We got some of the greatest highlights from classic MGM musicals in the first film. What were they thinking when this sequel contained clips of the Marx Brothers and Tracy and Hepburn? I have nothing against the Marx Brothers or Tracy and Hepburn, but when I go to see a THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT film,I want to see clips from musicals...nothing else. And what about that bizarre tour of Paris Gene Kelly gives near the end of the film? What was that about? It almost put me to sleep.
shareIn most respects, TE II is the weakest of the three TE compilations. Perhaps the biggest complaint I have against it is the conspicuous omission of Vera-Ellen. She was a brilliant dancing partner for Astaire and Kelly in four MGM musicals. When she went unseen in the first TE in 1974, veteran filmgoers naturally assumed she would be represented in the second version. Alas, she was cruelly left out again, despite the fact TE II was hosted by Fred and Gene. So the producers leave Vera-Ellen on the cutting room floor, but they include footage of the great musical moments of Robert Taylor, the inexplicable Paris salute, Tracy & Hepburn scenes the audience had seen a thousand times before, and a particularly awful sequence of Kelly dancing with two animated Arabians. Go figure.
shareI believe there's a dance between Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen from THREE LITTLE WORDS that is featured in THAT'S DANCIN', that lame follow-up to the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT trilogy. Also, isn't the title number from ON THE TOWN featured in either part one or two? Vera-Ellen is in that number.
shareAlas, V-E goes unseen in both TE I and II. The ON THE TOWN sequence from TE I just featured the male stars. The first time V-E was included in any compilation was THAT'S DANCING in 1985--4 years after her death. For all intents and purposes, the nostalgia merchants simply airbrushed her out of the picture. The fact she was once considered the best lady dancer at MGM is now forgotten by all but a few.
shareI know that "New York, New York" is featured in part I but the title tune, which features all six leads, is featured in part 2.
shareActually, the title sequence from ON THE TOWN was in part III, released in 1994. That number may have been added because it includes Betty Garrett, who also went curiously unseen in TE I and II. Part III also had the "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" number from WORDS AND MUSIC featuring Kelly and V-E. However, this 7 minute ballet was whittled down to 45 seconds. If this was the producers idea of posthumously honoring Vera-Ellen, it was particularly feeble--too little and too late. The out-take footage in TE III was shown greater respect.
shareI didn't even realize until you mentioned it that Betty Garrett was nowhere to be found in Parts I or II.
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