That's Entertainment (1974)

 

Synopsis: Hollywood’s favourite old farts fondly remember the days when MGM wasn’t on the verge of bankruptcy

Blurb From the VHS jacket: “Modern movie audiences embraced it as enthusiastically as modern critics, making That’s Entertainment! One of the most surprising box office giants of recent times” 

What Did I Learn?: According to Jimmy Stewart, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the studios forced dramatic actors into singing-and-dancing roles they weren’t prepared to handle, so most of the earliest musicals in the 1930s kinda sucked. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You really want to sing along to a great show biz tune. 

Really?: For a documentary, That’s Entertainment doesn’t actually tell us all much about the period in question, or the making of those musicals. 

Rating: That’s Entertainment provides an enjoyable, but not terribly educational look at the famous MGM musicals of the 1930s-50s, as well as the 1970s nostalgia for that period. Personally, I think That’s Entertainment could have been made more interesting if its many guest stars had provided a bit more analysis or little-known information (Stewart’s commentary stands out that way) rather than simply set the audience up for a series of song-and-dance numbers, but that’s just my preference. I certainly have to applaud director Jack Haley for a masterful editing job. 8/10 stars.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072272/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0