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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002)
Character: Self (archive footage)
American Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he formed a style (first "blue collar dancer") and developed different cinematique techniques, such as brilliantly shot dancing sequences.
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Twenty Years After (1944)
Character: (archive footage)
This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases.
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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical (2009)
Character: Self (archive)
During the 1950s, musical masterpieces that have yet to be equaled were produced in Cinemascope with stereophonic sound. These two episodes explore how the post-war years were alive with bold experimentation in musical film. Later in the decade, Rock & Roll became the musical choice of the younger generation and movie musicals followed suit. Highlights of this 2-part program include: Films based on smash Broadway musicals become the rage. A pretty starlet with no musical training named Marilyn Monroe takes the country by storm in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." With favorites from the previous decade continue to delight audiences: Rock & Roll films, songs and musical numbers.
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
Character: Self (archive footage)
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system.
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That's Entertainment! (1974)
Character: (archive footage)
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
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Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941)
Character: Kathryn Land
All set to graduate from high school , Andy Hardy flunks his English exam -- in spite of the fact that Aunt Milly is his teacher, and that the Judge has gone to all the trouble of getting him his very own private secretary.
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The Desert Song (1953)
Character: Margot Birabeau
Shiek Yousseff, poses as a friend of the French while secretly plotting to overthrow them. Apposing Yousseff are the Riffs, whose secret leader, The Red Shadow, is Paul Bonnard, a professor who is studying the desert, and whose attacks on the supply trains intended for Yousseff keep the Riff villages in food. Foreign Legion General Birabeau arrives to conduct an investigation, accompanied by his daughter, Margot. Birabeau hires Bonnard to tutor her, and she is attracted to a Legionaire captain, Claud Fontaine. While the general, Bonnard and Fontaine pay a visit to Yousseff, an American newspaper man, Benji Kidd, discovers a secret way in and out of Yousseff's palace, with the aid of Azuri, a dancing girl in love with Bonnard. The latter is forced to resume his role as the Riffs leader, and kidnap Margot until he can convince her of Yousseff's treachery. But Yousseff's men attack the Riff camp and take Margot prisoner.
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Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Character: Lilli Vanessi, "Katherine"
A pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.
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Lovely to Look At (1952)
Character: Stephanie
Broadway producers Tony Naylor, Al Marsh, and Jerry Ralby are having difficulty securing funds for their latest show. Then Al learns he has inherited half of a salon in Paris from his Aunt Roberta. The three men travel to France, where they attempt to stage an extravagant fashion show to revitalize the struggling business, now run by Roberta's nieces, Stephanie and Clarisse.
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Thousands Cheer (1943)
Character: Kathryn Jones
Acrobat Eddie Marsh is in the army now. His first act is to become friendly with Kathryn Jones, the colonel's pretty daughter. Their romance hits a few snags, including disapproval from her father. Eddie's also plagued by fear of having an accident during his family's trapeze act in the army variety show, which also features a gallery of MGM stars.
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Show Boat (1951)
Character: Magnolia Hawks
A dashing Mississippi river gambler wins the affections of the daughter of the owner of the Show Boat.
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The Kissing Bandit (1948)
Character: Teresa
Ricardo, the milquetoast son of a Mexican bandit, would rather lead a quiet life in Boston. But the family would rather that he follow in his father's footsteps and become "The Kissing Bandit".
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The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
Character: Suzette Micheline
Snooty opera singer meets a rough-and-tumble fisherman in the Louisiana bayous, but this fisherman can sing! Her agent lures him away to New Orleans to teach him to sing opera but comes to regret this rash decision when the singers fall in love.
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That's Entertainment! III (1994)
Character: (archive footage)
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
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It Happened in Brooklyn (1947)
Character: Anne Fielding
Danny has been in the army for 4 years, yet all he thinks about is Brooklyn and how great it is. When he returns after the war, he soon finds that Brooklyn is not so nice after all. He is able to share a place with Nick, the janitor of his old High School, and get a job as a singer in a music store. He also meets Leo, a talented pianist and his teacher Anne, whose dream is to singing Opera. When Jamie arrives from England, Danny tries to show him the Brooklyn experience and help him compose modern swing music. Together, these four also try to help Leo get the Brooklyn Music scholarship.
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Rio Rita (1942)
Character: Rita Winslow
Doc and Wishey run into some Nazi-agents, who want to smuggle bombs into the USA from a Mexican border hotel.
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That's Dancing! (1985)
Character: From 'Kiss Me Kate' (archive footage)
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s 50s and 60s up to the break dance and the music videos from the 80s.
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That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
Character: (archive footage)
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
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Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Character: Susan Abbott
Two sailors on shore leave head out for four days of partying – only to become involved in the affairs of an aspiring singer and her precocious nephew.
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The Vanishing Virginian (1942)
Character: Rebecca Yancey
The perineal District Attorney and conservative southern patriarch cherishes the old ways and does his best to adjust to change.
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That Midnight Kiss (1949)
Character: Prudence Budell
Opera singer Prudence Budell, overhears truck driver Johnny Donnetti singing opera, and persuades her opera company to give him a chance in her new opera. They fall in love, but on meeting his colleague Mary while visiting Johnny's work, Prudence becomes convinced Johnny is in love with her.
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Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
Character: Magnolia Hawks / Kathryn Grayson
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.
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Mario Lanza: The American Caruso (1983)
Character: Self
Plácido Domingo hosts this tribute to American tenor Mario Lanza. Interviews, rare footage and vintage recordings chronicle Lanza's life from his Philadelphia childhood to his meteoric rise as an opera singer and film actor and his tragic death. Credited with bringing opera and classical music into the home of everyday Americans, Lanza starred in That Midnight Kiss and The Toast of New Orleans and portrayed Enrico Caruso in The Great Caruso.
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Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Character: Kathryn Grayson (segment "Beauty")
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
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The Vagabond King (1956)
Character: Catherine de Vaucelles
Louis XI of France drafts Paris's popular "king" of criminals as Provost Marshal in his fight against usurper Charles of Burgundy and the traitorous nobles who rally around him.
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Two Sisters from Boston (1946)
Character: Abigail Chandler
Abigail Chandler has written her stuffy Boston relatives that she's a successful opera singer in New York. In reality, she works at a burlesque house and is billed as High-C Susie. When her sister Martha comes for a visit, Abigail tries to hide the truth from her.
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Seven Sweethearts (1942)
Character: Billie Van Maaster
Little Delft, Michigan follows the customs of old-world Holland and is known for its Tulip Festival. The owner of the hotel insists that his seven daughters marry in order, from eldest to youngest.
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