That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

Director:

Gene Kelly

Writer:

Leonard Gershe (narration written by)

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fred Astaire	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator
Gene Kelly	...	Himself - Co-Host / Narrator
Judy Garland	...	Clips from 'For Me and My Gal', 'Easter Parade', & 'Girl Crazy' etc (archive footage)
Mickey Rooney	...	Clips from 'Girl Crazy' & 'Words and Music' etc. (archive footage)
Bing Crosby	...	Clip from 'Going Hollywood' (archive footage)
Robert Taylor	...	Clip from 'Broadway Melody of 1936' (archive footage)
Greer Garson	...	Katherine (archive footage)
Clark Gable	...	Clips from 'Gone with the Wind' & 'Strange Cargo' etc. (archive footage)
Kathryn Grayson	...	Clip from 'Lovely to Look At' (archive footage)
Leslie Caron	...	Lili / Lise Bouvier (archive footage)
Jeanette MacDonald	...	Clips from 'New Moon' & 'Broadway Serenade' (archive footage)
Nelson Eddy	...	Clip from 'New Moon' (archive footage)
Doris Day	...	Ruth Etting (archive footage)
Ann Miller	...	Clip from 'Kiss Me Kate' (archive footage)
Ann Sothern	...	Dixie Donegan (archive footage)

Storyline

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

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Plot Keywords:

reminiscence | paris france | talking to the camera | voice over narration | slapstick comedy | 

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Taglines:

The greatest entertainment since "That's Entertainment!"

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Genres:

Documentary | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

That's Entertainment, Part 2

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$6,540,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo 70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Black and White Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because the "Merry Widow Waltz" never comes to a musical conclusion in The Merry Widow (1934), the final thirty-two bars of the sequence as presented in That's Entertainment, Part 2 are actually borrowed from MGM's 1952 remake of The Merry Widow, while the visuals accompanying them remain from the 1934 version.

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Goofs

During the clip from Kiss Me Kate, Gene Kelly identifies the choreographer as Hermes Pan. But the clip shown, "From This Moment On", was actually choreographed by Bob Fosse, one of the dancers.

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Quotes

Fred Astaire: Cyd Charisse. Lovely, Cyd Charisse. How she dances. This is from "Silk Stockings".

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits introduce not only hosts Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, but mention all the other performers from the clips before the 'That's Entertainment, pt 2' title card; all are done in different styles: names drawn in the sand, scrolls, inside a book, tiles spelled out on satin, inside a file cabinet, typed on stationery, branding iron, the 'Rank Organisation' gong, etc.

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Alternate Versions

The original release print ran 133 minutes and contained a handful of sequences that were ultimately shorn from the general release print. In the first section, you can see Astaire and Kelly rotating enormous photos of each song that appears in that section. One of them is "You Stepped Out of a Dream" from Ziegfeld Girl (1941), which originally appeared between "Fascinating Rhythm" and "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'." In the Great Songwriters section, "Lonesome Polecat" from Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) originally appeared between "The Lady is a Tramp" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." In the 'Shubert Alley' sequence, Astaire and Kelly dance among sheet music covers boasting song titles that eventually appear in the section. Among them are "Concerto in F" from An American In Paris" which originally appeared between "Triplets" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (in fact, due to hasty editing, Oscar Levant's final "Bravo!" can still be heard over the first image of Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien). Fred Astaire's "Drum Crazy" from Easter Parade (1948) was also slated for this sequence (replaced by "Steppin' Out With My Baby"), as was "The Stanley Steamer" from Summer Holiday (1948), which was to have capped the entire section (it was ultimately replaced by Kelly's "I Got Rhythm").

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Connections

Features Hollywood Party (1934)

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Soundtracks

That's Entertainment
(1953) (uncredited)
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Lyrics by Howard Dietz
Played during the opening musical montage and during the end credits
Performed by Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, and Oscar Levant
from the movie The Band Wagon (1953)

User Reviews

Now this is *really* entertainment!

You really would think that no other film musical documentary could possibly top THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT. Come on--it's got personal appearances by a host of stars, and some of the most famous and best-loved clips ever. Including, you know, the singing in the rain bit from SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Could it get any better?

Well, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II certainly tries its darned hardest to be better. Not a single clip is repeated from the first film in the trilogy, and watching this film really makes you realise just how much talent was all focused in the one studio from the 30s through to the 50s. Judy Garland admiring Fred Astaire's Easter bonnet in EASTER PARADE, Garland and Astaire sailing up the avenue as 'A Couple Of Swells' in the same film, Gene Kelly and Garland dueting on FOR ME AND MY GAL, Ann Miller and Bob Fosse in KISS ME KATE, a montage of musicals before colour, a Garland tribute, a Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn love-fest... this film unabashedly brings them all (and much much more) together. There are a couple of clunkers, of course, like Bobby Van hopping like a maniacal rabbit-freak through the town, or the token Esther Williams number. But as you listen to Garland sing 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', or Frank Sinatra croon his way through 'I Fall In Love Too Easily', and see Gene tap dance on skates as naturally as if he had been born with them strapped on... again you're struck with just how special an era this was in film-making, one that unfortunately is lost to the rest of us except through video and DVD.

And I know that this isn't the most popular of opinions, but I think THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II not only matches but far surpasses the original. There was nothing special about the first film--its only gimmick was the coup it had managed in bringing all these glorious film legends back together to talk about their work. The only caveat was that the incredible personalities behind the stars just couldn't shine through except with some pretty special people... otherwise, they were all reading off a pre-written script. Kind of dampening, really.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II, on the other hand, is a small but successful exercise in creativity: from the title sequence through to Gene Kelly's direction of the new footage between himself and Astaire. It's also a delight for fans of both Astaire and Kelly when these two dancing men, you know... dance together again. Sure, they're not as nimble and quicksilver as they used to be, and some of the lyrics they're singing are--well, the only word for it is corny. But there's no denying that both these men have a kind of screen charisma that doesn't disappear with time, and having them both onscreen together, singing... now that really *is* entertainment as it should be. In the final scene they tell us that the best films have the audience leaving the film with a glow. How right they are.

Quite simply, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II is sheer, perfect nostalgia bottled and kept simmering, just waiting for an audience. About the only flaw with it is that it simply couldn't be better than its source material... but that's also what's so good about this film. It makes you want to go out and rent all the others... and still watch it over again just to revel in Astaire and Kelly being onscreen together for the first time since 'The Babbitt and The Bromide' in ZIEGFELD FOLLIES almost three decades ago.

What more could you ask for?