Wow! Such a good movie.

Expected more

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The reviewer Judith Crist wrote of this film: "Either you are or you aren't - a Judy Garland fan ... And if you aren't, forget about her new movie, 'I Could Go On Singing', and leave the discussion to us devotees. You'll see her in close-up...in beautiful, glowing Technicolor and striking staging in a vibrant, vital performance that gets to the essence of her mystique as a superb entertainer. Miss Garland is - as always - real, the voice throbbing, the eyes aglow, the delicate features yielding to the demands of the years - the legs still long and lovely. Certainly the role of a top-rank singer beset by the loneliness and emotional hungers of her personal life is not an alien one to her..." In some ways I agree with Ms. Crist. In other ways, I do not.I'm not a Judy Garland fan...at least not a fan of the grown up Judy Garland, but I did enjoy this film and I thought it was a good performance. Although, her fragility -- it seemed to me -- showed through in the more emotional scenes of the film. And, there were a number of scenes where I thought she looked rather beaten down.Yes, the Technicolor photography was excellent, and the settings chosen superb! Nevertheless, Judy Garland's performance here was excellent, although I thought her character was not a very admirable person who had no sense of what motherhood is and whose primary motivations were selfish.I continue to be impressed with an actor whom I've only recently come to appreciate -- Dirk Bogarde. He's excellent here as the father.Jack Klugman...oh, so so as the agent.I was most impressed with the young actor playing the son -- Gregory Phillips. A superb performance.And it was a treat to see the superb character actress of years earlier -- Aline MacMahon -- in her next to last film performance, here as Garland's assistant.In terms of plot, Bogarde and Garland were once lovers, and she had a son. She gave him up...totally...to pursue her career. Now, about 15 years later, she wants him back. The film does an excellent job of showing what parents can put their children through.A good film. Very worth watching.

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

Poorly made-up, coiffed, dressed and photographed, Miss Garland is at a distinct disadvantage before she is even out of the starting gate.And why leave the starting gate when the story is utterly lacking in either originality and conviction ? not to mention motivation.Even more ominous is the fact that this vehicle does not find her in the best of voice. Indeed it must be admitted that she sounds a bit ragged with the notable exception of "It Never Was You." This demerit coupled with the fact that the new songs are uninspired at best, renders the film's title open to waggery, as in those audience members who suggest that the word "not" should have been inserted before the word "go".It's true that the acting of all the players is admirable, quite a feat for this slush. Garland freezes the blood in an angry scene with Bogarde in a hotel room, and in the lovely Stoke Poges scene she again reveals how much more effective she always was, (as in "A Child is Waiting,") when she underplays with inescapable poignance, rather than tossing bathos all over the walls. And it is assuredly true, that in the telephone scene her acting brings to bear all that is great in her.But it is for Master Phillips that we reserve our especial praise. This young man manages his difficult assignment memorably. How else to explain how he handles his end of that same telephone conversation just as convincingly as just as heartbreakingly? What a pity that such a lush physical production as this could not have been extended to the star's appearance. One can only wonder how Ross Hunter would have transformed Judy into something recalling her former charms, given the pulchritude he enhanced in Misses Turner, Wyman, Hayward and Dee.

To be honest, I am not REALLY a Judy Garland fanatic, even though I ought to be. I found her TV show extremely entertaining when I saw them on DVD, and, well, how can one NOT be entertained by the Wizard Of Oz? And I've seen snippets of her here and there. I begin this review of 'I Could Go On Singing' saying this and defending my uh, un-Judy Garland obsessiveness, and then say that I found this movie incredibly entertaining! It's as if they got her to play herself during the last portion of her life, what, being a total singing diva, and let the audience go home happy. In this movie, she plays a famous singer who meets up with an old flame (played low-key to the hilt by Dirk Bogarde) to try to meet up with her son who she abandoned long ago, soon after meeting, she wants to keep him! But Bogarde says no! Oh no! What is she to do? Yes, that's pretty much the plot. But who cares when you get to see La Judy in action, singing, bitching and chewing everyone up and spitting everyone out? This is nothing but fun, and well, not Kramer Vs. Kramer. I really would recommend this to anyone, because this could entertain anyone, Judy fan or not (I tell you I'm not!!!!)