She was one of MGM's biggest stars. Judy Garland was seen as being the luckiest girl in the world- she had an expensive contract, the most coveted role in all of Hollywood and all at the greatest studio in the history of film. Unfortunately, it wasn't as great as it all seemed.
MGM felt that Judy was too fat and constantly put her on various diets. Watchful studio execs monitored everything she ate, giving her pills to speed up her metabolism in the morning and barbiturates in the evening so that she could sleep. It would create a deadly habit that would haunt her for decades.
Judy's tenure at MGM would symbolize the worst of the studio's excesses. Louis B. Mayer would often see his stars as property instead of the people they were. They were cogs in the MGM machine; factors that could be inserted into the machine much like anything else. Regardless of the Behind the Scenes drama, however, the action onscreen was often pure gold.
