Hollywood loves to do remakes. Some are better than the original. This is not the case with In the Good Old Summertime. It is a remake of the MGM film, The Shop Around the Corner. It is a big musical production with their big musical star,Judy Garland. She excels in the movie. She does what she did best;singing and dancing. The film takes place in turn of the century Chicago,replacing Budapest, the setting for the original movie.The rest of the cast can’t get this version to translate well to the screen. This is interesting, because the director was responsible for the studio’s early success. He directed most of the Nelson Eddie-Jeanette McDonald films. One surprise is the casting of Buster Keaton. He was doing sight gags for the film. He impressed his bosses enough,to give him the role of Hickey. He is the other love interest for Garland’s character. There is a reason for this film not living up to expectations. There is no real antagonist. The first film had a store clerk who was a snake in the grass. That always helps a story.
Judy Garland and Van Johnson, play Veronica Fisher and Andrew Derby Lawson. They work in a music store owned by Otto Oberkugen, (S.Z.Sakall). He is assisted by his girlfriend, Nellie Burke, (Spring Byington).This talented actress would later be a success on television, starring in shows like Laramie. S.Z. Sakall, was a veteran character actor, famously appearing in Casablanca and Christmas in Connecticut. His character is over the top with his eccentricities. The odd part is that he plays the violin like Jack Benny. It worked for the comedian for decades, but not as a gag in this movie. Sakall plays the character like everyone he played. It just doesn’t work. Judy Garland and Van Johnson play the characters who have a strong dislike for each other. They don’t know that they are secretly corresponding with one another. This plot worked better in the original film, because the characters had more depth.
The performance of Garland is very good. Van Johnson,although likable in this movie, comes across as staid. He became a big star when the others went off to war. He had a deferment, and his film presence kept the studio running. He appeared in many successful movies, and later did television. The interesting scene is when the principals try to stop Otto from playing his violin, before an audience. It involves Buster Keaton, and a very simple sight gag. It explains his comic genius. This was his first movie after the studio fired him. This film is what the studio did. It made movie musical spectaculars. The sets were well done by Edwin B. Willis. The set for the Christmas party is elaborate. The street in the beginning was the same set from Meet Me in St.Louis. This saved time and money for the studio. The writers of this film, Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and Ivan Tors were successful. They were involved in musicals and other films. Two of them, Hackett and Goodrich wrote the screenplay for It’s a Wonderful Life. The source material for the movie was there, but it was changed. This take on the story doesn’t work. It did make money, so it was liked by the general public. In the Good Old Summertime could have followed many other films of this genre. It just doesn’t work.