Movie Review : Rare ‘Entertainment!’ : Latest MGM Compilation Shows How Great the Grand Days Were

“That’s Entertainment! III” is the sunniest of memento mori , a showy tribute to the flabbergasting musicals of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that emphasizes both how delightful the genre was and how inescapably extinct it’s become.

Though the visibility of Westerns and science-fiction movies fluctuates according to popular taste, it’s doubtful we’ll ever see anything like the flood of musicals that characterized MGM in its grandest days. It’s not only the money they cost, it’s how time-intensive these films were to make, and how much they depended on the army of support personnel only a literal principality like Metro could afford to keep on call.

As the Roman numerals conveniently indicate, this is the third “That’s Entertainment!” musical compilation, and though it contains some familiar chestnuts like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland blasting a peppy “Good Morning” from “Babes in Arms,” it benefits from the extra work Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan had to do in order to avoid the usual suspects.

Editors on the first two films and producer-writer-directors and editors here, Friedgen and Sheridan have spent at least part of the 18 years since Part Two was released methodically investigating the considerable material in the MGM vaults, and what they have unearthed is dazzling.

Most obvious are the obscure musical items that fans know well but that most audiences may not because the films they come from are less familiar. Energetic, enthusiastic numbers such as Cyd Charisse’s boxing-oriented “Baby, You Knock Me Out” from “It’s Always Fair Weather” or Ricardo Montalban, Ann Miller and Charisse throwing themselves into “Dance of Fury” from “The Kissing Bandit.”

Also utilized is irresistible behind-the-scenes material, for instance an in-house film that shows just how complex the logistics were when Eleanor Powell danced from stage to stage in the celebrated “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” number from “Lady Be Good.” New technology has also been put to use, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing the swing trot from their last film together, “The Barkleys of Broadway,” now visible without the opening credits that previously obscured their footwork.

Best of all, however, are the outtakes, numbers completely filmed but cut from the final version, often shown here in split screen with unexpected results. On view, for instance, are the India Adams-dubbed Joan Crawford and Cyd Charisse each doing “Two Faced Woman,” the former used in “Torch Song,” the latter cut from “The Band Wagon,” decisions unfortunate on both counts.

Judy Garland, the icon of the MGM musical, gets special attention here. Friedgen and Sheridan have discovered not only “March of the Doagies,” an elaborate sequence cut from “The Harvey Girls,” but also “Mr. Monotony,” Garland’s first use of her trademark half-tuxedo and cut from “Easter Parade,” and, strangest of all, “I’m an Indian Too,” a politically incorrect number Garland filmed for “Annie Get Your Gun” before temperament problems led her to be dropped in favor of Betty Hutton.

Though these clips can’t and don’t miss, another aspect of “That’s Entertainment! III” is more problematical, and that, paralleling the first two films, is its use of nine different MGM stars to introduce the individual segments.

Some of these situations are unobjectionable, for instance, having a relaxed Esther Williams revisit her trademark saucer pool and talk us through a selection of clips from her surreal water ballets. And having Lena Horne speak frankly about the frustration of being a showstopping African American performer the studio didn’t know what to do with is a welcome dose of levelheadedness. Most of the talk from most of the performers, however, is laden with “I loved every minute of it” banalities that do nothing but detract from the magic on screen.

Also, to put it gently, no amount of magic, both movie and otherwise, can make these stars look as youthful as they did 18 and 20 years ago, let alone in their primes, and to compare a weakened Gene Kelly with the lithe athlete who danced with a newspaper and a squeaky floor in “Summer Stock” is a melancholy task.

On the other hand, seeing visible signs of aging does add a kind of unforeseen poignancy to “That’s Entertainment! III,” a reminder of how completely these performers have moved off screen and what an irreplaceable vacuum their absence has left in our moviegoing lives. The tagline for the original “That’s Entertainment!” turns out to be even more sadly apropos today: “Boy, Do We Need It Now!”

* MPAA rating: G. Appropriate for all ages. ‘That’s Entertainment! III’

Special appearances by June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne, Howard Keel, Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams.

In association with Turner Entertainment Co. released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Writers, producers, directors Bud Friedgen & Michael J. Sheridan. Executive producer Peter Fitzgerald. Editors Bud Friedgen, Michael J. Sheridan. Additional music arranged Marc Shaiman. Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes.

In limited release at the Cineplex Odeon Century City, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, (310) 553-4291.