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
Donald O'Connor	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator / Clip from 'Singin' in the Rain'
Debbie Reynolds	...	Herself - Co-Host / Narrator
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-Hostess / 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 | compilation film | backlot | musician | 

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Taglines:

Boy. Do we need it now.

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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)

Gross USA:

$26,890,200

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:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Where the selection process was concerned, the film would inevitably have to make concessions in its effort to consolidate nearly thirty years of moviemaking into one feature film, but there were several glaring omissions in the finished product. A handful of MGM mainstays appeared only peripherally, without a featured number that spotlighted his or her singular talent, including Cyd Charisse, Van Johnson, Carmen Miranda, Allan Jones, Janet Leigh, Ricardo Montalban and Fernando Lamas. Other stars in the MGM stock company were slighted altogether, including Vera-Ellen, Marge Champion and Gower Champion, Ann Blyth, Bobby Van, Virginia O'Brien, Doris Day, Oscar Levant, Gloria DeHaven, Dan Dailey, George Murphy, Ann Sothern, Lucille Bremer, Betty Garrett, Angela Lansbury, Ray McDonald, Dolores Gray, Bob Fosse, Sally Forrest, Marion Davies, Ramon Novarro and Tom Drake. Because of the embarrassment of cinematic riches in the MGM vault, blockbusters such as Brigadoon (1954), Easter Parade (1948), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Kiss Me Kate (1953), Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Maytime (1937), Silk Stockings (1957) and Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) were not represented in the compilation, many of them having to wait until the sequel two years later. Additionally, because it was decided that the 'golden era' spanned 1929-1958, worthy later projects such as Bells Are Ringing (1960), Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) were excluded from consideration. In retrospect, it's impossible to imagine that the premier anthology of MGM musicals does not include "Triplets," "You Stepped Out of a Dream," "A Couple of Swells" or "There's No Business Like Show Business."

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Goofs

During her narrative section, Liza Minnelli erroneously states that her mother, Judy Garland "once told me that MGM seemed obsessed with Shirley Temple. They even offered Fox Clark Gable and Jean Harlow just to obtain Temple for a picture Metro was preparing. But the deal fell through, so MGM went head with the picture and cast Momma in the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz." In fact, Jean Harlow died before MGM began preparations for The Wizard of Oz.

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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 An American in Paris (1951)

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Soundtracks

Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
(1953) (uncredited)
Music by Bronislau Kaper
Played during the opening Overture
From Lili (1953)

User Reviews

Gotta Dance-Gotta Sing

This is a great documentary that takes viewers back to a time when the musical was popular in cinema. With different hosts in the film you get a chance to go back in time and look at Hollywood's Gold Age and the stars that made some of the most highly regarded films ever. They don't make them like this anymore thats for sure. There is one part in the film where Frank Sinatra is talking about the dance performances of yester-year and he says you can wait forever but you will never see performances ever again like these, and with that the film cuts to a dance routine by Fred Astaire that has to be one of the greatest dance routines I've ever seen. When you think of all the planning that went into these routines it is just mind-boggling. The steps we see in this film seem to be so perfectly choreographed. An amazing film about an amazing time in Hollywood history.