This classic MGM musical combines the golly-gee innocence of high school hijinks with the sizzle of Carmen Miranda, forbidden love with an older man, and an infidelity subplot. It’s a weird and occasionally uncomfortable combination, but director Richard Thorpe makes it work thanks to valuable contributions from his high-profile cast. That cast is led by the effervescent young Jane Powell as the star bobby-soxer, but is now more significant for 16-year-old Elizabeth Taylor’s indelible role as Powell’s best friend and budding baddie.
Buy A Date with Judy Blu-rayThe film is set in Santa Barbara, but other than its initial mention the locale could be any bland U.S. suburb. Powell plays a typically bubbly high-school girl named Judy, whose principal concern in life is trying to get her boyfriend to ask her to the school dance. When that plan falls through, the local soda jerk (Robert Stack, Unsolved Mysteries) is called in to save the day, even though he’s roughly twice Judy’s age. Unlike most old movies with massive age gaps, he actually protests about the plan, but ultimately agrees so her special night won’t be ruined.
Meanwhile, MGM bizarrely wanted to shoehorn in Carmen Miranda, so the ridiculous B-story finds Judy’s very old dad (Wallace Beery) taking secret rumba lessons from Miranda to surprise his wife for their anniversary. Of course Judy and her friend Carol (Taylor) stumble across their secret meetings, those meddling kids, leading them to believe he’s cheating on dear old mom and setting them up for a big confrontation late in the film. Miranda’s real purpose is to contribute a couple of spicy musical numbers to the film, which she completes with top marks.
Powell is so sunny throughout the film one almost expects rainbows and unicorns to appear whenever she’s in frame, especially during her sparkling musical performances. By contrast, Taylor burns with a quiet intensity as she sizes up her romantic prey (Stack), with the disc jacket quite accurately describing her as a “neophyte screen siren.” She’s already demonstrating her imperious, regal bearing that later informed her Cleopatra role, the dangerous girl Stack’s character is powerless to resist. Miranda doesn’t so much have to act as simply exist as her fabulous self, while the old doofus Beery is a fine comedic mismatch for her.
The film is presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound. The colors are a bit washed out, but image and sound quality are clean and consistent throughout. Vintage bonus features include a Tom & Jerry short, a live-action musical variety short, a radio interview with Powell where she’s somehow even peppier than in the film, and a half-hour radio version of the film.
