Customer Reviews

Judy Garland: Beyond the Rainbow

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I am certainly glad I took this poorly written and terribly edited book out of the public library, instead of spending good money on it. I read this work on Judy since I have been a fan for 25 years. I have read every book that has been printed on her, and I find this to be one of the worst. It is, as many previous reviewers have said, filled with inaccuracies. For example, on page 38, it says Buddy Ebsen left The Wizard of Oz due to an eye infection, which is incorrect since we all know it was due to his lungs breathing in the aluminum dust. On page 38, Glinda is listed as played by Binnie Barnes, not Billie Burke, who did play the role. On page 44, it states that the film didn't get a tv deal until 1976. Try 1956. On page 50, it says that the parody of the Roosevelts from Babes in Arms was cut since it was too good a mimicry. Wrong again, as it was only cut after Roosevelt's death. On page 72, it says Mickey Rooney appeared in three more musicals with Judy after Girl Crazy. I only know of two: Thousands Cheer and Words and Music. On page 148, the photo of Judy and Liza was taken from her tv series, not from the Palladium concert. I am only listing a few of the errors I found, which were not already mentioned. The point is if an author can't get simple factual errors correct, how much can we believe what he or she writes about everything else?

I too find it hard to believe that the author loves Judy as much as he claims. If he loved and admired Judy as much as he said, how could he have allowed so many mistakes in his work?

The only good thing I can say about this book is that it has some nice pictures, some which I had never seen before.

For readers who want to read better biographies on Judy, stick to Gerold Frank's Judy, Christopher Finch's Rainbow, and any book by John Fricke. Stay away from Anne Edwards Judy Garland since I found many similar errors, which could have been easily checked. Also stay away from Al DiOrio's Little Girl Lost and Brad Steiger's Judy Garland. Both are horrible and trashy.

I did like Lorna's book on her mother. It was interesting and told with honesty and love. She didn't sugarcoat her mother's life. We saw an honest portrayal of Garland, the talented but troubled star, who gave so much to this world, and who is still inspiring and giving pleasure through her recordings, films, tv appearances, and radio appearances. The world we live in is a better place for the gifts Judy Garland bestowed upon us. She deserves to be remembered in a book better than this.

How dare you say that you loved Judy? If this is love, I would not want to be the recipient of your hate. This book is appalling. Your facts are often wrong and your maleficent depiction of Judy is inexcusable. There were times when I felt that you were describing the life of a monster.

Judy Garland was one of the most talented women that ever graced the entertainment field. When considering her background, and the people that abused and used her, it is nothing short of a miracle that she survived long enough to leave the legacy that she did. The very people that should have been protecting her and loving her were the ones that used and abused her the most.

When does a dysfunctional, abused child turn into a dysfunctional adult? Between what breaths does this happen? Everyone feels sorry for the abused child and hates the adult they become. Judy had gaping holes in her personality development. Into that she plugged drugs, booze, and men. Ladies, (authors?) why would you want to memorialize her pain?

Judy's worst day as a theatrical talent is better than your best day as author's. You are insulting to your public, you are bone mean to Judy, and my last words on this awful book is shame. Shame on everyone that let this trash out of the box of lies that I thought had finally been buried when Judy died.

To Judy: I am sorry that people can't get "it" right. I am sorry that you had to feel alone desperate and unloved. For tens of thousands of those who did love you, and still do, we love you and miss you.

Donna Stewart-Hardway Child Munchkin Oz, 1939

Garland was a tempestuous talent with serious emotional problems who began to use drugs at an early age. Her drug use served to intensify her emotional problems, distorted her personality, ruined her career, and ultimately took her life. These are facts, and any Garland biography that attempts to gloss over them does a disservice to its subject, who deserves the dignity of truth. But Sheridan Morley and Ruth Leon's JUDY GARLAND: BEYOND THE RAINBOW does not simply meet these facts, it turns them into superficial tabloid trash complete with pat explantions and superficial interpretations; worse still, the text is riddled with factual inaccuracy, relies upon rumor and mean-spirited speculation, and makes no attempt to place Garland's difficulties in perspective with the other aspects of her life.

I can think of no other Garland text, including the absolutely abominable biography by Anne Edwards, that so ill-serves its own subject. It is filled with unverified and self-serving gossip delivered in such a nasty tone that one wonders how Morley and Leon manage to sleep at night. If you wish to read a legitimate portrait of Garland, I recommend you seek out Christopher Finch's meticulously researched and elegantly written RAINBOW: THE STORMY LIFE OF JUDY GARLAND (sadly, now out of print) or Gerald Frank's exhaustive JUDY instead--and avoid this piece of coffee table trash as you would the plague.

