A Date with Judy - Warner Archive Collection

Teen musicals were a cash cow for MGM in the 1940s, beginning with the enormously popular "let's-put-on-a-show" films starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Once the duo grew up, the torch was passed to Jane Powell, whose perky personality, girl-next-door looks, and sweet soprano voice enlivened several movies before she graduated to more mature roles. A Date with Judy is one of the best films of her juvenile period, though it's easy to imagine how much better director Richard Thorpe's nostalgic musical might have been had it been produced a decade earlier with Rooney and Garland.

If you're a fan of the 1974 salute to MGM musicals, That's Entertainment!, you'll certainly recall seeing a clip of Powell singing "It's a Most Unusual Day" from A Date with Judy. That lilting song is definitely one of the highlights of this lightweight tale of adolescent amour set in 1920s Santa Barbara and loosely based on a popular radio show of the day. Powell plays the spunky titular character who's helping to mount the big high school dance. Her boyfriend "Oogie" (Scotty Beckett) - short for Ogden - conducts the school band and his beautiful, hoity-toity sister Carol (Elizabeth Taylor) is in charge of the event. Oogie and Carol hail from an upper class family, but their widowed, workaholic dad (Leon Ames) is more interested in the ups and downs of the stock market than the ups and downs of his kids. Judy's family is distinctly middle class - and happier - and her jovial parents (Wallace Beery and Selena Royle) are fully involved in their children's lives...perhaps a bit too involved.

When Carol prevents Oogie from picking Judy up the night of the dance, the heartbroken and furious Judy gets dashing soda jerk Stephen Andrews (Robert Stack), a college boy who's working at his dad's pharmacy for the summer, to take her instead. Judy falls hook, line, and sinker for Stephen, but he only has eyes for the sophisticated Carol. Oogie, of course, tries to win Judy back, but his apologies fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Judy's dad secretly enlists the services of shapely siren Rosita Conchellas (Carmen Miranda) to teach him the rumba so he can dance with his wife at their 20th wedding anniversary party, but can he keep the nosy Judy from getting the wrong idea about the liaison?

A Date with Judy strives for a Meet Me in St. Louis vibe with its emphasis on family foibles, nostalgia, and fickle romances, but Powell is no Garland and Thorpe can't compete with director Vincente Minnelli. Though Thorpe helmed several musicals during his long MGM tenure, most of them lack the elan and creativity that distinguish the studio's best musical product, and without any splashy numbers A Date with Judy labors to sustain its wispy plot threads for 114 minutes..

It's odd that the 63-year-old Beery gets top billing in a teen musical, but he's an absolute delight as the patient, indulgent, often cantankerous patriarch of the Foster clan. The veteran actor who would sadly pass away from a heart attack a year later delivers a string of one-liners with customary zing and shows off his cuddly softer side during some tender moments, but it's his awkward attempts to learn the rumba with the exotic, boisterous Miranda that perk up the picture when the teen plot begins to sag. It's too bad Miranda, who doesn't appear until the 40-minute mark, doesn't have a larger part and doesn't sing more often. Her electric presence jumpstarts the film's engine whenever she shows up and it's impossible to suppress a smile during her two gyrating numbers, both backed by Xavier Cugat's band and performed with her patented Latin verve.

The fresh-faced Powell sings up a storm and lights up the screen, but it's 16-year-old Elizabeth Taylor who shines the brightest in Technicolor. Taylor's breathtaking beauty is already in full bloom, though her acting could still use some fine tuning. Stack is pretty stiff as the sought-after Stephen, but Beckett, best known for the numerous roles he played as a child (and for his troubled, tragic life as an adult), oozes personality as Judy's perennially confused and remorseful boyfriend. His facial expressions are priceless and he proves he's not a bad singer and dancer, too. It's just a shame the 19-year-old actor would soon become consumed by the Hollywood party scene, leading to the implosion of his promising career a few years later and his ultimate self-destruction at age 38.

A Date with Judy might not be a dream date for moviegoers, but it's a pleasant enough diversion that contains some relatable family comedy, a few peppy songs, and a sterling cast of stars. It's far from the best MGM musical, but there's enough charm and talent on display to satisfy the genre's fans.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

A Date with Judy arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu without music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.

A brand new HD master struck from a 4K scan of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives yields another spectacular Warner Archive Technicolor transfer. The 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 rendering keeps the film's grain structure intact as it showcases the lush cinematography of three-time Oscar-winner and 16-time nominee Robert Surtees. Excellent clarity and contrast, strong blacks, and bright whites all impress, but the breathtaking color wins the day. From primaries to pastels, every hue is vibrant, rich, and perfectly timed so they look as natural as possible. Details in the floral upholstery and curtains and costume textures and patterns are wonderfully crisp and sharp close-ups spotlight Beery's jowls and Taylor's beauty. No dirt, scratches, or stray marks dot the pristine print and no digital issues could be detected. I don't own the 2008 DVD, but I'm sure it can't hold a candle to this A+ transfer that will dazzle musical fans. 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track pumps out pleasing sound that really comes alive during the musical numbers. A wide dynamic scale handles Powell's soaring soprano with ease and all the lush orchestrations exude a lovely depth of tone. Sonic accents like ringing telephones are distinct and all the dialogue is clear and easy to comprehend. No distortion creeps into the mix and any age-related hiss, pops, or crackle have been scrubbed away. 

All the supplements from the 2008 DVD have been ported over to this release. To sweeten the deal, Warner Archive adds a couple of vintage radio extras.

• Vintage Short: Martin Block's Musical Merry-Go-Round #3 (SD, 11 minutes) - Vocalist Buddy Clark is the focus of this tuneful one-reeler hosted by radio personality Martin Block and featuring Ray Noble and His Orchestra.
• Vintage Cartoon: Professor Tom (HD, 8 minutes) - In this delightful Tom and Jerry cartoon, Professor Tom tries to teach a kitten that cats and mice don't get along, but his young student decides to become friends with Jerry instead, and the two join forces against Tom.
• Vintage Radio Show Episode: A Date with Judy: Oogie and His Hot Licks (30 minutes) - Warner Archive includes an episode of the long-running radio show upon which the movie was based.
• Vintage Jane Powell Radio Interview (5 minutes) - In this promotional interview, an effervescent Powell chats with host Dick Simmons about how she got her start in pictures, some of her favorite career moments so far, and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3 minutes) - The film's original preview tells us "if you're blue and moody, make a date with Judy!"

A Date with Judy is a pleasant teen musical that wallows in nostalgia and runs about 20 minutes too long, but the sparkling cast and some lilting songs keep it aloft. Warner Archive's gorgeous transfer struck from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives and remastered audio make this a tuneful Technicolor treat for musicals fans. Recommended.