MGM: Hollywood's Tiffany Studio (1 Viewer)

[Emcee]

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (abbreviated as MGM) was the most prestigious film studio in Old Hollywood. It held that position so firmly that it was often nicknamed the Tiffany Studio, which solidified its reputation as being the most glamorous motion picture company in the world.

For this thread, I'm wanting to talk about those glamorous Old Hollywood actors and actresses that worked for MGM. Now, these don't have to be individuals whose careers were almost solely spent at MGM, but at least made films for said studio that were successful and can easily be called "classics".

In saying that, I don't wish to entirely restrict this discussion. If one has a specific actor, actress, or film that is linked with MGM that might be too new to be defined as a classic, then feel free to bring it up here. Personally, it's easier for me to identify with film through an Old Hollywood lens, but I also understand that not everyone shares that view.

Let's get this conversation rolling.

​

 

[Angelo Colombus]

One of my favorite documentaries on Hollywood is MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992) hosted by Patrick Stewart which was very entertaining. Not only do i have that in my movie collection but a great book Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B Mayer which is a good read.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Want to add one more good book and that is Dark Star: The Untold Story of the Meteoric Rise and Fall of Legendary Silent Screen Star John Gilbert written by John's daughter. He was at the top at MGM acting in films with the great Greta Garbo and then his tragic fall with issues with Louis B Mayer and alcoholism. He died young from a heart attack at age 38.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, When the Lion Roars is one of THE most comprehensive overviews of a studio's history ever made, I always enjoy spending time with any one of its three sections.

 

[Emcee]

It's hard for me to think about MGM and not think of Garbo, who was touted as the "biggest money-maker ever put on the screen". She is arguably one of the most well-known and mysterious personalities ever captured on film. The film Grand Hotel (1932), which was also the feature all-star feature, perhaps offered the peak of the press-proclaimed "Garbo-mania" that swept the nation in the 1930s.

Garbo's probably best remembered for her self-sacrificing roles in such tear-jerking classics like Anna Karenina (1935) and Camille (1936), although these films were both released during an era where Garbo's public popularity was dwindling. Her film Conquest (1937) was one of the biggest flops of its year, and she was labeled "box office poison" in 1938. MGM apparently renegotiated her contract with a "noticeable drop in salary".

"Goddess or not," as one documentary said, "her market value had dropped." The studio decided to keep her because there was only one Garbo, and MGM, the most prolific studio of its time, wanted her on their payroll. Ninotchka (1939) was the studio's attempt to re-brand her a comedienne, and the move was a successful one, albeit temporarily. She followed it with Two-Faced Woman (1941), a miscalculated mess of a film (which I happen to enjoy thoroughly, however), which proved to be her swan song.

Throughout the decades, there's never been another Garbo. And there never will.

 

[Emcee]

Jean Harlow was Hollywood's first blonde bombshell, and she was a trailblazer for the sex symbol on the silver screen. She was a contract star for MGM from 1932 to 1937, appearing in a succession of popular films for the studio. She was paired frequently with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and William Powell.

Harlow had bulldozed her way up from silent film extra to leading lady in Hell's Angels (1930), under the gentle supervision of multi-millionaire filmmaker Howard Hughes. Although her follow-up films, such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and The Beast of the City (1932), failed to live up to their hype, Harlow herself generated a significant amount of publicity and had a firmly established image as a saucy and sexy platinum-haired beauty.

With her image already solidified, it took little convincing for MGM to bring Harlow on board in 1932. For her first film at the studio, she shed her platinum locks for the lead in Red-Headed Woman (1932), which finally brought her success as a star. It was a controversial hit, as was Red Dust (1932), the first film she and Gable starred in together as the leads. The following year, she played a character vaguely like her real-life self in Bombshell (1933), and was a part of an all-star cast in Dinner at Eight (1933), a delicious dramedy showcase for some of MGM's brightest screen stars.

