That's Entertainment!

1974 "More than a movie. It's a celebration."
7.8| 2h15m| G| en| More Info
Released: 21 June 1974 Released
Producted By: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.

Watch Online

That's Entertainment! (1974) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Jack Haley Jr.

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial
Watch Now
That's Entertainment! Videos and Images
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

That's Entertainment! Audience Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
TheLittleSongbird It is very easy to see why 'That's Entertainment' was and still is such a hit. It was followed by two sequels, both of them also well worth watching.'That's Entertainment' makes for a truly delightful couple of hours, a nostalgic trip down memory lane it is affectionate, hugely entertaining and also moving and makes one want to watch or re-watch the films and scenes included.A vast majority of the hosting and narrating segments are very informative and interesting, a fair few of them being knowledgeable and make one want to listen for hours. Behind the scenes stuff and personal lives could have been elaborated on more though. Particularly good was Liza Minnelli's, it is essentially a tribute to her mother Judy Garland but it is an exquisitely poignant one and saw some of her most justifiably famous or iconic scenes such as "Over the Rainbow" ('The Wizard of Oz'), "The Trolley Song" and "Boy Next Door" ('Meet Me in St Louis) and "Get Happy".Not all of them work, there are two exceptions. One is Elizabeth Taylor who looks bored and uncomfortable. The other is Frank Sinatra, whose seemingly "objective" opinion on the very impressive (though sometimes criticised for being overlong) dance sequence from 'An American in Paris', a flawed but still hugely enjoyable musical being MGM's greatest achievement being a sweeping generalisation and for a fair few (myself included) an opinion they don't share, his comments on the chorus girls is also not going to go down well (the point is clear but it just came over wrong).What immediately captivated was seeing the who's who of musical/dance/singing talent being featured. The production values are lavish and just beautiful to look at, the music dazzles and is full of emotions and the choreography is often enough to make the jaw drop. Some scenes could have been better edited and some are too short, and while almost all the scenes featured are fantastic, even masterpieces, those with Joan Crawford don't even come close to the unintentional humour factor. It was interesting seeing James Stewart and Clark Gable singing and such, though one would be lying saying they were great.Of the singing, Judy Garland is definitely a standout in several numbers from particularly 'Meet Me in St Louis', as are Gene Kelly in the iconic 'Singin In the Rain' number, William Warfield's timeless rendition of "Ol Man River" from Showboat" and Mario Lanza's "Be My Love".Dancing-wise, Fred Astaire and Kelly can't be beat, all of Kelly's routines show what a choreographic and dancing genius he was and Astaire's ceiling and walls dance in "You're All the World To Me" is similarly incredible. This said, it was also an absolute joy seeing Ann Miller, the barn dance from 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' and Esther Williams' water ballet.Overall, has some flaws here and there but simply wonderful entertainment on a very grand scale. Fans of the MGM musical should not miss this. 9/10 Bethany Cox
bmbdsm Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios in 1974, this film was a tremendous hit, and inspired two followups. The premise is that simple: show excerpts from the famous musicals of MGM, the studio that created the best of them! The film is broken up into several segments, each one introduced by some of the stars of these marvelous films: Liza Minnelli introduces one on her mother Judy Garland, as does Mickey Rooney. Donald O'Connor introduces one on Esther Williams, etc. This is full of so many goodies, that it would be impossible to name them all within the confines of this review. So many great stars are here: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, June Allyson, Lena Horne, Ann Miller, and on and on and on and on. Wonderful film, and a reminder of an era when stars and films had class. I was born in the 90's, and I would rather watch any of these gems featured in this film than some mindless action flick or the dime-a-dozen horror films of today. I truly wish we could go back to this kind of film-making today. As Frank Sinatra says in the film, "You can wait around and hope, but I'll tell you; you'll never see the likes of this again." Until that does happen, watch this exuberant film, and bask in the glory of the MGM musicals. Recommended. 10/10.
tavm Okay, I just rewatched this tribute to M-G-M musicals which was released on the 50th anniversary of the merged studio, 1974. It attempted to show us-in a little more than two hours-just how great the movie company was during the prime of its first three decades when they had, as the slogan went, "More stars than there are in heavens". If you wanted to see the great numbers from the likes of The Wizard of Oz, The Band Wagon, Meet Me in St. Louis, On the Town, An American in Paris, and, especially, Singin' in the Rain in one picture, well, they're all here! And many of the studio's past stars in Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Fred Astaire provide pretty good commentary, although obviously written for them, along with occasional loan-outs from other studios like Donald O'Connor and Bing Crosby and the famous offspring of two of the studio's most valuable players-Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli: Liza Minnelli whose then-husband Jack Haley, Jr. was responsible for those stars' words. If there's some quibble with Haley's script, it's how he glosses over some more troubling things behind-the-scenes like when a Lena Horne number is shown, nothing is mentioned of her usually having to just "do a number" that could be easily be edited by Southern cinemas without hurting the plot, simply because most of their white audiences didn't care to watch anyone of color in other than domestic roles at the time. And it's a little overwhelming to watch one big musical number after another straight through for the amount of time I mentioned at the beginning of this review with barely a break in between. Still, having watched this on HD DVD in stereo, That's Entertainment! can still be quite an exhilarating experience to go through! So on that note, this is highly recommended.
mountainkath This movie will thrill fans of the MGM musicals and can serve as a great introduction to musicals for those who have not yet discovered them.As noted in IMDb's "goofs" section, there are some biggies in this film. Most notable was Liza Minneli claiming that Jean Harlow was part of some failed deal to get Shirley Temple to do The Wizard of Oz. I cannot believe this wasn't caught in editing or fact checking. The Wizard of Oz was made in 1939. Harlow died in 1937.My other fault with this film is that I wish they had acknowledged that many of the dances were edited. For example: they only showed 5 minutes of the 18 minute An American In Paris ballet and it was a hack job of editing. They also seriously slashed the finale of the The Broadway Ballet from Singin' In The Rain and they didn't even show the most famous part of that dance (Cyd Charisse slinking all over Gene Kelly in that gorgeous green dress).But, I digress.This movie is a fantastic way to spend 2+ hours. Besides the dance highlights, there are the oddball dances. The oddest of all was Clark Gable hoofing and singing to Puttin' On The Ritz. There was also a 1929 Joan Crawford singing and dancing. I love seeing things that are so unexpected! My favorite non-dancing moment in the film occurred during the Debbie Reynolds segment. She talked about the famous 25th anniversary MGM lunch where all of the stars were present. I loved how the camera panned the the table to reveal Crawford, Gable, Astaire, Kelly, Hepburn, Sinatra, Barrymore, Tracy, etc. etc.My favorite dancing moment in the show is the Astaire/Kelly dance from Ziegfeld Follies. Again, this dance is horribly edited, but seeing those two dance together is pure magic. Since they did not dance together again until the sequel to this movie in 1976, seeing them together is a special treat.