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

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$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

Norma Shearer made an agitated phone call to MGM senior executive Paul Rosenfeld, insisting that her reaction shots to Clark Gable's 'Puttin' on the Ritz' (from Idiot's Delight (1939)) be deleted. 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

During his narrative section, Donald O'Connor says that Esther Williams was discovered while working as a model in a Los Angeles department store, when in fact Williams was a salesgirl at I. Magnin.

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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

Before Leo the Lion roars at the beginning, the words "Beginning our next 50 years" appear in the lion's traditional place in the MGM logo, which itself has been modified to indicate the company's golden anniversary.

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Alternate Versions

Some video releases include instrumental exit music that plays after the closing credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Knock 'em Dead (2014)

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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

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!