Customer Reviews

Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)

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I was lucky enough to preview this set recently and am happy to report that the other folks expecting WB's normal fine print quality will not be dissapointed...they look wonderful. As is the custom at WB there are many extras on each DVD as well. Others have listed them...outakes, vintage clips and featurettes...so I won't re-list those but comment on the new 15 minute featurettes on each film. Well, unlike the dissapointing (IMHO) Busby Berkely bonus featurettes..these are well made, informative and VERY entertaining...probably due to the much higher quality of interviewees....like the ever present Garland expert John Fricke. Current sizzling hot Broadway choreographer and director Casey Nicholaw, who lends his expertise on Summer Stock and It's always fair weather. Susan Stroman , director of the recent movie "The Producers, ads a fresh take on It's always fair weather as well.
The absolute gem (again IMHO) however is the Oscar and Grammy winning songwriter of Mary Poppins, Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang and so many more Richard M Sherman. Mr Sherman's thoughts about Jerome Kern (Till the Clouds Roll By) and Kalmar & Ruby (Three Little Words)go much further than the normal "college professors" on other DVDs. As those two movies are about songwriters...who better than one of the all time greats to comment and frankly he seems to be much more than a hired gun , but an actual fan of these writers and very familiar with their work, lives and the movies in question...raising the bar substantially due to his participation.

During the Hollywood's golden era, the 'tiffany' of movie studios as MGM, where the motto was "Do it big, do it right, and give it class". They sure did, and when it came to musicals, no one else could come close. They had all the greatest stars of the genre, and whereas musicals from other studios may seem stiff and dated, most of Metro's musical output shines with immortality.

No where is this more evident than in this new boxed set of stellar favorites from Warner Home Video, which is todays 'tiffany' of video labels. Nobody does it better. The care, cleverness & dedication they put into their classic releases is abundant, and each film in this set has been given a sparkling new transfer and is loaded with extras, as is the Warner style.

Not only do you get Judy & Gene in the charming SUMMER STOCK, climaxing with GET HAPPY, but you also get those two and a dozen more Metro stars in the dazzling ZIEGFELD FOLLIES. Gene Kelly's final collaboration with Stanley Donen as co-directors, is the magnificent gem IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER, with a witty screenplay by Comden & Green, and knockout performances from the entire cast including Cyd Charisse. At last this comes to DVD in 16x9 widescreen with 5.1 audio, and outtakes too! Astaire and Red Skelton team in THREE LITTLE WORDS, which is probably the best and most delightful "composer-bio" ever to come out of Hollywood. It's truthful to the real story of Kalmar and Ruby, and is a joyous blend of great songs and comedic fun. Last but certainly not least is the first legitimate DVD release of TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY, MGM's extravaganza built around the music of Jerome Kern. A huge roster of MGM talent is featured in great musical numbers that now finally look and sound terrific.

Although its heartbreaking that the MGM we once knew is no longer, and survives only as a 'label' owned by another studio, we film fans are so fortunate that the great MGM library ended up with the superbly talented folks at Warner Brothers.

Ziegfeld Follies
New featurette Ziegfeld Follies: An Embarrassment of Riches
Vintage MGM Crime Does Not Pay short The Luckiest Guy in the World
2 classic MGM cartoons: The Hick Chick, Solid Serenade
Audio-only bonus: outtake songs If Swing Goes, I Go Too, This Heart of Mine and We Will Meet Again in Honolulu
Ziegfeld movies trailer gallery
Till the Clouds Roll By
New featurette Till the Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel
Vintage Fitzpartick Traveltalk short Glimpses of California
Classic MGM Tex Avery cartoon Henpecked Hoboes
Two musical outtake sequences: Judy Garland performing D'Ya Love Me? and Music in the Air (I've Told Ev'ry Little Star/The Song is You) performed by Kathryn Grayson and Johnny Johnston
Theatrical trailer
Three Little Words
New featurette Three Little Words: It's All True
Vintage Fitzpatrick Traveltalk short Roaming Through Michigan
Classic MGM Tex Avery cartoon Ventriloquist Cat
Audio-only bonus: Paula Stone's Hollywood USA radio promo featuring Fred Astaire & Harry Ruby
Theatrical trailer
Summer Stock
New featurette Summer Stock: Get Happy!
Classic MGM cartoon The Cuckoo Clock
Vintage Pete Smith Specialty Short Did'ja Know?
Audio-only bonus: outtake song Fall in Love
Theatrical trailer
It's Always Fair Weather
New featurette It's Always Fair Weather: Going Out on a High Note
3 outtake musical numbers: The Binge/Trashcan Dance (alternate takes), Jack and the Space Giants (with Michael Kidd), Love Is Nothing but a Racket (with Gene Kelly & Cyd Charisse)
Two segments from The MGM Parade featuring Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly
2 classic MGM cartoons: Deputy Droopy, Good Will to Men
Audio-only bonus: I Thought They'd Never Leave outtake featuring Dolores Grey's unused vocal

Although this has been called a mixed bag by some, for the price, you just can't go wrong. Judy & Gene doing the "Portland Fancy" and Judy singing "Get Happy" from "Summer Stock"; Lena Horne singing numbers from "Show Boat," the musical she should have been in; Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire doing their only real on-screen duet in "Ziegfeld Follies" (they pretty much just walked through "That's Entertainment 2"); all these priceless musical numbers must be seen to be believed, all in glowing and restored technicolor. Lots of fun extras as well.

It is wonderful to see these films finally being released on DVD! The prints are bright, colorful and clean and the soundtracks are sound better than ever. The films themselves are a treasure without any added attractions. However, since so much emphasis is put on special features, let me say that they aren't what they could be for these movies. Consider what the "Zeigfeld Follies" laser disc offered in the way of extras. There is a great deal of original pre-recorded music available from that film, so why not include more or all of it? One disturbing trend I noticed on the short documentaries is a change in the ratio of the screen image. After all of the talk about restoration and letterbox, why show clips in wide screen when the original films were not produced in wide screen. The presentation and restoration of classic films has become so much more important to viewers over the past two decades. Let's don't take steps backwards.

This is a very good set of MGM musicals showcasing a whole range of talents at that studio in the 1940's and 50's, most musical but some not. I discuss the films in descending order of my enjoyment:

Three Little Words (1950) - I enjoyed this film the most. I think Astaire and Skelton complemented each other wonderfully. I was wondering how Skelton would work teamed up with Astaire, but he holds his own quite well. Supposedly it is the story of songwriting team Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton), and I am not sure how close to the truth this story is, but the film is everything you expect in an MGM musical of this period, great music and good comedy. Hermes Pan, who did so much of the choreography in Astaire's RKO films, does the dance numbers here, and they are quite polished. It is quite humorous how the film works the hobbies of Kalmar and Ruby - magic and baseball, respectively - into the storyline.

Summer Stock (1950) - One of those "let's put on a show" MGM musicals, and Judy Garland's last starring role at MGM before being fired. Judy is trying to make a go of the family farm when her sister (Gloria De Haven) shows up with her beau (Gene Kelly) and her entire theatrical troupe. She has generously donated the farm as the locale for the troupe's next show, without getting Judy's permission of course. Eventually little sister decides she is destined for better things than "summer stock" and runs off with the show's star. Now the show has to find someone to take her place...who do you think they pick?

Till The Clouds Roll By (1946) - This is a pretty good biopic/musical involving the life and music of Jerome Kern (Robert Walker). Warner Home Video has restored this film to its former glory versus the really bad copies in circulation in the public domain. Unlike most MGM musicals, this film separates the main characters in the film (Walker as Kern and Van Heflin as Kern's mentor James Hessler) from the performers, who amount to MGM's biggest musical stars of the day performing Kern's music culminating in Frank Sinatra singing "Old Man River" from Showboat. Another highlight is Judy Garland as Marilyn Miller performing various numbers from "Sally". Again, you have to suspend your beliefs on the true facts of Kern's life.

It's Always Fair Weather (1955) - The age of the big MGM musical production was beginning to wind down by the time this film was made. It has more story to it than most MGM musicals, revolving around three G.I. buddies and their vow in 1945 to meet in a particular bar ten years later. They all keep their word and keep the date, but each is vastly disappointed in how the other two have turned out and initially have nothing much to say to each other. There's some interesting commentary here on life in the 50's and in particular the early days of TV and advertising's place in it. Gene Kelly is entertaining as always, but I was really surprised by Dan Dailey's talent as the ad executive that comes to a startling self-realization at an inopportune time and does quite a performance dancing and singing about his plight.

Ziegfeld Follies (1946) - The premise of this film is that Ziegfeld (with William Powell reprising his role) is in heaven thinking of his dream revue, with the rest of the movie just a playing out of that dream revue. It involves the big musical and comedy stars of MGM putting on a show of their various capabilities, and for all intents and purposes could be renamed "The Hollywood Revue of 1946" for those familiar with the original from 1929 which basically had the same purpose. Of course, technology has advanced considerably over the ensuing 17 years, but there are still some missteps. Basically, the musical numbers are good, but the comedy skits that punctuate them fall very flat and detract from the entire film. The highlight for me was seeing Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly perform together in a number. The musical numbers make this an above average film, but just barely.

Someone else has already gone over the extras, which are many, so I won't mention them once again. All in all a very enjoyable set for anyone who is a fan of the MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's with all of the extras I've come to expect from Warner Home Video. They certainly know their audience.

This is just to let customers know that I have every confidence that we will get great prints on this set. I own a lot of DVD's, Over 2,800 and all of them that were produced by Warners are better than any other studio. I believe they have the best equipment in the business, for generating quality remastered DVD's

This is a perfect set for any lover of the MGM musicals of the '40s and '50s! While these aren't MGM's biggest, they contain some of the best singing and dancing in films. How can you not love Lena Horne singing 'Can't Help Lovin' That Man Of Mine' in "Till The Clouds Roll By"? Or Judy Garland's wonderful rendition of 'Get Happy' from "Summer Stock"? Or Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen dancing in "Three Little Worlds"? Even the weakest offering of the set, "It's Always Fair Weather" has Gene Kelly's terrific dance-on-roller-skates. And, of course, "Ziegfeld Follies" has 'The Babbitt and the Bromide' the only time Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly danced together in a film (with the exception of the "That's Entertainment!" compilations of the '70s) These are films to make your heart light and make you smile and they do it every time. I couldn't be happier with this set!

Great deal and each DVD has its own case!
These DVD's are ones I have wanted for a while. I am glad I found them all in one package.

Terrific prices. Wonderful musicals.

Good response. Prompt delivery. Excellent condition.