Harlow's popularity was at its peak, but the Production Code that was rapidly gaining power, threatened her success. The Production Code sought to clean up Hollywood films and make them more conservative. This shook Harlow's image. The Girl from Missouri (1934) was her first film made under the Production Code, but a few glimpses of the old, pre-code Harlow manage to shine through. MGM tried to mature her image later in the decade by giving her more traditional leading lady roles in Reckless (1935) and Suzy (1936). These films were not as successful as her earlier ventures.

Her frequent pairings with Gable, such as China Seas (1935) and Wife versus Secretary (1936), were big successes, but MGM was persistent on changing her image. The studio had Harlow darken her hair to what publicists called "brownette" (which was apparently a very big deal in 1936). Her new hairdo made its debut in Riffraff (1936), a film that enjoyed moderate success at the box office. Her film Saratoga (1937), again co-starring Gable, was postponed when she fell ill and eventually passed. Since her scenes were not completed, doubles were brought in to finish her them to release the picture after her death.

Jean Harlow died at just twenty-six years old in 1937.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I like Garbo and Jean Harlow but my favorite is Myrna Loy. Smart, beautiful, and sexy she was great in the Thin Man series and many other films including Mr. Blanding's Builds His Dream House and The Best Years of Our Lives that was on TCM recently.

 

[Emcee]

I like Garbo and Jean Harlow but my favorite is Myrna Loy. Smart, beautiful, and sexy she was great in the Thin Man series and many other films including Mr. Blanding's Builds His Dream House and The Best Years of Our Lives that was on TCM recently.

View attachment 84307

Not very familiar with Myrna Loy, unfortunately. Outside of Wife versus Secretary and Libeled Lady, two of her 1936 hits, my knowledge on her is next to none.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Check out any of her pairings with Cary Grant or William Powell and it’s unlikely that you’ll be disappointed.

 

[Emcee]

Check out any of her pairings with Cary Grant or William Powell and it’s unlikely that you’ll be disappointed.

I desperately want The Thin Man series on DVD, but I haven't gotten around to getting it yet.

I guess I could've put it on my wish list, but I didn't.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It look like Warner Archive is doing the series one at a time on Blu, and if each one sells enough, they said they’d keep going. The first one is already out and the second comes out in January. Waiting in this case might have done you a favor

 

[filmnoirguy]

Of course, MGM is also famous for their musicals from the 1940s and '50s. Last night we watched 1944's Meet Me in St. Louis, one of their very best!

 

[William Ferry]

One of my favorite documentaries on Hollywood is MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992) hosted by Patrick Stewart which was very entertaining. Not only do i have that in my movie collection but a great book Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B Mayer which is a good read.

View attachment 83687

Two thumbs up on both Angelo. It's also worth seeking out the accompanying book WHEN THE LION ROARS; it's a nice supplement to the series.

 

[Nick*Z]

Metro's history is so rich and deep, it really is an obscene treasure trove of goodies, many, but not all of them mined to perfection. For me, it's Metro's last act that truly seems incomprehensible; Mayer's ousting from power and Dore Schary's problematic reign, capped off by his disastrous all-consuming passion to will 'another' Gone With the Wind out of Raintree County - the picture that pretty much killed the Southern Civil War epic as a viable sub-genre - not only at MGM but all over Hollywood. Looking at Raintree today, one is immediately reminded of the creative malaise afflicting the studio after Schary's installation as its head.

There will never be another mogul like Louis B. Mayer - Hollywood's raja, who ruled with an iron fist, but later, could not understand why his reputation in the biz was somewhat tainted by his legendary reign. Mayer could literally will a star from a virtual unknown - he had that much power, and, the machinery behind him to churn out a personality from a nobody. One of his greatest discoveries was Greer Garson, whose career has yet to be mined properly in hi-def. We need her debut in 1939's Goodbye, Mr. Chips. It would also be beneficial to get Blu-rays of Madame Curie, Mrs. Parkington, Blossoms in the Dust, When Ladies Meet, The Valley of Decision, and, Random Harvest.

