Do The La Conga! - Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney

[Focusintobeing]

Bless you! That was fantastic.

[gregoryagogo]

@Focusintobeing Scene is great... but you should see the whole movie!

[keepItreal923]

hellz yeah...that was great!!

[lmw7987]

no one compares to judy garland. <3

[NFitalianGuy]

The way the camera floats around so smoothly constantly, is amazing! Especially when Film Cameras back then weighed around 500 lbs.

[gregoryagogo]

@NFitalianGuy That must have been a great one two three BOOM operator!

[NFitalianGuy]

Boundless energy combined with a GOD given talent, her joy is infectious

[gregoryagogo]

@NFitalianGuy I'd say that that's true for most performers...either you got it or you don't... you're born with it.

[NFitalianGuy]

@gregoryagogo U are so right! Judy was born with it & even up until the end she had it. Just look at the 22k people who paid their last respects.. I recall An observation made years ago that No matter who Judy was partnered with on screen that the viewer would find themselves watching Judy and not the other performer Judy she stole the show even if she wasnt in great voice. She had that electricity that star quality.

[NFitalianGuy]

MGM knew their stuff! These Movie musicals seemed so effortless and the talent was timeless where it didnt seem corny or cheesy. If they made these kind of musicals now it would be so campy and the vocals these singers today have are awful. Judy never took a lesson in her life and she had a photographic memory and she was the best at Lipsynching to her own vocal playbacks as though she was singing the song live. A timeless genius and Legendary class act! Thank You God for giving her to us!

[anipluszebra]

am I the only one who thinks 6:20-6:23 is HILARIOUS?

[gregoryagogo]

@anipluszebra That's the 'movement' of a conga! The whole thing is silly! That's why I love the Conga!

[gregoryagogo]

@anipluszebra Micky is really animated and has a way of moving his body...does a good job exaggerating the step!

[nonijonas]

im gonna do this at my wedding one day!

[gregoryagogo]

@nonijonas Don't forget to hire a mad-man director who will whip you guys into doing it right!

[gtlfb]

The song is catchy at best - the basic dance couldn't be simpler, and there is no set to speak off. Yet with some incredible talent and inventive camera work, Berkeley created one of the most engaging musical numbers ever. The camera is in almost constant motion, bringing us right into the heart of the action. Watching this is better than a vitamin pill.

[gregoryagogo]

@gtlfb You can't loose with a conga! The music is really good here too!

[chomsky88]

There have been some great musicals since this time period(e.g. Cabaret, Moulin Rouge) but it would be nice to see someone try to top Busby Berkley when it comes to spectacle. No one has done it yet.

[xoxsw33tyxox]

"0" dislikes, thats how it should be =D i love judy garland and Mickey Rooney

[gregoryagogo]

@xoxsw33tyxox I don't pay attention to that... but thank for pointing that out... how could you dislike this?!! LOL

[xoxsw33tyxox]

@gregoryagogo lol i know, growing up my dad would always play judys music for me

i was a little bit of a fanatic, now that im almost 18 im still a fanatic.. but i think even worse then i was before! LOL

only if other teenagers my age liked this kinda stuff i think the world would be a better place without influence from the so called "music" played nowadays.

[gregoryagogo]

@xoxsw33tyxox At least you have the internet to find "new" material to inspire you. I grew up feeling so isolated and alone because no one liked my old stuff, and I couldn't find anything. I had to scan the TV guide for whenever the local channels would play on old movie. Now that the internet's here, I'm so drowning in music and movies that it's overwhelming. There's a good chunk of folks you'll find do like this stuff.

[gregoryagogo]

@xoxsw33tyxox Too many people out there have a "need" to "be bad"... those kind of people just cannot "get" the old stuff. In fact, it may repel them.

[xoxsw33tyxox]

@gregoryagogo yeah i know, their as scared of the old music as they are of reading a book!

im like the only one out of all my friends that actually enjoys reading. its kinda sad when you think about it -.-

[gregoryagogo]

@xoxsw33tyxox Not a "reader" myself! Always played records instead!

[jvarela965]

Busby Berkley was a genius but he was a tyrant.

[vertxxgg]

King of Conga ' in America in 40s was Enric Madriguera with his Orchesta he introduce his own version of CONGA with orchestral variations from cuban Folkore.he was born in Barcelona .Spain

[gregoryagogo]

@vertxxgg OLAY!

