Of all the major studios, MGM is most associated with musicals and they made a ton of them. However, in the case of "Summer Holiday" they had a rare flop...and shortly after the film began, I could see exactly why. Despite having a bazillion excellent singers under contract, almost none of them are in the movie. What's worse....many of the actors in the film simply couldn't carry a tune and sounded god-awful. Butch Jenkins (who wasn't particularly a good actor), Walter Huston, Agnes Morehead and Frank Morgan all should have done ANYTHING other than sing...and they all sing in the opening number....which is just baffling! What's even more baffling is Mickey Rooney...who COULD sing but the style of the songs make even him seem untalented!
The bottom line is that as a musical, "Summer Holiday" , just sucks. See the non-musical version instead. While it's not in color, at least it makes sense...."Summer Holiday" simply is confusing and dumb.
The bottom line is that as a musical, "Summer Holiday" , just sucks. See the non-musical version instead. While it's not in color, at least it makes sense...."Summer Holiday" simply is confusing and dumb.