Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)
by Charles Walters, Dave O'Brien, Gene Kelly, George Sidney, Joseph Barbera
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Actor: Judy Garland, Lucille Bremer, Robert Walker, Van Heflin, William PowellDirector: Charles Walters, Dave O'Brien, Gene Kelly, George Sidney, Joseph Barbera
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 559 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)
DVD Review: A very good group of MGM musicals from their golden era
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very good set of MGM musicals showcasing a whole range of talents at that studio in the 1940's and 50's, most musical but some not. I discuss the films in descending order of my enjoyment:
Three Little Words (1950) - I enjoyed this film the most. I think Astaire and Skelton complemented each other wonderfully. I was wondering how Skelton would work teamed up with Astaire, but he holds his own quite well. Supposedly it is the story of songwriting team Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton), and I am not sure how close to the truth this story is, but the film is everything you expect in an MGM musical of this period, great music and good comedy. Hermes Pan, who did so much of the choreography in Astaire's RKO films, does the dance numbers here, and they are quite polished. It is quite humorous how the film works the hobbies of Kalmar and Ruby - magic and baseball, respectively - into the storyline.
Summer Stock (1950) - One of those "let's put on a show" MGM musicals, and Judy Garland's last starring role at MGM before being fired. Judy is trying to make a go of the family farm when her sister (Gloria De Haven) shows up with her beau (Gene Kelly) and her entire theatrical troupe. She has generously donated the farm as the locale for the troupe's next show, without getting Judy's permission of course. Eventually little sister decides she is destined for better things than "summer stock" and runs off with the show's star. Now the show has to find someone to take her place...who do you think they pick?
Till The Clouds Roll By (1946) - This is a pretty good biopic/musical involving the life and music of Jerome Kern (Robert Walker). Warner Home Video has restored this film to its former glory versus the really bad copies in circulation in the public domain. Unlike most MGM musicals, this film separates the main characters in the film (Walker as Kern and Van Heflin as Kern's mentor James Hessler) from the performers, who amount to MGM's biggest musical stars of the day performing Kern's music culminating in Frank Sinatra singing "Old Man River" from Showboat. Another highlight is Judy Garland as Marilyn Miller performing various numbers from "Sally". Again, you have to suspend your beliefs on the true facts of Kern's life.
It's Always Fair Weather (1955) - The age of the big MGM musical production was beginning to wind down by the time this film was made. It has more story to it than most MGM musicals, revolving around three G.I. buddies and their vow in 1945 to meet in a particular bar ten years later. They all keep their word and keep the date, but each is vastly disappointed in how the other two have turned out and initially have nothing much to say to each other. There's some interesting commentary here on life in the 50's and in particular the early days of TV and advertising's place in it. Gene Kelly is entertaining as always, but I was really surprised by Dan Dailey's talent as the ad executive that comes to a startling self-realization at an inopportune time and does quite a performance dancing and singing about his plight.
Ziegfeld Follies (1946) - The premise of this film is that Ziegfeld (with William Powell reprising his role) is in heaven thinking of his dream revue, with the rest of the movie just a playing out of that dream revue. It involves the big musical and comedy stars of MGM putting on a show of their various capabilities, and for all intents and purposes could be renamed "The Hollywood Revue of 1946" for those familiar with the original from 1929 which basically had the same purpose. Of course, technology has advanced considerably over the ensuing 17 years, but there are still some missteps. Basically, the musical numbers are good, but the comedy skits that punctuate them fall very flat and detract from the entire film. The highlight for me was seeing Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly perform together in a number. The musical numbers make this an above average film, but just barely.
Someone else has already gone over the extras, which are many, so I won't mention them once again. All in all a very enjoyable set for anyone who is a fan of the MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's with all of the extras I've come to expect from Warner Home Video. They certainly know their audience.
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Description of Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)
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