The ribbon is tied on the large cake celebrating MGM's upcoming 70th Anniversary when this came out. It is amazing that it has been 20 years since the fourth installment in MGM's salute to their glorious past came out and all but a few of these great stars are now gone. Gene Kelly is the groom on the wedding cake, having appeared in all four films, and looking dashing as the veteran older statesman of the golden years of the MGM musical. Mickey Rooney is like the wacky uncle of the family, filled with great stories, yet sometimes sentimental and sad. Toss in the most glorious group of "Auntie Mame" types you could have in your old movie family: June Allyson, Ann Miller, Lena Horne and Debbie Reynolds, with "little sister" Liza Minnelli representing the younger line of Hollywood royalty.
The glorious aspect of "That's Entertainment III" is the inclusion of some extremely obscure clips, as well as out-takes of musical numbers which didn't make it into the final print. Audiences who have clamored to see some of Judy Garland's cut numbers from "Easter Parade" and "The Harvey Girls", as well as her uncompleted version of "Annie Get Your Gun!" need look no further. They are all there, and for me, the delight was "March of the Doagies", a big number from "The Harvey Girls" that seems a shame to have lost. "How long is too long?", Angela Lansbury once asked audiences after seeing a clip cut out of "The Wizard of Oz", so you wonder what made the editors make that decision to snip out such a huge moment that a lot of people worked hard to get on-screen, only to have it disappear from view.
Fun-filled and nostalgic, this came out just as Turner Classic Movies was taking off, and home video audiences clamored for more of old Hollywood. At this time, I was working at a huge video store in Los Angeles where classic movies were the specialty, and our customers began asking for "More! More! More!". It was a great feeling to share the new releases coming out (particularly from Turner Home Entertainment) with them and hearing their usually satisfied responses upon their return. To mention the name of one of the title songs from one of the movies utilized, this was really one terrific "Hollywood Party".
The glorious aspect of "That's Entertainment III" is the inclusion of some extremely obscure clips, as well as out-takes of musical numbers which didn't make it into the final print. Audiences who have clamored to see some of Judy Garland's cut numbers from "Easter Parade" and "The Harvey Girls", as well as her uncompleted version of "Annie Get Your Gun!" need look no further. They are all there, and for me, the delight was "March of the Doagies", a big number from "The Harvey Girls" that seems a shame to have lost. "How long is too long?", Angela Lansbury once asked audiences after seeing a clip cut out of "The Wizard of Oz", so you wonder what made the editors make that decision to snip out such a huge moment that a lot of people worked hard to get on-screen, only to have it disappear from view.
Fun-filled and nostalgic, this came out just as Turner Classic Movies was taking off, and home video audiences clamored for more of old Hollywood. At this time, I was working at a huge video store in Los Angeles where classic movies were the specialty, and our customers began asking for "More! More! More!". It was a great feeling to share the new releases coming out (particularly from Turner Home Entertainment) with them and hearing their usually satisfied responses upon their return. To mention the name of one of the title songs from one of the movies utilized, this was really one terrific "Hollywood Party".