In August 1951, Mayer was fired by MGM's East Coast executives and was replaced by Schary. Gradually cutting loose expensive contract players (including $6,000-a-week Judy Garland in 1950), saving money by recycling existing movie sets instead of building costly new scenery, and reworking pricey old costumes, Schary managed to keep the studio running much as it had through the early 1940s though his sensibilities for hard-edged, message movies would never bear much fruit. One bright spot was MGM musical pictures, under the aegis of producer Arthur Freed, who was operating what amounted to an independent unit within the studio. MGM produced some well-regarded and profitable musicals that would be later acknowledged as classics, among them "An American in Paris" (1951), "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954). However, "Brigadoon" (1954), "Deep in My Heart" (1954), "It's Always Fair Weather" (1955), and "Invitation to the Dance" (1956), were extravagant song and dance flops, and even the now-classic "The Band Wagon" (1953) lost money in its initial release.