wes-connors While playing the London Palladium, popular torch singer Judy Garland (as Jenny Bowman) sees doctor Dirk Bogarde (as David Donne) for a sore throat, but she really wants to visit the child they conceived during a New York love affair. Married to her career, Ms. Garland agreed it was best to let Mr. Bogarde legally adopt their son with another woman, since deceased. Presently, teenage Gregory Phillips (as Matt) is studying at Canterbury; he thinks Bogarde is his adopted father and has no clue Garland may be his mother. This sounds like an implausible soap opera entanglement, but you go along as the story unfolds...Father finally relents, and brings Garland to meet their son. The mother and child reunion goes so well, they become inseparable, unbeknownst to Bogarde. There is, of course, some conflict to resolve. This was the second of two final feature films for Garland, though she continued to be taped and filmed in many fine appearances before burning out in 1969. Both this and "A Child Is Waiting" take into consideration Garland's emotional state; here and there, her rough edges become part of the characterization. With the exception of the frighteningly reddened rendition of "By Myself", her musical abilities are presented well.Bogarde is a great co-starring choice; he reportedly brought out the best in Judy. Jack Klugman (as George) and Aline MacMahon (as Ida) lend sturdy support. Key to the film's success is the marvelous performance by young Phillips, who keeps the story moving and believable under arguably difficult circumstances. He and Garland have great chemistry, and she has some superb dramatic scenes. Nevertheless, there would be no more feature films for Garland. Her behavior on the set could be described by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "When she was good, she was very good indeed, but when she was bad she was horrid." ******** I Could Go on Singing (3/7/63) Ronald Neame ~ Judy Garland, Dirk Bogarde, Gregory Phillips, Jack Klugman

jacklmauro Well, it's her birthday, so let's do this.By now you know the film is melodrama; famous mom seeking custody of the child she left to her husband. You probably know as well that there's a 'b' feel to most of this. Add to this mix the really dreadful title and, no, you don't have a brilliant Garland film. Or do you? Because the never fully appreciated power Garland had as a purely instinctive Method actress is in full swing here. From awkward jokes with Dirk Bogarde (who is surprisingly perfect for the role of the ex, and quite possibly because of his gay screen image) to the heavy-duty stuff, she is amazingly real. Down to her voice cracking painfully at the end of the final number. Two things worth noting: there's an almost creepy moment towards the beginning when Judy is entertaining her son's chums at the piano and a fiercely gay boy dances near her, and then there's the major and overwhelming reason to actually own this film. It is Judy's performance of 'It Never Was You', which must rival forever the most poignant version of 'Send in the Clowns' you ever heard. This is pure artist and material coming together at one. It is beyond brilliant.

rosyrnrn "I must keep on singing...with my heart on the wings of a song..." She sings these words at the end of the movie after life lets her down and 'the show must go on' anyway. This IS Judy Garland, with the ups and downs of life in and out of this movie. Although age begins to show on her face, her voice is still right on key with depth and tone, her expressions effortless and natural, and we feel her mood with empathy. Just watch and see. This is the life of a singer who has an affair with a man in London. She chooses not to marry the man, nor keep the young baby boy, so the man raises him in England. Judy's character goes on with her singing career, then later travels to London for a performance. She finds both her former lover and young teen son. Both Judy and the boy develop a natural motherly/son affection and the movie takes us on a bumpy ride thereafter since the father has much difficulty accepting this. Judy cannot and does not disappoint! I miss her.

Martin Bradley Judy Garland is magnificent playing herself; sorry, playing Jenny Bowman, an American singer of a certain age, in London for a series of concerts at the Palladium. The movie is a mostly mediocre tale of mother love but as a showcase for Garland, both as actress and as a performer, (her scenes at the Palladium were probably as close as the movies ever came to capturing her on-stage persona), is it exhilarating and indelibly moving. By the time she gets around to her drunken 'I can't be spread so thin' speech all traces of the character have been wiped clean and it's Garland, raw and emotional, up there on the screen. She was never to make another film, which is probably just as well. With this you can say she went out on a high.Co-star Dirk Bogarde fights a losing battle, (and he gets some terrible lines to say). He's a prissy, fussy stuffed shirt and you can never believe that he and Garland could ever have been romantically involved. There is also a wonderful turn from that great and perpetually undervalued actress Aline MacMahon as Garland's dresser-cum-secretary-cum-companion. But it's Garland's show. The panavision frame can hardly contain her.