Stars: Judy Garland, Robert Walker, June Allyson, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra

Director: Richard Whorf

Summary: This large-scale Technicolor musical is one of those over-the-top, maximalistic productions that the Golden Age of the Studio System was famous for! Based on the life and times of composer Jerome Kern, TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY features an all-star cast which includes the great crooner Frank Sinatra, the legendary musical starlet Judy Garland, and the notoriously beautiful Lena Horne. And of course, it features many of the hit tunes of the era.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

Till the Clouds Roll By was the big MGM extravaganza of 1946, purporting to be a life of the first giant of the stage musical, Jerome Kern. Great chunks of Show Boat, Sweet Adeline and Sunny dominate while, in between excerpts, reliable Robert Walker does valiant work as Kern, lending a gentle credibility to even the most extravagant licenses taken by the writers. The liberties taken with Kern's story beggar belief, but what a fine excuse this is to sit back and enjoy a procession of gems from the great American songbook, performed by genuine legends.

Judy Garland has two numbers as Marilyn Miller, both directed by husband Vincente Minnelli at the peak of their creative and personal relationships. Singing "Who?", she has to float down the proverbial staircase, obviously pregnant (Liza was born a short time later). Others to shine include Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Dinah Shore and, more bizarrely, a skinny young Sinatra drafted in at the last for a rousing "Old Man River". Most poignant of all is the presence of Lena Horne who, but for the racist values of Hollywood at the time, would have been a great film star. Ever confined to guest appearances, she here sings the songs of Show Boat's tragic half-caste Julie. When MGM filmed the musical in 1951, the same part went to Ava Gardner.

On the DVD:Till the Clouds Roll By may boast digital remastering, but it could have done with a deal of restoration, too. Presented in 4:3 format, the picture quality is often pixellated and the soundtrack in "HiFi Stereo" is muffled and occasionally cracked. Considering its value as an archive of great performers, some rarely seen on film, this film deserves better DVD treatment. --Piers Ford

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Scene Access
Year:	1946
Release Date:	October 21, 2002
Runtime:	135 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E K A 40013
Keywords:	Music, Films, Till, Roll, Shows, Clouds, Performing, Musicals, Arts
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts