That’s Entertainment: 50 Years of M-G-M

On the evening of May 17, 1974, “over fifty stars [gathered] to help celebrate Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s golden anniversary and to attend the world premiere of That’s Entertainment!” The compilation film That’s Entertainment! (1974) featured Elizabeth, along with a glittering array of stars, introducing clips of the MGM’s fabled musicals. Footage of the film’s premiere aired on ABC as That’s Entertainment: 50 Years of M-G-M, hosted by George Hamilton, who had appeared in more than a dozen MGM movies himself, and his then wife, Alana. It also included clips from the documentary and some of the films themselves, conversations with Johnny Weissmuller, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Donald O’Connor, and Liza Minnelli, and footage from the onstage reunion of MGM stars at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Elizabeth arrived at the premiere at the Loew’s Beverly theatre in a light blue silk chiffon, V-neck dress designed by her friend, the great Edith Head. In a voiceover, George Hamilton called Elizabeth “truly a child of Hollywood. She spent over seventeen years at MGM, and audiences watched her grow up on the screen, literally before their eyes in a series of memorable films”. Clips from a handful of them—Lassie Come Home (1943), National Velvet (1944), Father of the Bride (1950), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)—were shown.

Following the film’s screening at the Loew’s Beverly, the audience was “paraded along a red carpet leading from the theatre two blocks away to the grand ballroom of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.” There, “an historic event is about to take place. The MGM clan is gathering.”

Sammy Davis, Jr. and Liza Minnelli, who co-hosted the entertainment on the evening of the premiere, introduced nearly fifty stars who had appeared in MGM films. Each walked across the stage after their names were called. In addition to Elizabeth, there was also: June Allyson, Adele Astaire, Fred Astaire, George Burns, Marge Champion, Cyd Charisse, Jackie Cooper, Dan Dailey, Vic Damone, Tom Drake, Jimmy Durante, Buddy Ebsen, Nannette Fabray, Glenn Ford, Eva Gabor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ava Gardner, Jack Haley, George Hamilton, Charlton Heston, Howard Keel, Gene Kelly, Phyllis Kirk, Janet Leigh, Myrna Loy, Shirley MacLaine, Marjorie Main, Tony Martin, Dennis Morgan, the Nicholas Brothers, Merle Oberon, Margaret O’Brien, Virginia O’Brien, Donald O’Connor, Donna Reed, Debbie Reynolds, Ginger Rogers, Ann Rutherford, Alexis Smith, Craig Stevens, Jimmy Stewart, Gloria Swanson, Russ Tamblyn, Audrey Trotter, Johnny Weissmuller, and Keenan Wynn. Last, but certainly not least, was Roddy McDowall, making his entrance with the great-great-grandson of Lassie—his and Elizabeth’s co-star in her very first MGM film, Lassie Come Home!

After all the stars had assembled onstage, their photograph was taken. “Not since MGM’s legendary luncheon in 1949 has such a group of stars from one studio banded together to have their picture taken,” says George Hamilton in a voiceover. “What is happening here tonight will never happen again in Hollywood, or at least not in our lifetime. The great studio dynasties of the past no longer exist, and no one could afford to assemble such an incredible array of talent today. Even for Hollywood, this is a magic moment.”

‍That’s Entertainment! would prove to be a much needed bit of nostalgia in a troubled, rapidly changing world, and exceeded all expectations to become a big box office hit. As Sammy Davis, Jr., said, echoing the film’s tagline, “boy, do we need it now!”