The classic 1939 gem Wizard Of Oz is one of my very favorite films of all time and is subsequently one of the handful of movies that I’ve bought in just about every format, from Betamax to VHS to Laserdisc to DVD and the past week I FINALLY got around to purchasing my copy of the beloved movie on Blu-Ray, and it has never looked better!
Everything looks cleaned up nicely; the sound and colors terrific, but you know what blew me away even more was how absolutely luminous Judy Garland was in this movie! So, so captivating, and what an actress! Why, the scene alone where she’s locked up in the Witch’s castle is some Grammy award winning stuff! Such believable delivery!
Anyway, watching the movie always puts me into a melancholy mood, possible because you always realize at some point that Judy is no longer with us (in fact, I have the same feelings watching Breakfast At Tiffany’s, when Audrey sings Moon River) and I found that even after the movie was over, I wanted to watch and re-watch her singing Over The Rainbow, and went onto youtube to view a few clips.
While looking for her Meet Me In St. Louis clip so I could help usher in the Holidays with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, I came across this most wonderful little clip of a 15 year old Judy Garland singing the most beautiful and heartwarming version of the standard “Zing! Went The Strings of My Heart” from "Listen Darling” in 1938.
MAN, this performance just melts my heart. Is there anything out there so unbelievably innocent and simple as this girl singing this winsome tune with the gentle orchestra playing along behind her? So Sweet! What a girl~ there'll never be another one like her!
