Listen, Darling

Listen, Darling (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Far-fetched but cute comedy/drama from MGM has a single mother (Mary Astor) struggling to make ends meet after her husband dies without any insurance. She's about to marry a man (Gene Lockhart) who she doesn't really love so her daughter (Judy Garland) and her friend (Freddie Bartholomew) decide to kidnap her and take her away. Once on the road they look for better husbands and think they might find on in Richard (Walter Pidgeon). There's certainly nothing Earth-shattering or Oscar-worthy here but this is pleasant enough of a film and it's terrific cast makes it well worth watching. I think if you're a fan of anyone in the cast then you're going to be drawn into the story no matter how silly it is. In fact, the characters are build up to be so "together" and "happy" that I'm surprised MGM didn't try to turn this into a longer running series. It certainly shares a lot in common with the Andy Hardy series but perhaps Garland just got too big with other projects (plus the upcoming THE WIZARD OF OZ) that everyone decided to just leave it at this one. Garland clearly steals the film with her tender performance as she manages to be cute but also touching in her more dramatic scenes worrying about her broke mother. She also gets some songs to sing including the charming Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, Ten Pins in the Sky and On the Bumpy Road to Love, which also gets a second take at the end of the film with the entire cast singing along. Astor and Pidgeon are dependable as always and they come across with some nice chemistry that makes us believe they're really falling for one another. It seems Bartholomew has film buffs debating his merit whenever they discuss him but I thought he was fine here even though he's pretty much playing the same type of character he did in all of his movies. Lockhart is good in his few scenes as is Alan Hale. The film runs a short 75-minutes and for the most part there isn't any slow moments to be found. This is pretty much the type of family film you'd get from MGM as you get romance, comedy, a little drama and the typical family is the most important message. If you fans as Garland, Astor or Pidgeon it's worth sitting through.

One of Judy garlands earlier films. Her and Freddie Bartholomew are great in this 1938 film. Highly recommend.

Judy Garland is concerned that mom Mary Astor might be marrying prim and proper banker Gene Lockhart for all the wrong reasons. She concocts a scheme with friend Freddie Bartholomew to kidnap mom and little brother Scotty Beckett in a motor home and head for the open road so she can see what's out there.

I know it sounds like a crazy plot, but it actually is both funny and charming. Judy gets to introduce one of her standards, Zing When the Strings of My Heart and later on during a thunderstorm she comforts Scotty Beckett with the song It's Raining Ten Pins in the Sky. Of course that is a total ripoff of what Bing Crosby sang in the exact same situation in Pennies from Heaven, but who cares.

On the road the family meets both Walter Pigeon and Alan Hale, both more acceptable choices for the widow Astor. Who does she choose. You'll have to sit through Judy Garland singing some really nice songs in her inimitable style to find out.

Not a bad trade, not a bad trade at all.

Schoolmates Pinky Wingate (Judy Garland) and Buzz (Freddie Bartholomew) are best friends. Her family is in money trouble. Her daydreaming father died without leaving behind any insurance. Her widowed mother Dottie (Mary Astor) is in a relationship with a stuffy banker who she knows can take care of her children. Pinky is desperate to stop her from a loveless marriage and convinces Buzz to help her kidnap Dottie and her little brother Billie. They drive the RV out into a country camping site. They encounter Richard Thurlow (Walter Pidgeon), J. J Slattery (Alan Hale), and a skunk.

This is basic kids setting up romances for adults like a lot of those Disney movies. It's simple family fun and a silly non-sense story. Judy and Freddie are at the top of their game. He has a few more childhood roles before failing to transition into adult roles. Judy's next movie would put her at the top of the mountain. This is a big stepping stone although a small failure.

I had previously watched this back in the '90s when I borrowed this VHS version from the library and I remember enjoying it but when I watched it again on YouTube, I had forgotten much of the plot. As a result, I enjoyed this even more now with young Judy Garland in all her natural glory whether singing or doing her dramatic scenes. The reason I watched this again, however, was since I was reviewing various Our Gang shorts and other films featuring at least one of that group's members in chronological order, this was next on the list since another of this movie's players was Scotty Beckett-a former member from the early '30s. He was funny here. Also liked Walter Pidgeon as a potential love interest for Judy and Scotty's mother-Mary Astor, Freddie Bartholomew as a family friend, and Alan Hale Sr. as another potential family friend. So on that note, I highly recommend Listen, Darling. Oh, and that's Charley Grapewin-future relative of Garland in The Wizard of Oz-as the guy at the gas station.