Film_Fatale Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Thanks TCM! What a great way to start the year - I can't remember the last time they showed the whole That's Entertainment! trilogy, but it's always highly watchable (maybe also hummable!) and an absolute delight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainingviolets21 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 They were excellent , but I would like to see some 20th century fox musicals and some from Paramount included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessananka Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 This triology is definitely worth buying for your DVD library. I watch mine about once a month. But I wish we had the other studios offering us an identical collection of memorable musical numbers. 20th Century Fox turned out some fantastic musicals, usually starring that blonde legend, Betty Grable, especially one of the best musicals ever made: MOON OVER MIAMI. Universal had its resident song bird, Deanna Durbin, and there's an excellent collection of her musicals available, called THE SWEETHEART PAC. But Universal also turned out many more musicals that are rarely, if ever shown. Some of the early talkie musicals have vanished forever, although I did manage to tape years ago, SUNNY SIDE UP, a 1929 delight starring Jaynet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 They were excellent , but I would like to see some 20th century fox musicals and some from Paramount included. During their initial theatrical exhibition, the That's Entertainment! films were made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer to highlight MGM musicals. Thus they were not at liberty to include movies from other studios, nor did they have any incentive to do so. It is unfortunate that other studios which had produced musicals during the Golden Age didn't make similar documentaries with their musicals and with interviews of their stars when they were mostly still alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joefilmone Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Love all three movies and do own the the DVD set- its a great way to experience the best numbers from the MGM musicals. Yes its too bad that other studios like Fox did not do a similar film to celebrate their legacy- but Fox did produced a "That's Entertainment" type tv show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 I am not familiar with it, when did it come out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joefilmone Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Jack Haley Jr produced "That's Hollywood" ( 1977- 1980) a half hour syndicated show using clips from the 20th Century Fox archives and other studios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Ah, I see. So it was made for TV, not for theatrical release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZ Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 All three "That's Entertainment!" movies were made for theatrical release. In fact, the original That's Entertainment! was MGM's highest grossing movie of that year, proving that when it came to old time glamour - the stars did indeed continue to shine. Afterwards there was a huge gala to celebrate the film's premiere. It brought out such legends as Fred and Ginger, Jimmy Durante and Lassie. Initially, Jack Haley Jr. had intended That's Entertainment! to be an extension of his "Hollywood: The Dream Factory" television series and to showcase clips from musicals from all of the studios. However, it became a problem early on to secure the rights to showcase clips from other studios. Fox balked and asked too high a price to allow clips of Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda to appear. Paramount was equally snobbish about loaning snippets of Bing Crosby. Hence, Haley simply decided to stick with the MGM catalogue which he had already been granted permission to use at free will by the powers that be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 Much to the delight of *That's Entertainment!* fans everywhere, TCM will present all 3 movies (as well as *That's Dancing!*, which isn't limited to MGM productions) for its prime-time lineup on New Year's Eve, starting at 8pm ET: *That's Entertainment!* (1974) An all-star cast, including Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra, introduces clips from MGM's greatest musicals. C-135 mins, TV-G *Short Film: From The Vaults: World Famous Musical Hits* (2000) A short promotional reel showcasing six MGM musicals: "Three Little Words," "Because You're Mine," "Till The Clouds Roll By," "The Band Wagon," "Words and Music," and "Singing In The Rain." C-9 mins *That's Entertainment! II* (1976) Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly dance together again for the first time in more than 30 years as they introduce classic musical numbers and comedy bits. C-129 mins, TV-G *That's Entertainment! III* (1994) Classic musical numbers and rare behind-the-scenes footage show how MGM created the screen's greatest musicals. Featuring clips with Gene Kelly, Lena Horne and Debbie Reynolds. C-120 mins, TV-G *That's Dancing!* (1985) Gene Kelly, Liza Minnelli and Mikhail Baryshnikov host this compilation of some of the greatest dance numbers in movie history. BW-104 mins, TV-G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm001 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 joefilmone wrote: Yes its too bad that other studios like Fox did not do a similar film to celebrate their legacy- but Fox did produced a "That's Entertainment" type tv show ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, which was a great late-night anthology of talk shows and comedy and music specials, produced the terrific show called, *Fred Astaire Salutes the Fox Musicals*. I've always been a fan of *That's Entertainment*, parts 1 and 3, but the second one and *That's Dancing* are total bores, imo. And, as I recall, none of them includes my favorite number from any MGM musical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nli2aYiQkrw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nli2aYiQkrw I do wonder why a deliberate decision appears to have been made not to include any MGM musicals past the late 50's. I think the compilations were made assuming that *Gigi* was the last great MGM musical (which of course some of us might not agree with). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipHeartsMovies Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I think the cut-off for *That's Entertainment* being in the 1950's reflects the release date and the desire to focus on the nostalgic aspect of the films. *TE* came out in 1974, *Gigi* in 1958 --- that's only 16 years earlier. Reflected against today's dates, this would mean a current "nostalgic" compilation would include movies as recent as 1993, which would include movies like *My Cousin Vinny, Scent of a Woman* and *Unforgiven* --- movies that don't feel like they're that old. I was 11 when I saw *That's Entertainment* for the first time. I loved old movies on TV (and had seen many of those included), but seeing the musical numbers on screen was amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 That's a good point, Chip. It's hard to feel awfully nostalgic for something that was just released a decade ago. Hence it would make sense not to include any 60's movies in the first *That's Entertainment!*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenda86 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 that was a fantastic trilogy i would like i played again on tv how can i request that to be shown again? my daughter and granddaughter watched it too until 3 am it was so interesting. my grandaughter 14 want to record it for her class at school . send a time to my e mail at rita5226@yahoo.com rita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 rita (or brenda?) You can request movies on tcm.com - or you can try buying the DVD set from your favourite retailer. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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