Songs
| Old Folks at Home | Stephen Foster | Chorus |
| Waiting at the End of the Road | Irving Berlin | Dixie Jubilee Singers |
| Swanee Shuffle | Irving Berlin | Nina Mae McKinney |
| Swing Low, Sweet Chariot | Wallace Willis Minerva Willis | Daniel L Haynes |
| Get on Board Little Children | Traditional | Chorus |
| (Gimme Dat) Old Time Religion | Traditional | Chorus; Nina Mae McKinney |
| St Louis Blues | W C Handy | Nina Mae McKinney |
| Goin’ Home | Antonin Dvořák William Arms Fisher | Daniel L Haynes |
Cast
| Conrad Nagel | Conrad Nagel – Master of Ceremonies |
| Jack Benny | Jack Benny – Master of Ceremonies |
| John Gilbert | John Gilbert / Romeo |
| Norma Shearer | Norma Shearer / Juliet |
| Joan Crawford | Joan Crawford |
| Bessie Love | Bessie Love |
| Cliff Edwards | Cliff Edwards / Ukulele Ike (as Ukulele Ike) |
| Stan Laurel | Stan Laurel |
| Oliver Hardy | Oliver Hardy |
| Anita Page | Anita Page |
| Nils Asther | Nils Asther (scenes deleted) |
| Brox Sisters | Brox Sisters – Singing Trio |
| Natova and Company | Dance Company |
| Marion Davies | Marion Davies |
| William Haines | William Haines |
| Buster Keaton | Buster Keaton / Princess Raja |
| Marie Dressler | Marie Dressler |
| Charles King | Charles King |
| Polly Moran | Polly Moran |
| Gus Edwards | Gus Edwards |
| Karl Dane | Karl Dane (as Dane) |
| George K. Arthur | George K. Arthur (as Arthur) |
| Gwen Lee | Gwen Lee |
| Albertina Rasch Dancers | Ballet Dancers (as Albertina Rasch Ballet) |
| The Rounders | The Rounders – Vocal Quintet |
| Arthur Lange | Arthur Lange – Orchestra Leader |
| Lionel Barrymore | Lionel Barrymore – Director of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (uncredited) |
| Nacio Herb Brown | Herb Nacio Brown (uncredited) |
| Bobbe Brox | Bobbe – One of the Brox Sisters (uncredited) |
| Kathlyn Brox | Kathlyn – One of the Brox Sisters (uncredited) |
| Lorayne Brox | Lorayne – One of the Brox Sisters (uncredited) |
| Eddie Bush | Eddie Bush – Member of Biltmore Quartet (uncredited) |
| Ray Cooke | Ray Cooke / Messenger (uncredited) |
| Ann Dvorak | Ann Dvorak – Chorus Girl (uncredited) |
| Ernest Belcher’s Dancing Tots | Dancing Tots (uncredited) |
| Paul Gibbons | Paul Gibbons – Member of Biltmore Quartet (uncredited) |
| Ches Kirkpatrick | Ches KIrkpatrick – Member of Biltmore Quartet (uncredited) |
| Carla Laemmle | Carla Laemmle / Pearl Dancer (uncredited) |
| Angella Mawby | Angella Mawby – Title Card Trio (uncredited) |
| Claudette Mawby | Claudette Mawby – Title Card Trio (uncredited) |
| Claudine Mawby | Claudine Marby – Title Card Trio (uncredited) |
| Myrtle McLaughlin | Myrtle McLaughlin (uncredited) |
| Natacha Natova | Natacha Natova – Leader of Natova and Company (uncredited) |
| Edward J. Nugent | Eddie Nugent / Chorus Boy (uncredited) |
| June Purcell | June Purcell – Vocalist in ‘Low Down Rhythm’ (uncredited) |
| Albertina Rasch | Alberterni Rasch – Leader of Albertina Rasch Ballet (uncredited) |
| Bill Seckler | Bill Seckler – Member of Biltmore Quartet (uncredited) |
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).
But ‘the MGM musical’ actually encompasses 215 individual pictures, mostly produced at MGM’s Culver City studio between 1929 and 1972. Many of these 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 footage 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.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer entered the world of feature-length musicals first and to great effect: The Broadway Melody (1929) pushed across the edges of what was believed achievable with the new talking pictures and won the Oscar for best picture for its trouble.
