That's Entertainment! (1974)

Director:

Jack Haley Jr.

Writer:

Jack Haley Jr. (written by)

Release Date:

21 June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Family | Music

Tagline:

Boy. Do we need it now.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Studio | 1950s | 1930s | Dancing | Film History

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator
Bing Crosby	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator
Gene Kelly	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator / Clips from 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' - 'Singin' in the rain' and 'An American in Paris' (also archive footage)
Peter Lawford	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator - Clip from 1947 version of 'Good News' (also archive footage)
Liza Minnelli	...	Herself - Co-host / Narrator
Donald O'Connor	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator / Clip from 'Singin' in the Rain' (also archive footage)
Debbie Reynolds	...	Herself - Co-host / Narrator
Mickey Rooney	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator / Clips from 'Babes in Arms' - 'Girl Crazy' - 'Babes on Broadway' (also archive footage)
Frank Sinatra	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator / Clip from 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' (also archive footage)
James Stewart	...	Himself - Co-host / Narrator / Clip from 'Born to Dance' (also archive footage)
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Herself - Co-host / Narrator
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)
Jack Buchanan	...	Clip from 'The Band Wagon' (archive footage)
Leslie Caron	...	Clips from 'An American in Paris' and 'Gigi' (archive footage)
Carleton Carpenter	...	Clip from 'Two Weeks with Love' (archive footage)
Cyd Charisse	...	Clip from 'Singin' in the Rain' (archive footage)
Maurice Chevalier	...	Clip from 'Gigi' (archive footage)
Joan Crawford	...	Clips from 'Hollywood Revue' & 'Dancing Lady' (archive footage)
Virginia Dale	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Vic Damone	...	Clip from 'Hit the Deck' (archive footage)
Jimmy Durante	...	Clips from 'Speak Easily' & 'It Happened in Brooklyn' (archive footage)
Deanna Durbin	...	Clip from 'Every Sunday' (archive footage)
Buddy Ebsen	...	Clip from 'Broadway Melody of 1938' (archive footage)
Nelson Eddy	...	Clip from 1936 version of 'Rose Marie' (archive footage)
Cliff Edwards	...	Clip from 'Hollywood Revue' (archive footage)
Clark Gable	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Ava Gardner	...	Herself - at banquet / Clip from 1951 version of 'Show Boat' (archive footage)
Judy Garland	...	Clips from 'Wizard of Oz' & 'Summer Stock' etc. (archive footage)
Cary Grant	...	Clip from 'Suzy' (archive footage)
Kathryn Grayson	...	Clips from 1951 version of 'Show Boat' and 'Toast of New Orleans' (archive footage)
Virginia Grey	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Jack Haley	...	Clip from 'The Wizard of Oz' (archive footage)
Jean Harlow	...	Clips from 'Reckless' & 'Suzy' (archive footage)
Bernadene Hayes	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Lena Horne	...	Herself - at banquet / Clip from 'Thousands Cheer' (archive footage)
Lottice Howell	...	Clip from 'Free and Easy' (archive footage)
Van Johnson	...	(archive footage)
Allan Jones	...	(archive footage)
Louis Jourdan	...	Clip from "Gigi" (archive footage)
Howard Keel	...	Clips from 1951 version of 'Show Boat' and 'Pagan Love Song' (archive footage)
Charles King	...	Clip from 'Broadway Melody' (archive footage)
Lorraine Krueger	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Bert Lahr	...	Clip from 'The Wizard of Oz' (archive footage)
Mario Lanza	...	Clip from 'Toast of New Orleans' (archive footage)
Jeanette MacDonald	...	Clip from 'Rose Marie' (archive footage)
Joan Marsh	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Tony Martin	...	Clip from 'Hit the Deck' (archive footage)
Douglas McPhail	...	Clip from 'Babes in Arms' (archive footage)
Ann Miller	...	Clip from 'Small Town Girl' (archive footage)
Robert Montgomery	...	Clip from 'Free and Easy' (archive footage)
Natalie Moorhead	...	Clip from 'Dance, Fools, Dance' (archive footage)
Dennis Morgan	...	Clip from 'The Great Ziegfeld' (archive footage)
Jules Munshin	...	Clip from 'On the Town' (archive footage)
Fayard Nicholas	...	Clip from 'The Pirate' (archive footage)
Harold Nicholas	...	Clip from 'The Pirate' (archive footage)
Margaret O'Brien	...	Clip from 'Meet Me in St. Louis' (archive footage)
Eleanor Powell	...	(clips from "Broadway Melody of 1940" / "Rosalie") (archive footage)
Jane Powell	...	Clip from 'A Date with Judy' (archive footage)
Ginger Rogers	...	Clip from 'Barkleys of Broadway' (archive footage)
Paula Stone	...	Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' (archive footage)
Russ Tamblyn	...	Clip from 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' (archive footage)
William Warfield	...	Clip from 1951 version of 'Show Boat' (archive footage)
Esther Williams	...	Clips from 'Bathing Beauty' & 'Million Dollar Mermaid' etc. (archive footage)

Also Known As:

That's Entertainment: 50 Years of MGM (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

UK:U | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:Btl | USA:G | West Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lorimar Productions

Trivia:

This was the last film shot on MGM's famous backlot. It was demolished soon after filming in order to make way for a residential development, and this is why the old sets are in such poor condition; this is particularly noticeable in the train station set where Fred Astaire gives his introductions, and Bing Crosby refers to the area as looking rather "scruffy". On the other hand, the entire purpose of the film is nostalgia, and the use of the 'scruffy' prop scene, clearly aged and abandoned, helps to set the tone as one of a return to the glamor of the past, even though it was all make-believe.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the "Melody of Spring" sequence from Cynthia (1947), narrator Elizabeth Taylor self-deprecatingly remarks that she "was certainly no threat to Judy Garland or Jane Powell." In fact, Taylor's singing was dubbed in the film, a point emphasized when she turns up ten minutes later in ‘That's Entertainment!’ with an entirely different voice in the "It's a Most Unusual Day" sequence from A Date with Judy (1948). In this case, narrator Peter Lawford claims, "That isn't Elizabeth's voice you're hearing. MGM kept her too busy to rehearse and record."

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.

Movie Connections:

Features Thousands Cheer (1943)

Soundtrack:

Aba Daba Honeymoon

It Sure Is, and We'll Never See the Like Again!

For anyone who longs to experience some of the great movie musical moments again, "That's Entertainment" is a Godsend. For anyone who hasn't seen many, or any, of the great MGM musicals and wants to know what made them great, "That's Entertainment" is a revelation. Either way, it's an entertainment extravaganza that can't be beat, and it's easy to see why it was the surprise movie hit of 1974.

In fact, I remember the first time I saw it. I was sixteen, and I saw it at a matinee showing, with my Mother, at the now-defunct Cooper Theater in Denver, Colorado. I think what amazed us the most about the film was that, after almost every number, the audience burst into prolonged applause. You'd think it was a concert instead of a movie! But that's the appeal that these timeless musical moments have. You don't just watch this movie, you're PART of it.

As Frank Sinatra says at the outset of the film, "You can wait around and hope, but you'll never see the like of this again."

An affectionate tribute to the great movie musicals that became a great movie musical itself. See it! See it! See it!