Lily Mars (Judy Garland) is a small-town girl with big-city ambitions. She contrives to audition for a Broadway producer whose father was the local physician and whose family piano her father also happened to tune. However, the producer wants nothing to do with her. She then heads to Broadway hoping to convince him to cast her, but after a series of disappointments, the best she can manage is an understudy job.[3]
Cast
Garland was given the Hollywood "glamor treatment" for this role, as seen in this promotional image for the film.
"Broadway Rhythm" featuring Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.
The finale, "Where There's Music", originally included parts of "St. Louis Blues", "In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree", and "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", which were deleted from the final version.
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned USD$2,216,000 in the US and Canada and $1,039,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,211,000.[1][5]
An April 30, 1943, New York Times review bylined T. S. praises Judy Garland's “blithe talents” but concludes: “For all its sweetness, "Presenting Lily Mars" is uninviting fare; it is glorified monotony. Perhaps M-G-M should let Miss Garland grow up and stay that way.”[6]
References
^ abcThe Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
