Customer Reviews

M-G-M's Greatest Musicals

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The text of this book is very interesting. It's more of a nuts and bolts of how the movies were put together than a critque of the movies themselves.

However, beware if you are replacing an older edition of this book. This edition is inferior to one that I had years ago. The pictures in this version look like they were photocopied from an earlier version of the book. Many are grainy and washed out. Also, a number of the pictures at the tops of pages are cropped so that tops of some of the heads are cut off. I know this wasn't how earlier versions of this book looked. Although a minor point, in the back of previous editions there was a list of much money each film cost, as well as the domestic and foreign grosses of each film. I found this interesting, and I was sorry to see it missing.

There are various books about the golden years at MGM, but this is far and away the best I've ever read. It is an exhaustive look at how each of the great MGM musicals was made, with all sorts of info from producer Arthur Freed's private files -- the costs, the money made or lost, etc. (Imagine, an author who actually went and spoke to the people he was writing about, as opposed to a mere gossip gatherer!) There is lots of solidly researched behind the scenes material, making this believable as well as readable. Loads of great photos you won't see elsewhere. For musical film buffs, this is essential reading!

I was expecting this to be a straight biography of Arthur Freed with discussions on his films but instead I was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire book is a blow-by-blow account of how the films were made (which to a movie buff is pure heaven) and, as the author says, Freed's movies were his life anyway.

I think it says something that the title of this book is "M.G.M.'s Greatest Musicals", since the truly amazing thing is that one man was more or less responsible for all of them. Great behind-the-scenes stories.

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!!!!

I love to know the behind-the-scenes of the days Gene Kelly made his magic at MGM, so Gene drew me to buying this book. Well, Mr Arthur Freed, if there could be more "bosses" like you today, the workplace would be a much happier place to be. Arthur and his "UNIT" or as I like to call them, "THE CREW" will have you laughing, maybe even crying and definitely astounded, amazed and so very happy that this man was the back bone and the money maker of this fabulous studio of the real movie days. His mind is one that could never be found again in any producer of today. They definitely cracked the mould when they made this man. So, I recommend that you buy this book, and even purchase the movie under the same title. Mr Hugh Fordin has done the most fantastic job on this book. You will feel like you are standing there in every scene that is described..

Hugh Fordin is an expert in his field. His detailed research is clearly evident throughout this work. His love of theater, film and particularly the Hollywood (make that MGM) Musical is revealed in the many interviews he conducted with people involved in every aspect of the productions he writes about.He shares small insights and many heretofore unknown facts about this disappeared genre of movie making. If this isn't a textbook at film schools, it should be. A superb work whose value increases over the years.

This book is a must read for any musical fan. I read it in 2 days and couldn't put it down. Each chapter is full of interesting facts and insightful tidbits about how each movie musical in the Arthur Freed unit was filmed. It was a delightful book and I very strongly recommend it!!!

Mr Fordin's a great writer with great taste in subject matter. I owned this one first in hardback as "The World of Entertainment". It's so fabulous I bought it again in paperback. One of the best researched and documented film books I know.

I read the original version of this wonderful book years ago, and had thought it was long out of print, so I was thrilled to see this paperback version available, albeit with a new title. But as another reviewer has noted...beware if you are replacing an old copy of the book with this version! The photographs are very, very disappointing. They look as if they were copied on an old mimeograph machine. Because the photos were black and white to begin with, they are now very blurry and hard to recognize. I can't imagine why a company would go to the trouble to reproduce such an exhaustive look at the era of movie musicals...and then wimp out on the photos, many of which are previously unpublished from Arthur Freed's personal collection! The text is still great, but I am really disappointed in the quality of this reprint. Part of the appeal of this book has always been the photos.

One of the best books I've read, details the amazing career of Arthur Freed and provides insight into the magic of the art of making musical movies.