Gene Kelly credited as playing...
Self - Co-Host • Narrator
- [last lines]
- Gene Kelly: What a time it was! Life was simpler then and so was the movie business. MGM's dream factory created a rich, romantic, compelling world of illusion. And although we may not see anything like it again, we're blessed with memories and miles and miles of film. In the words of Irving Berlin, "The song has ended, but the melody lingers on."
- Gene Kelly: In 1934, the studio lifted the public out of the Depression and into - a make-believe "Hollywood Party".
- Gene Kelly: The success of the MGM musical did not happen overnight. It all started when the movies learned to talk. At first, the studios were unsure of what to do with this new invention. Then, they hit on the idea of filming popular vaudeville acts.
- Gene Kelly: Suddenly, the musical became an overnight sensation, delighting audiences with bigger casts, lavish sets and costumes, and even a new gimmick called technicolor. MGM began its most ambitious film of its kind in late 1930 and filmed all the big production numbers before the public lost interest in these plotless musicals and the project was abandoned.
- Gene Kelly: To capture an audience, producers knew they could always turn to the old reliable - *sex*! Imagine that? This number, set in the shower room of a girl's school, shocked audiences in 1933.
- Gene Kelly: Such scenes fueled a growing public outcry. Based with threats of boycotts and censorship, MGM conformed to the stern production code.
- Gene Kelly: Even the biggest production numbers needed stars. So, Eleanor Powell became MGM's first, big dancing star.
- Gene Kelly: When MGM teamed Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in "Babes In Arms", it launched the most successful musical team at the studio.
- Gene Kelly: With World War II raging in Europe, the Mickey-Judy musicals provided an uplifting diversion for audiences of the day.
- Gene Kelly: As Andy Hardy, Mickey Rooney was always falling in love. Esther Williams played his love interest in her first film. A fashion model, a champion swimmer, Esther was working at an Aqua Cave when she caught the attention of an MGM talent scout. In her 22 films she made at Metro, she was seldom out of the water.