[chomsky88]

Berkley may have been somewhat nuts and something of a martinet but you can't argue with the results; though his best work was in the 30's this is still pretty awesome.

[middlepsycho]

Solution to world peace - do the CONGA!!

[gregoryagogo]

@middlepsycho I totally agree!

[AmericanFlag1]

love it

[gregoryagogo]

@AmericanFlag1 This is from the movie "Strike Up The Band", and is available on an awesome "Judy & Mickey" box-set DVD collection! Also on CD with the same concept. It's totally worth owning!

[pnrondeau100]

Try to find that many young people today talented enough to handle a number like that! Not gonna happen, sad to say.

[patoman881]

Bravo to all who had to smile through their forty-thousandth take;-)

[essentialeugene]

I read that Judy Garland and Busby Berkeley never got along well. They worked togther on ``Girl Crazy'' 1943.

[gtlfb]

No matter the circumstances, this is still one of the most thrilling musical sequences ever. No set to speak of, and the basic dance step couldn't be simpler, yet the camerawork makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of it all. I can't think of another number in any movie that makes you feel like a participant rather than just an onlooker.

[patoman881]

Gosh...Everytime I see this I marvel at how such a talent as she had was forced to do this in how many takes?? I dont have the exact figure, but it certainly would make child labor law enforcers cringe. I think Busby Berkeley had something against her fountain of talent:-(

[gregoryagogo]

@patoman881 Weird.. I thought WB took this video off! Judy's eyes are crazy!!!

[feroxcvpiditas]

@gregoryagogo That's thanks to Berkeley who was tyrannical and constantly screamed at Judy to open her eyes wide.

[gregoryagogo]

@feroxcvpiditas Interesting! She's violent with that scarf too!

[feroxcvpiditas]

@gregoryagogo I'll bet she was terrorized, exhausted and pissed off at Berkeley so that was her outlet...poor scarf.

[gregoryagogo]

@feroxcvpiditas Poor thing... she was probably whipping that scarf around as if saying, "fuck you!!!" I think it's genius to use the scarf to cover her mouth was she opened it wide for that one loud note... rather than letting the camera see the back of her throat!

[evry190]

@feroxcvpiditas yeah and he forced her to open her eyes so wide too

[BerlinLynn]

@gregoryagogo Berkeley was a crazed alcoholic (Rooney called it the "Alcoholic's Perfectionism") who drove Judy NUTS and kept SCREAMING at her to open her eyes WIDER!!!

[gregoryagogo]

@BerlinLynn Not sure the end result was perfect... she does seem kind of strange with those eyes... Not natural that's for sure!

[BerlinLynn]

@gregoryagogo Absolutely! From the many "Judy" bios I've read, B.B. screamed ENDLESSLY at Garland to open her eyes "WIDER!!", which resulted in some film reviewers (& movie-goers whom, in those days, were given cards on which to record their comments) noting Judy's "pop-eyed" look. No wonder - the man was NUTS. He killed 3 people while driving drunk in Sept. '35*. After his mother's death, he attempted suicide. Amazingly, he lived to age 80, dying in '76, survived by his 6th wife...

[BerlinLynn]

@gregoryagogo *Amazingly, he was acquitted of 2nd degree murder in the car accident - such was the power of Hollywood and Fame in those days, as he was clearly guilty. Rumor also has it that he spent much of his time between movie-making drinking martinis in his bathtub. Whatever his faults, however, he did possess great talents as a choreographer (despite no formal training neither in dance nor choreography) and director, and achieved much success despite his tragic personal life.

[hanielroswell1981]

warner got to give us a break. its not like we could rent any of this classic song at blockbuster. stop pulling these video from youtube. its been a while since i last seen judy garland hoedown since it was pull from from here.

[gregoryagogo]

I hope Warner Brothers sees this as promotion for their Judy and Mickey box set!  I saw "Do The La Conga" in the movie, "Strike-Up The Band" on TCM, and went online and bought the box set, and soundtracks!

[MerleOberon]

this keeps getting pulled by Warners

[surfcluer]

greg it's interesting how berkeley's best work was always black and white

[gregoryagogo]

Yes... I think there was sloppy editing work on his later stuff. His segues weren't as precise.

[chunkylumps]

Thanks for the video Gregory ...it's great!

But moreover I wanted to tell you how very handsome I think you are...and a spiritual brother too like me!