The Dream Factory
The Dream Factory is a podcast about the sometimes magical, sometimes terrifying world of MGM studios during Hollywood's golden age. Join host Derek Lajeunesse and fellow movie fans as they reawaken the ghosts of MGM, deep diving into people and the films that defined an era of moviemaking.
Episodes
23 episodes
Summer Stock - Just Get Happy! (Part 8)
The penultimate episode of our Summer Stock deep dive is upon us and it’s been acres and acres of fun to have Nate as my guest host. This time we explore the unique sound of the MGM musical through some of its behind the scenes musical talen...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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53:50
Summer Stock - The Smell of Greasepaint (Part 7)
Thank you for joining us on our tractor as we plow through the Gene Kelly/Judy Garland homage to the backyard musicals: MGM’s Summer Stock. As the plot chugs along, Nate and I really begin to feel the heat coming off the J...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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1:04:36
Summer Stock - The Portland Fancy (Part 6)
Every great movie musical has a big dance number at a party and MGM’s Summer Stock is no exception. Nate once again joins me as Judy and Gene turn a country square dance (“The Portland Fancy”) into a red hot number where they both tear...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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1:03:16
The Scream Factory - Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Happy Halloween! We interrupt our regularly scheduled Technicolored programming on the Dream Factory, sorry I mean the SCREAM FACTORY, for a seasonal change of pace. I travel back to MGM in 1935, a place of glitter and gla...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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53:46
Summer Stock - Chores, Snores and Captain Hook (Part 5)
Nate and I put on our dungarees and help out on Judy Garland’s farm as we continue our exploration of the 1950 MGM musical Summer Stock! We’re about as much help as Gene Kelly’s theatre troupe with the farm chores but we do dig into the plot...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:00:32
Summer Stock - Dig, Dig, Dig for your Dinner (Part 4)
Now that Judy Garland as Jane Falbury has her beloved tractor the plot of Summer Stock (1950) can really get cooking. Talented and studly Gene Kelly finally enters the picture and shakes up not only Falbury farm but Jane herself!<...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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55:44
Summer Stock - Howdy, Neighbour! (Part 3)
Nate and I continue our scene by scene dive into the 1950 movie Summer Stock, a movie remarkable for being the third onscreen pairing of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland and for being Garland’s last film at MGM.This episode is fun a...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:03:08
Summer Stock - If You Feel Like Singing…SING (Part 2)
Our deep dive into the 1950 MGM film Summer Stock ramps up as we enter into our first scene and it’s a scandalous one…Judy gets her Janet Leigh moment in the shower, without the violins and screaming!Nate again joins me and bri...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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41:48
Summer Stock - Opening Thoughts and Credits (Part 1)
Howdy neighbour! The Dream Factory now steps into exploring a new Judy Garland film: the 1950 musical Summer Stock! While not revered when first released, the movie has gained a beloved following in recent years, not only because of Judy but...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:02:26
The Harvey Girls - Cut scenes and Fires and Happy Endings OH MY! (Part 8)
Oh no, our last Harvey Girls episode! Will the straight-laced waitresses prevail or will the saloon girls dance away with the men of Sandrock? They have a big dancing party to fight it out!Conor Grant joins me one last time as ...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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58:34
The Harvey Girls -The Wild, Wild West (Part 7)
Our latest episode exploring the MGM musical The Harvey Girls finally turns our attention to the other women in the cast: the deadpan and fabulous singer Virginia O’Brien and the gifted dancer soon to be MGM superstar Cyd Charisse.
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:06:52
The Harvey Girls - Judy Holds up the Saloon (Part 6)
In this episode of our breakdown of the MGM classic The Harvey Girls, I’m once again joined by Conor to sing the praises of some incredible women who contributed so much to this film. Plus we discuss what happens when “Judy gets the meat”!
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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38:29
The Harvey Girls - Catfishing and Waitress Training (Part 5)
The Harvey Girls dissection continues as Conor and I discuss the scenes that follow the epic “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” musical number where our heroine Judy Garland meets her fiance via correspondence for the first time and real...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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56:58
The Harvey Girls - On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (Part 4)
If The Harvey Girls is remembered for anything it’s the incredible music number “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.” Conor and I discuss the entire 8.5 minute cinematic extravaganza in detail, highlighting the cast and musical geniuses be...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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52:02
The Harvey Girls - A Chillicothe Sandwich (Part 3)
Our deep dive into the 1946 MGM musical The Harvey Girls continues with the first few scenes of the film where we meet the bulk of the cast and the Harvey girls themselves! Hear about some of the actresses who filled these roles and the char...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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47:02
The Harvey Girls - Main Title/In the Valley (Part 2)
Thanks for listening to the Dream Factory! This week we’re finally entering into the film itself chatting about the main titles of The Harvey Girls as well as Judy’s first musical number “In the Valley” which she sings hanging off the back o...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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54:28
The Harvey Girls - Pre-Production (Part 1)
Welcome to the first episode of our breakdown of the 1946 film The Harvey Girls. Starring our favourite gal Judy Garland, this Technicolor fun-fest has everything we love about MGM musicals; great songs, colourful settings and wonderful perf...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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41:39
Get Happy!: Judy Garland at MGM (Part 2)
In our second of two episodes discussing the amazing legacy of Judy Garland's MGM career, Conor from the Garland Gab and I pick up in the mid-40s and break down her most difficult years at M...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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50:44
Nobody's Baby: Judy Garland at MGM (Part 1)
Before we get super nerdy with our movie breakdown episodes, I am joined by Conor of the fabulous podcast The Garland Gab for part one of our overview of Judy Garland's 15 years working at M...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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50:39
MGM History (Part 3)
For our third and final MGM history episode, Nate and I conclude our look at a movie company that was a small city unto itself in Culver City. Riding high in the mid-40s, the studio faced external forces that threaten its existence by the end o...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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1:15:10
MGM History (Part 2)
Episode two of our deep dive into the history of movie factory MGM is here! I am once again joined by Nate and together we travel back to the Culver City of over 80 years and further explore who were the artists who created these movies t...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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1:05:22