That's Entertainment! (1974)

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favourite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.

Director:

Jack Haley Jr.

Writer:

Jack Haley Jr.

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'The Band Wagon'
Bing Crosby	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'Going Hollywood'
Gene Kelly	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clips from 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' - 'Singin' in the Rain' and 'An American in Paris'
Peter Lawford	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator - Clip from 1947 version of 'Good News'
Liza Minnelli	...	Herself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'In the Good Old Summertime'
Donald O'Connor	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'Singin' in the Rain'
Debbie Reynolds	...	Herself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'Singin' in the Rain'
Mickey Rooney	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clips from 'Babes in Arms' - 'Girl Crazy' - 'Babes on Broadway'
Frank Sinatra	...	Himself - Co-Host
James Stewart	...	Himself - Co-Host
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Herself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'Cynthia'
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
June Allyson	...	Clip from 'Words and Music' (archive footage)
Kay Armen	...	Clip from 'Hit the Deck' (archive footage)
Ray Bolger	...	Clips from 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'The Harvey Girls' (archive footage)
Virginia Bruce	...	Clip from 'The Great Ziegfeld' (archive footage)

Storyline

MGM musical numbers from the introduction of sound in the late '20s through to the 1950s, possibly with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Judy Garland getting the most coverage. Linked by some of the stars who worked at MGM handing the commentary on one to another.

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Plot Keywords:

studio | 1950s | backlot | musician | executive | 

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Taglines:

More than a movie. It's a celebration.

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Genres:

Documentary | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

That's Entertainment: 50 Years of MGM

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) Mono (35 mm optical prints) 70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color (Metrocolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norma Shearer made an agitated phone call to a senior executive at the studio (Paul Rosenfeld) insisting her reaction shots to Clark Gable's 'Puttin' on the Ritz' (from Idiot's Delight (1939)) be deleted as she didn't want to be featured at all. Unfortunately, it was too late to make any changes and the shots remained in the film. Shearer explained to Rosenfeld in a letter, "I am presented as no more than an extra without screen credit while others who are dancers and singers perform triumphantly as stars of this production." When Rosenfeld offered to arrange a screening for Shearer, she declined saying, "I would be devastated to see myself as such an insignificant part of the whole...It is a little too late to do anything now except to express to you my wounded pride."

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, Frank Sinatra says The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is the "first all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing movie ever made,". In fact it wasn't, the first was The Broadway Melody, which was released in February, nine months before "The Hollywood Revue" was ever released. Indeed, by the time of That's Entertainment III (1994), narrator Gene Kelly was now calling The Hollywood Revue of 1929, "one of the first all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing movies."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Sinatra: [narrating] The year is 1929; the singer, Cliff Edwards, also known as Ukelele Ike. The film: "Hollywood Revue"; it is the first all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing movie ever made. In the years that followed, "Singin' in the Rain" would become a theme song for MGM.

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits, some video releases include the film's original instrumental exit overture.

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Connections

Features Idiot's Delight (1939)

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Soundtracks

It's a Most Unusual Day
(1948) (uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Performed by Elizabeth Taylor, then by Jane Powell and others
From A Date with Judy (1948)

User Reviews

More Stars Than There Are In The Heavens

Musicals--that most surrealistic of motion picture genres--have fallen out of fashion over the past few decades... but at one time they dominated motion picture screens. MGM, a studio which boasted it had "More Stars Than There Are In The Heavens," was renowned for the musical talents it had under contract. And this clever compilation, with its various segments introduced by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, Bing Crosby, and Mickey Rooney, offers an extraordinary collection of musical moments from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s--the golden age of the genre.

The compilation is very, very broad and includes performances by both the still-famous and once-famous, and gives us the opportunity to see some magical moments without having to wade through the entire genre or assess whether or not you actually want to sit through an obscure film in order to see one five minute musical moment. While it includes performances by the delicious Lena Horne (performing "Honeysuckle Rose" before a sophisticated set of drapery and mirrors), the brilliant Elenor Powell (with several offerings, the most memorable being "Begin the Begine" with Fred Astaire), and a host of others, most of the collection revolves around four MGM superstars: Gene Kelly, Esther Williams, Fred Astaire, and Judy Garland. The tribute to Esther Williams is particularly welcome, a marvelous array of some of the most beautiful and beautifully surreal scenes ever put to film; the tribute to Judy Garland, touchingly introduced and narrated by daughter Liza Minnelli, is also particularly well done.

But the real feast here is of musical oddities and rarities. In its search for musical talent, MGM put almost every star under contract through their musical paces--and the result is often truly bizarre. Among the most memorable of these is Joan Crawford, who believe it or not was considered a jazz dancer of some note during the 1920s, and here she (introduced by an emcee as "the personification of youth, beauty, joy, and happiness) sings and then athletically stops through "Got A Feeling For You." Robert Montgomery looks awkward trying his hand at light opera; Jimmy Stewart sings pleasantly but unspectacularly; Jean Harlow belts out "Reckless;" and Clark Gable gives a remarkably charming throw-away performance of "Puttin' On The Ritz." It is all tremendous fun.

Of further interest is the fact that most of the narrators have filmed their scenes on the MGM backlot--which was on the verge of demolition when this compilation was made in 1974. It's fading glory is touching, nostalgic, and offers a final glimpse of what was the world's greatest film studio before it entered its final decline. A drawback to the compilation is that at the time it was made few if any of these films had been restored; some of the oldest film clips are in rather poor condition and the brilliance of Technicolor is somewhat reduced in certain scenes. But even with this problem, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT is a feast of brilliant colors, costumes, spectacular dance numbers, and beautiful sounds, enough to delight any long-time musical fan and convert newcomers to the genre.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer