In Summer Stock (1950), Gene Kelly plays Joe Ross, a theatre director who brings his troupe to a farm in New England, where Jane Falbury, played by Judy Garland, is trying to run the family farm. Directed by Charles Walters, the musical follows the clash between farm work and show business, and the romance that grows between Joe and Jane.
Kelly and Garland are a warm, funny pair, and Kelly’s dancing, including a famous solo with a creaking floorboard and a newspaper, shows his gift for turning everyday sounds and objects into dance. The film is a light, sunny example of the MGM musical at its best.
