(Site under construction)
When completed, this site will include information about all the musicals released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1929 to 1972, when the studio ceased to exist in any meaningful sense. It will feature information about all 217 MGM musicals, including a full synopsis, cast list and details of the main behind-the-scenes staff. There will also be a brief section of factual information and personal opinion.
Visitors will find information about the thousands of actors, both stars and bit part players, and hundreds of writers, directors, producers, songwriters, choreographers, cinematographers, costume designers, editors, art directors and sound engineers who made the films, including details of all of the musicals they worked on.As stated above, this is a work in progress, being undertaken chronologically from The Broadway Melody (1929). Having found your way here, why not come back from time to time to check on progress.
If the MGM musical has any cultural cachet today, it is usually attached to a handful of Hollywood stars–Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly–or a similarly small number of iconic films: Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and An American in Paris (1951), perhaps Meet Me in St Louis (1944). Many of the 217 films are now forgotten, even by committed film buffs.
Montana Moon (1930) is no Meet Me in St Louis and Malcolm St Clair was certainly no Vincente Minnelli, yet it is an important film for at least two reasons. Its location work challenges the misconception that On the Town (1949) was the first musical to include footage shot outside the studio. And, like all the other films discussed here, it contributed to the evolution of MGM’s unique style of musical; Singin’ in the Rain did not spring unheralded from Gene Kelly’s muscular loins.
When complete, The Musicals of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will show the vast range of talent that lay behind the roaring lion of Hollywood’s greatest producer of film musicals. I hope you stick around to watch it develop.
