Judy Garland - "I'm An Indian, Too" - Complete Segment

Check out The Judy Room's Filmography Page on "Annie Get Your Gun" here: www.thejudyroom.com/filmograp...
On April 27, 1949, filming began on the “I’m An Indian, Too” production number for "Annie Get Your Gun." Judy Garland was starring as Annie Oakley, with Howard Keel as her co-star and Busby Berkeley as director. However, Berkeley did not direct “I’m An Indian, Too” that task went to Robert Alton, who staged and shot all the numbers in the film.
Garland prerecorded most of the songs in March 1949 but had prerecorded “I’m An Indian, Too” just a couple of days prior to its filming, on April 25, 1949. Garland’s recordings for the film were deemed serviceable in spite of the fact that they were recorded under much strain for her, which is noticeable in most of the surviving recordings. They’re lacking that special Garland sparkle.
By the time of “I’m An Indian, Too,” Garland had already filmed the song “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” and a few dramatic scenes with Berkeley, which resulted in an on-set blow-up between Berkeley and Garland, prompting her to leave the set early. She was not up to the strain of a big production number, but she gamely soldiered on, with filming lasting through May 2, 1949.
Director Charles Walters was brought in to replace Berkeley on May 5, 1949, but it was too late for Garland. She had worn herself out. On May 10, 1949, she was again hours late to the set. After lunch, she was given a reprimand by MGM’s VP L.K. Sidney. She went to the front office to plead her case, pointing out that she had been telling them Berkeley was wrong for the film. They agreed and apologized for the letter. When she got back to the soundstage, everyone was gone. Later that afternoon, the studio removed her from the film and placed her on suspension.
The problems with filming were not all Garland’s fault. Berkeley was the wrong director for her and for the film, their troubles going back to the early 1940s and his abusive treatment of her including an incident causing her to suffer a complete physical collapse. By the time of “I’m An Indian, Too” Garland had been experiencing serious health problems due to more overwork, her addiction to prescription medicines, and the stress of a huge musical like Annie Get Your Gun. The assignment of Berkeley as the director was inexcusable.
Enough footage was shot to piece together a complete “I’m An Indian, Too” sequence, which is much different than how it was re-shot and presented in the final release version of the film with Betty Hutton in the Annie role, under the direction of George Sidney. The complete footage has never been released in remastered format. Clips of it were included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases, along with the song part. The edits on those releases are noticeable in that the makeup on Annie’s face suddenly changes, due to the removal of the section where she earns the stripes on her face.
Enough footage was shot to piece together a complete “I’m An Indian, Too” sequence, which is much different than how it was re-shot and presented in the final release version of the film with Betty Hutton in the Annie role, under the direction of George Sidney. The complete footage has never been released in remastered format. Clips of it were included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases, along with the song part. The edits on those releases are noticeable in that the makeup on Annie’s face suddenly changes, due to the removal of the section where she earns the stripes on her face.
Here is the complete sequence as initially intended, with the remastered clips spliced in to show how much of the number was left out. The footage varies in quality, however, it’s infinitely better than the very dark and muddy footage that’s previously been released on bootleg home media releases.

[@bruw5640]

She was not difficult. She knew what was right for her and for the film. Judy thought like a director, but the studio of course, still treated her like a child. Our greatest all around performer!

[@JudyGarlandOldies]

Live, laugh, love Judy! At least we still have some footage of her like this

[@nathanboyer7739]

Judy Garland is so iconic she literally set trends and influenced SOOO much culture

[@richardschilling2414]

Wow, this is spectacular. Thank you; it's been so long since a "complete" Judy Garland outtake has emerged. However, the number wasn't much better when Betty Hutton did it, Judy's reactions - and her instinct about what would work - were spot-on.

[@renatoespinoza8792]

THATS ENTRETAIMENT. A TRUE PERFORMER. NO ONE LIKE HER

[@Aiwkid]

Wow, the sequence makes so much more sense now. All the clips I've seen of it throughout the years felt discombobulated and hard to follow due to their fractured nature. Thank you for this and for the outtakes! I'm eating all this rare footage up!

[@Jeffreym36]

She's SO funny ‼️ "Even half dead she's better than anybody else". It's funny you never hear anything about this movie except when it pertains to Judy. Love you Judy❤

[@karencarpenterarchiveplayl7267]

Would of been fascinating to see how the film would of turned out if Judy was well enough, physically and mentally, to complete it. Remarkable sequence, all the same.

[@glenconmc]

Wow! Never seen the whole thing before. Thanks for posting.

[@MeowMeow-by8ub]

The choreography on this was amazing. The dancing is super difficult. Happy thanksgiving

[@d.g.n9392]

Stumbled across this and am a new subscriber. We have been watching many old musicals , some with Judy Garland. Enjoying your channel. Wow. You got some great video clips too

[@figmo397]

Wow! Even Judy in less-than-optimal form is great! In most of the song she sounded like a young girl, rather than the mature voice we're used to hearing.

[@bugleboy4527]

Great to have this

[@amesadamson]

e p i c thank you. wow.

[@maxlinder5262]

Busby didn't treat her very nice ...so she already knew he was wrong .....😅

[@Vesterlyng]

Judy fan....but that was pretty boring choreography...parts of it too much like "Hoe Down".

[@a.t.c.3862]

Oh dear.

[@Nhozemphtekh]

Although racist and horribly stereotypical of native Americans. The song bops. I don’t speak for every native (I’m native) but I, myself. I like the song.

[@adrianteav]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@burleq]

Fascinating but so, so sad. Thank god it never happened, it would have been ruination for all. That said, Betty Hutton was so much worse.

[@patworx1]

I like Judy Garland, but I think Betty Hutton is a better fit for this part. She does the comedic elements better.

[@alanellaway5489]

I love Judy but i dont think that this is one of her best momemts . I prefer the underated Betty Hutton in the finished movie.

[@sven8957]

I prefer finished movies to raw footage too.🙄 You're comparing apple seeds to oranges.

[@camrennik9512]

I’m an honest injun too! Lol