Film credits list Judy and her sisters as "The Garland Sisters."
l-r: Judy, Jimmy and Suzy Garland, Irvin S. Cobb.
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
MGM, 1935 (Color, 19 minutes)
A festival event celebrating the Spanish heritage of California. Narrated by Pete Smith (of "Pete Smith's Specialties" fame), the film features a number of song and dance numbers with many cameo appearances. Andy Devine and Buster Keaton perform a bull-fight skit, Irvin S. Cobb and Ted Healy (of Three Stooges fame) each perform a short comedy number and Joe Morrison sings his recent hit song, "The Last Round-Up". Leo Carrillo plays emcee to the latter half of the short, with the Garland Sisters singing "La Cucaracha".
This is the best recording of Judy singing with her sisters that I know of. They sing three-part harmony, blending quite nicely, with each sister performing short solos. Twelve-year-old Judy is definitely the standout, with a powerful voice that is unmistakably Garland. The Garland Sisters are definitely the high-point of the film.
It seems rather odd that the Garland Sisters appear in this MGM film, yet Judy was not "discovered" by MGM until one month later, especially since the Garland Sisters are listed fourth in the opening credits. Obviously, someone at MGM was aware of Judy's talent before her audition for L.B. Mayer in September 1935. This was the Garland (Gumm) Sister's last film together.
LONG VERSION
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