Hosted by Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney, and others
Directed by Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan
Music and Lyrics by various
It took the financially-strapped MGM almost 20 years to bring another MGM documentary with the That's Entertainment moniker to the big screen. In the interim, Turner Entertainment released many of the most popular MGM movies on home video, and cable channels specializing in older films like American Movie Classics showed even more. These movies were no longer as difficult to find as they'd been in 1974, nor were they really out of the public eye. Did we still need these movies by the mid-90's, or should the curtain come down on this franchise? Let's return to MGM Studios with Gene Kelly, and find out...
The Story: Once again, some of the most popular stars of MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood talk about their vehicles and the dazzling array of films MGM made during its heyday, including many numbers dropped from those films. Your hosts here are:
Gene Kelly discusses the early two-strip Technicolor films of the late 20's and how they fell out of fashion, the sex-charged musicals of the pre-Code early 30's, and the black-and-white operettas and backstage films that replaced them.
Esther Williams discusses her water-bound swimming extravaganzas of the 40's and 50's.
June Allyson discusses the dance-heavy musicals of the late 40's and early 50's, along with how an actor got into working at MGM during the Golden Age.
Cyd Charisse discusses the career of Gene Kelly, including two of his ballets from An American In Paris and Words and Music.
Debbie Reynolds discusses how she joined MGM, how the studio "glamorized" its actresses, and how voice dubbing works.
Lena Horne discusses her (frequently rough) treatment as a black performer at MGM, how she lost the role of Julie in the 1951 Show Boat to Ava Gardner, and several other actors who lost roles at the studio.
Mickey Rooney discusses the career of his beloved best pal Judy Garland.
Ann Miller discusses the career of Fred Astaire.
Howard Keel discusses how the rise of television and technology like stereophonic sound and widescreen processes and new types of music like rock and roll impacted the MGM musical in the late 50's.
Gene Kelly finishes the film with a montage of the studio's most famous musical moments over "That's Entertainment!" from The Band Wagon.
The Song and Dance: The idea of showcasing numbers cut from films wasn't nearly as common in 1994 before the internet and streaming sites allowed many of these lost numbers to be more widely viewed. In fact, those "lost" numbers are among my favorite moments in the movie. The hosts' dialogue feels a little looser and less gushy. The fact that they allowed Lena Horne to touch on how badly she was treated at the studio showed how much time had changed...and how audiences were now a little more familiar with what really went on behind the scenes at the studios during the so-called Golden Age.
Favorite Number: We see "Fascinating Rhythm" from Lady Be Good again, this time with alternate shots revealing how MGM put together this amazing Eleanor Powell routine. "Solid Potato Salad" showcases the creepily limber Ross Sisters doing crab imitations in the semi-revue Broadway Rhythm. Reynolds shows off the more glamorous version of "A Lady Loves" from I Love Melvin...and Donald O'Connor's view of things with her as a more down-home farmer's wife that was dropped from the movie. Fred Astaire dances with himself in split-screen in two takes on "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" from The Belle of New York...and we see just how perfectly rehearsed he was when the two numbers are exactly the same despite the different costumes.
"Two-Faced Woman" gives us two routines using the same recording. I have to agree with Reynolds that they probably should have left Cyd Charisse's chorus routine in The Band Wagon; it's certainly aged better than Joan Crawford's tropical blackface routine from Torch Song. Horne has a ton of fun in the bubble bath singing one of her signature numbers, "Ain't It the Truth," from Cabin In the Sky. Judy Garland does far better dancing with a passel of kids and clowning to "Doin' What Comes Naturally" than with the exhausting "I'm an Indian Too" from Annie Get Your Gun.
What I Don't Like: Time and technology keeps catching up with these movies. Most of the cut numbers (and many more) can be found on DVD and Blu-Ray with the films they came from or on YouTube or other sharing sites. Once again, only MGM musicals are discussed. While 20th Century Fox has done at least one documentary of it's own, I really do wish many of the other older studios would dive into their vaults and showcase their older material.
The Big Finale: I found this movie on video in the late 90's and have owned it in one form or another ever since. The slightly more honest tone and rare numbers makes this my favorite of the three Entertainment movies...but they're all recommended if you love classic musical film like I do.
Home Media: Slightly easier to find on solo DVD than the other two, but you're still better off looking for the Blu-Ray collection or watching it online.
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