This piece of filth should not have been published at all! At best, it should have been published by a British gossip magazine. That's all this book is, besides its terribly amateur writing and inaccuracies. I would bet my eye teeth that these so-called biographers have filled more gossip magazines with trash than most would in a lifetime! I feel so sorry that our beloved Judy's life, while sometimes turbulent, had to be all blown up out of proportion and jazzed up for the purpose to make a buck. Many stories in here, even anecdotes, I can say are untrue, or at least in bad taste. These people not only had the nerve to label Judy a lesbian in one chapter, but they say that she had little capacity to love! If that isn't the biggest piece of crock I ever heard, I don't know what is. Just read Lorna Luft's excellent memoir, and you'll get the absolute truth behind all this bull these Brits have turned out! And as for Judy, you're wonderful, I love you, I always will!

Obviously the authors are ripping off Judy's name for the money. What other excuse can there be for writing this piece of crap? At first I was happy to see another Judy book hit the market - especially one with such lovely photos. But after I started to read it, I was horrified. As I browsed through the text, I got sick. I am shamed to even admit I have this book in my collection. What a vicious piece of garbage! And these authors have the nerve to say they love Judy...

Judy Garland.

From all her triumphs, conquering the palce, the palladium, Carnigie Hall..her inane poularity from her M.G.M. years, the 2 year-old child that experienced the first true theatre. The list is endless of what this amazing woman has done in her life, yet the author of this book has quite clearly decided to write this biography for the money and fame he seemed to think It would bring him.

All the way through the book rumours are displayed as truth and he is able to get away with complete and amazing lies to give his book a ''new'' edge, but unfortunatly for him all news in this book have been in the others, except more delicatly put and sticking to the facts instead of make-believe.

The grammer is the worst I have ever seen and the way the book has been generally written terribly. He gets the stupidest things wrong, for example the number of wrongly i.d'd pictures, and the fact that he seems to portray Cyd Charrise as a man!

M. Morely and Miss. Leon Your book is an amazing dis-credit to the art and sensitvity that was our wonderful Judy Garland. I beg that you do not waste anymore poor trees with your tripe

We still see Judy as one of the best entertainers, you can never take that away from us so stop trying to destroy our hero's!

Whether you are or aren't a fan of Judy Garland, don't buy this book. It is simply awful. I'm only 15 and even I found lots of mistakes. The pics aren't anything new and some have the wrong labels! I was totally disappointed.

Someone thought they were doing me a favor and bought me the above title. It is a vile piece of trash.

The authors purport to "love" Judy Garland but on every single page are vicious comments about Judy and gross inaccuracies. I only briefly paged through it yet I've found a multitude of errors and insults. Here are some:

The text is peppered with verbs such as "lurched", "staggered", and "popped" (as in pills). Of her television series (much acclaimed; for example Terrence O'Flaherty of the San Francisco Chronicle states: "I cannot remember any series in television history where the production was as polished or the star burned with brighter intensity") they write "she did have to appear once a week however drugged or under-rehearsed she was". Garland was still near the top of her game when she embarked on an Australian concert tour in Spring 1964 (One "Variety" review of a concert on this tour: "Miss Garland won the greatest audience ovation in the history of Australian show-biz. She had the audience in the palm of her hand from the moment she stepped onto the rostrum"), yet the authors state: "Australia seemed to offer a final chance to salvage something from the wreckage of her concert career". They describe her being found "stone cold dead" (how respectful!). Garland's death is noted as possibly her greatest career move. And these so-called authors even get the date of her death wrong!!!

Any knowledge or appreciation of Garland's work is sorely lacking. I'll relate one example that is fairly benign and yet shows how uninformed these "authors" are: They describe "A Child Is Waiting" as "a sombre piece about the need to give retarded children a musical education". From this description it is clear that they have never seen the film.

Their chronology is also all wrong--they imply that "I Could Go On Singing" (made in 1962) was made after Judy's television series (taped 1963-64); further they state that Judy was bouyed, at the end of her TV series (Spring 1964) by the "news that her most recent LP, JUDY AT CARNEGIE HALL, had won an unprecedented five Grammy awards" (yet that album was released in 1961-funny how it took Judy a few years to learn of her Grammys! She did actually receive them in 1962).

There are some nice pictures in the book but I'm taking this one "back to the bookstore" as I don't want to contribute to sales of this vicious hatchet job.

Did I mention that the writing frequently makes no sense? Here is the closing sentence of the book: "Judy is what we hoped the world would be like, and Garland is what we feared it would soon become; that is why she will live forever in all of our dreams and only some of our worst nightmares."

How dothese authors live with themselves, much less get such malevolent drivel published?

And they claim to "love" Judy!

Oh Oh Oh dear. do not waste your money on this terrible book of rubbish. after the first chapter i had to look at the covber to check whether i was reading about Judy Garland....It is all wrong, the authors get the simplest of detail wrong.

I am annoyed that I wasted money buying it.

The book seems like it has been written by a 5 year old. It is so incredibly wrong it is laughable.

unfortunatly you have to give it a star from 1-5 it doesnt deserve the one star i gave it though.. a complete slap on the face to a wonderful legend

with mislabled pictures and a complete lack of true factual information, this book is a grotesque misrepresentation of miss garland. after reading this piece, i was disgusted with the outlandish claims made by mr. morley on behalf of the legend that is judy garland.