This MGM short introduces some of the movies the studio will be releasing in 1955. Presented by George Murphy they include Jupiter's Darling (1955) with Esther Williams, Bedevilled (1955) wi... Read allThis MGM short introduces some of the movies the studio will be releasing in 1955. Presented by George Murphy they include Jupiter's Darling (1955) with Esther Williams, Bedevilled (1955) with Anne Baxter and Steve Forrest, The Glass Slipper (1955) with Leslie Caron, Interrupted ... Read allThis MGM short introduces some of the movies the studio will be releasing in 1955. Presented by George Murphy they include Jupiter's Darling (1955) with Esther Williams, Bedevilled (1955) with Anne Baxter and Steve Forrest, The Glass Slipper (1955) with Leslie Caron, Interrupted Melody (1955), Hit the Deck (1955), The King's Thief (1955), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), M... Read all
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film short is available as an extra in the Warner DVD of Love Me or Leave Me (1955).
- ConnectionsFeatures Jupiter's Darling (1955)
This short film highlights MGM's place in making the large-scale musicals which were beginning to die out in audience appeal. Or, so we are told. But, I don't understand that because musicals have continued to be made over the years, and usually they are good ones that are quite successful. Of course, they aren't a steady stream from several studios. And, audiences still flock to concerts and performances of bands and singers. Stage shows with song and dance are still popular at entertainment centers such as Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City and at casinos around the country. Rather, I think that the studios had difficulty finding backing for large-scale productions that often cost far more than most other types of films. And they didn't have the degree of talent for making musicals. In other words, new talent wasn't coming along to replace the old hands in the business. And that means from the writing to the composing to the directing to the performing.
Where were the great songwriters, lyricists, and composers after the middle decades of the 20th century? Where were the new George and Ira Gershwins? Where were the new talents after Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Burt Bacharach, Elmer or Leonard Bernstein, Gus Kahn, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sig Romberg, or so many others? Where were the new great choreographers? Where were the performers – the dancers to replace Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Vera Allen, Eleanor Powell, Ginger Rogers, Danny Kaye, Marge and Gower Champion? There are many bands, singers and individual songwriters today. But, rare are the talents that can compose, choreograph, write and make a story musical, or even a revue type of old. And, then, where are the talented singers and dancers to stage such musicals? Oh, there are some, to be sure. But not many. So, every year or two someone does put together a slam-bang musical that does very well. And there may be a few lesser ones that are OK.
Two big hit movie musicals of the early 21st century support my point. "Chicago" of 2002 and "Les Miserables" of 2012 were huge films with budgets of $45 million and $60 million, respectively. Both were lavish productions and adaptations of earlier stories. They were set to music. They were entertaining and were big box office hits. Yet neither had exceptional musical scores or numbers. Nor did they have big name singers or dancers. The performers were just okay, and the lead actors were passable in their musical numbers (Richard Gere and Hugh Jackman). There were no great hoofers or voices in either of these big films – but they were very successful. We don't seem to have the super multi-talents today that we had in the past. Fred Astaire, the king of dance could also sing and act. Danny Kaye could do them all and some fantastic mimicry and tongue twisting. Marge and Gower Champion were great dancers and choreographers, and he directed musicals for the silver screen and Broadway. Oscar Levant was a composer, pianist, songwriter, author, comedian and actor. There don't seem to be that many talents today who can do just two of those things very well.
Anyway, this film has interviews with some stars and snippets of MGM movies in the making or planned for the future. Murphy takes us onto the sets for "Jupiter's Darling" with Esther Williams, Howard Keel, and Marge and Gower Champion. And, we get trailer snippets of other films being made – "The Glass Slipper," "Bedeviled," "Interrupted Melody," "Hit the Deck," "The King's Thief," "Moonfleet," "Love Me Or Leave Me," and "It's Always Fair Weather." Then we hear of several films planned by MGM based on books.
This is a somewhat interesting and lightly entertaining short about MGM from its glory days of the past to the (1955) present and unknown future.
- SimonJack
- Feb 24, 2017
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- A Salute to the Theatres
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1