This post is written in conjunction with the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon hosted by Sittin' on a Backyard Fence and ScribeHard on Film. A full day of Jeanette MacDonald films will air on TCM on August 27. SAN FRANCISCO (1936) will be airing at 8:00 pm EST.
Whenever Judy Garland ever sang "San Francisco," she began with a short verse about the immortal Jeanette MacDonald and her 1936 hit movie by the same name. Garland's chemistry with her audience really comes across in this clip from a performance at the London Palladium. She begins her song with, "This lady [MacDonald] has never talked to me since I did this. I don't know why...." This isn't entirely true - apparently MacDonald didn't mind the joke, "as long as it's Judy!"