Judy Garland was under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios when she was just fourteen years old. Although MGM executives were familiar with her talent, they didn't know quite how to fit her into any of their productions. So they gladly loaned her to Twentieth Century Fox when Fox was searching for a fresh faced youth to play the younger sister, Sairy Dodd.

Garland jumped at the chance, but felt like an isolated outsider on the Fox lot where she didn't know anyone and was essentially ignored on the set. Ignored, that is, until she sang the ballad "It's Love I'm After." Her powerful voice and intense delivery moved the cast to break out in applause which ultimately ruined the take, but gave Garland the attention she deserved.

Even costar Jack Haley took notice of her. "You're terrific," he said. "Now I remember you." He was referring to a time when he saw her sing at the Trocadero nightclub. Others remembered that Judy Garland's voice was so strong that, while filming at the Los Angeles Coliseum, people could hear it as far as Figueroa Street.

"The voice!" exclaimed June Levant, who was a bit player sitting in the bleachers. "The voice! I can hear it now, it was remarkable." Even with all the praise, Judy Garland was not pleased with her performance. She described herself as a "fat ass with pigtails." Pigskin Parade gave Judy Garland and her voice the acclaim she always wanted and pushed her rising star to even greater heights.