In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

My Review

“In the Good Old Summertime” is a musical romantic comedy that tells the story of a young woman who lands a job in a music store and gets more than she bargained for. Director Robert Z. Leonard (“Ziegfeld Girl” 1941) masterfully put together this delightful Judy Garland vehicle that features her performing six musical numbers by various songwriters. The screenplay was written by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Ivan Tors, and Samson Raphaelson.

The cast from the MGM stable of talent performers includes Van Johnson, S. Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Buster Keaton, Clinton Sundberg, Lillian Bronson, and Marcia Van Dyke. “In the Good Old Summertime” was a big hit at the box office for producer Joe Pasternak and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, released on July 29, 1949, in the middle of the good old summertime. A remake of this filmed came out years later as “You’ve Got Mail” (1998) starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.