That's Entertainment!

That's Entertainment! is a 1974 documentary film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It was followed by two sequels and a related film called That's Dancing!.

Related Topics:
1974 - Documentary film - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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The film turned the spotlight on MGM's legacy of musical film from the 1920s through the 1950s, featuring performances culled from dozens of the studio's famous films. Archive footage of Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Ann Miller, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Fred Astaire, Jeanette MacDonald, Cyd Charisse, Gene Kelly, June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, Mario Lanza, and many others was featured.

Related Topics:
Musical film - Judy Garland - Eleanor Powell - Lena Horne - Esther Williams - Ann Miller - Kathryn Grayson - Howard Keel - Fred Astaire - Jeanette MacDonald - Cyd Charisse - Gene Kelly - June Allyson - Mickey Rooney - Mario Lanza

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Released around the time of Watergate and the Vietnam War, That's Entertainment! was marketed with a tagline of "Boy, do we need it now!" The idea of celebrating the happy-go-lucky musicals of an earlier era hit a nerve with a nostalgic public; That's Entertainment! was hailed by critics and would become one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1974.

Related Topics:
Watergate - Vietnam War

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The film was compiled in various segments hosted by a succession of the studio's legendary (and then-living) stars: Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, James Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, and Liza Minnelli (representing her mother, Judy Garland).

Related Topics:
Frank Sinatra - Gene Kelly - Fred Astaire - Peter Lawford - Donald O'Connor - Debbie Reynolds - Mickey Rooney - James Stewart - Elizabeth Taylor - Liza Minnelli - Judy Garland

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Most of the hosts were filmed on MGM's famous backlot, which looks disturbingly ramshackle and rundown in this film, due to the fact that MGM had sold the property to developers and the sets were about to be demolished. That's Entertainment! was the last major project to be filmed on the backlot.

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The title of the film derives from the anthemic song "That's Entertainment!", which was introduced in the 1953 MGM musical, The Band Wagon. The title is usually expressed with an exclamation mark, but it is also correct to refer to it without (see the DVD cover).

Related Topics:
1953 - The Band Wagon - Exclamation mark

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