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"The Big Revue"
(aka "Starlet Revue")
Associated Films/Meglin, 1929 (BW, 8 minutes)
There seems to be little known about this film, the screen debut of Judy Garland, then known as Baby Gumm. Apparently, the film was produced by or for the Ethel Meglin Dance School by Mayfair Pictures at Tec-Art Studio. Baby
and her sisters Mary Jane (Suzy) and Virginia (Jimmie) were attending the Meglin School in mid-1929. The film was shot on June 11, 12 and 13, just after Judy's 7th birthday on June 10. The three girls appeared as a trio in the film, introduced by a fellow
Meglin student who announces, "and now you will see a dancing and singing number by the Gumm Sisters - not the Wrigley Sisters".
The girls then enter one at a time, singing and dancing - Jimmie followed by Baby and Suzy last. The song they sing is by and . The girls sound quite good, and Baby can easily be heard to shout
"Yassuh!" at several points. Baby's singing is definitely louder than her sisters, and her dancing seems more polished than the orther two girls. She already shows the screen presence and charm that were to become her trademark.
The title on the film is Associated Films "Starlet Review," but according to the lobby card (above) reprinted in John Fricke's book Judy Garland: World's Greatest Entertainer, the title of the film is "The Big Revue."
John also states in the liner notes of that the film was known as "The Big Revue," and was A Mayfair Pictures, Inc. Production.
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