face. Complexions are rendered effectively and the actresses never appear overly made up. The outfits on the kids appear to reflect costume designer Helen Rose’s taste rather than what teenagers in the late 1940s would wear.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are available. Dialogue is clear. Sound quality of the musical numbers is good but can’t compare to true stereo. Songs are intelligently placed within the narrative so they never seem jarring. For the section of It’s a Most Unusual Day that Carol sings at the beginning of the film, Elizabeth Taylor was dubbed.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive Collection include the following:
- Professor Tom (7:37)
- Martin Block’s Musical Merry-Go-Round (10:51)
- Episode of A Date with Judy Radio Show (29:36)
- Interview with Jane Powell (5:19)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:48)
Professor Tom – This 1948 Technicolor Tom & Jerry cartoon was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Tom, wearing a mortarboard and looking quite professorial, is teaching a kitten the basics—cats chase mice. But Jerry subverts this lesson constantly, adding his own phrases, such as “cats and mice are chums.” Jerry eventually gets Tom locked out of the house. When Tom runs back in, he’s slingshotted into the mailbox.
Martin Block’s Musical Merry-Go-Round – This 1948 short features Ray Noble and His Orchestra and singer Buddy Clark. Both Noble and Clark are interviewed by radio DJ Martin Block. Clark sings I’ll Dance at Your Wedding and his hit song, Linda, in a staging that looks like an early music video. Noble plays Goodnight, Sweetheart on piano with orchestra accompaniment.
A Date with Judy Radio Episode – The episode Oogie and His Hot Licks, aired on November 3, 1949, is heard complete with music and sound effects.
Interview with Jane Powell – Powell speaks about her entry and early years in show business which led to her first film, Song of the Open Road. At the time of the interview, she had made four feature films. A Date with Judy was her fifth. She speaks about her favorite experiences making movies and tells what she likes to do when she’s not working.
A Date with Judy was originally a comedy radio series geared toward teenage audiences that ran from 1941 to 1950. There was also an ABC TV show that ran from 1951 to 1953. In addition, an A Date with Judy comic book series was published from 1947 through 1960.
- Dennis Seuling