Hugh FordinCritiques

2422

This is a reprint of a book that originally came out in the mid-1970s. It focuses on the operations of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM, which for a period of roughly 20 years cranked out a number of the most memorable musicals produced in Hollywood, let alone MGM. There's a lot of interesting material in the book, though the presentation can be patchy -- a number of the handwritten notes from the Freed archive are either illegible or poorly printed. Lumping a number of films together in the same chapter may make some chronological sense, but it does tend to make following individual films slightly confusing. The general tone of the book is pro-Freed; even with some critiques in the book, the bias in favour of the producer is notable. Not an outstanding book, but a good book to have if you're interested in musicals history, or Judy Garland (who is one of the running features of the book, as you can imagine). Recommended, barely.½