charlytully Review of Listen, Darling

Listen, Darling (1938)

I do not give EVERY Judy Garland movie 8, 9 or 10!

[5/10 · 5 July 2011]

Though I have not seen EVERY Judy Garland film, I have watched more than half of her feature efforts at least once, and LISTEN, DARLING is by far the least entertaining of these. From an awkward beginning to the strangely truncated end, this movie seems a mere vehicle for a few largely forgettable vocalizations on Garland's part, with such concerns as plausibility, continuity, appropriate casting choices, and a passable script vague afterthoughts at best, and total SNAFUs at worst. At age 14, Freddie Bartholomew may be taller than his older contemporary, Mickey Rooney (Andy Hardy), but as a foil for Garland (in admittedly her most neurotic teen role), Freddie is less than half the fun. Further, Walter Pidgeon as Richard Thurlow appears as scant improvement upon Gene Lockhart's Arthur Drubbs when it comes to being a match for Judy's mom, Mary Astor's Dottie Wingate. Along with its matricidal kidnapping and echoes of pedophilia, LISTEN, DARLING is full of continuity goofs that make absolutely no sense (for example, the kids walk twenty yards from their "camp site" to the Slattery mansion at one point; later the same distance becomes a two mile drive!), and the songs are pretty lame (the repeated "Bumpity" song doesn't hold a candle to "On the lop-sided, ramshackle bus"). Sure, Judy's appearance here with Charley Grapewin (who becomes her "Uncle Henry" one year later in THE WIZARD OF OZ) is a footnote to movie history, but a much better use of time viewing an OZ precursor would be to watch Frank Morgan, the wizard himself, using those same inflections in THE DANCING PIRATE (1936). If you need proof beyond my word of what a minor effort LISTEN, DARLING actually represents, click on its "full cast and crew" listing on IMDb. In most Garland movies, this will bring up dozens of uncredited bit players upon whom Hollywood historians and\or diligent relatives have bestowed their 15 seconds of fame. With LISTEN, DARLING, the only name added is that of Edgar Dearing as one of the motorcycle cops who flag down Dottie's trailer.