Just cannot understand how two of the studios greatest stars - Norma Shearer and Clark Gable - once dubbed Queen and King of the backlot, remain conspicuously absent from Blu-ray. Gable, of course, is present in GWTW, and a few of his 'lesser'/later offerings after he left Metro and moved on to Fox. Shearer's only movie in hi-def currently is The Women (1939). And while it's a career highpoint, we could really use her Romeo & Juliet, as well as Marie Antoinette, and, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, not to mention The Divorcee. As for Gable - there's never been a Hollywood he-man like him and Warner is sitting on a power keg of outstanding performances: Idiot's Delight (also with Shearer), Honky Tonk, Boom Town, San Francisco, Red Dust, Test Pilot, China Seas, and, Strange Cargo among them.

Someone mentioned Myrna Loy, so in reply I'll thrown in William Powell - as, for me, at least, they are a matching set. We need The Great Ziegfeld, Love Crazy, I Love You Again, Manhattan Melodrama, and Evelyn Prentice on Blu. Ditto for all their magnificent screen sparing in the rest of the Thin Man franchise. You simply cannot go wrong here. Incidentally, reminds me of the story Loy once told when she and Gable were crowned king and queen of the movies by Look Magazine. Powell, who came in fourth in their voting poll, sent Loy what appeared to be a box of flowers as congratulations. Not at all - the box contained dirty, rotten grapes with a handwritten note from "William the fourth". Translation - sour grapes. Very funny indeed.

Speaking of screen teams - hopefully we get more of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy on Blu-ray - together and apart. Kate and Spenc' need to be given their due in Adam's Rib - still, one of the funniest comedies of all time. Let's get Sea of Grass, and, Keeper of the Flame too. I'd also like to see WAC tackle Tracy alone, in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Fury, and, Boy's Town.

MGM had so many stars under contract throughout the 1930's, 40's and early 50's, it's impossible to cover all of their careers comprehensively on Blu-ray. But really - do we need more reason to see more Fred Astaire from his Metro days - The Barkley's of Broadway, Royal Wedding, The Belle of New York to start. Elizabeth Taylor should be another star that gets more play time - National Velvet, The Girl Who Had Everything, A Date with Judy, The Last Time I Saw Paris. And then, of course, there's Mickey Rooney - one of the most versatile performers of the 20th century. There's noting Mick' couldn't do as his Andy Hardy movies, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Young Thomas Edison, Babes in Arms, and Babes on Broadway can attest.

Garbo, Harlow, Garland - more please. Eleanor Powell - my God - YES!!! Broadway Melody of 1936/38/40. Rosalie? Born to Dance? Wow! What a gal. Jane Powell? You bet. Start with Holiday in Mexico, and work your way up to Small Town Girl, and, Athena. Debbie Reynolds? Dear Debbie - Give A Girl A Break, why don't you? And I Love Melvin...or rather, she did, and we have ever since too. Mario Lanza - with Kathryn Grayson - That Midnight Kiss, and, The Toast of New Orleans. We really should get The Student Prince too - featuring Lanza's golden tenor emanating from the handsome Edmund Purdon. Grace Kelly? Anyone up for High Society or The Swan, or even, Green Fire?

Lots more to discuss, but I'll leave you with these for now and hope it stimulates some conversation about these and MGM's other great stars. More, please. Lots more!!!!

 

[randyoh]

Don’t forget the importance of producer Irving Thalberg in the creation of the studio. MGM wouldn’t have become what it did without him at the beginning.

 

[roxy1927]

Well this is interesting. The golden studio era of MGM gets trashed today as much too glossy and sentimental with Shearer and Garson being 2 of the most fake Hollywood creations ever. Truly a factory selling middle brow gilt. I disagree with all of this but it is a prevalent view today.

 

[Emcee]

Don’t forget the importance of producer Irving Thalberg in the creation of the studio. MGM wouldn’t have become what it did without him at the beginning.

Irving Thalberg was instrumental in the success of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He was the Head of Production (if I'm getting is payroll title correct), and was fundamental in getting a lot of the studio's more prestigious films into production.

Of course, he sometimes gets some flack for advancing the career of his wife, actress Norma Shearer, who was also instrumental in making big money for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the 1930s. She was easily one of their biggest stars, and is sometimes nicknamed the First Lady of MGM. Joan Crawford, often considered a rival of Shearer's for film roles, once quipped, "How can I compete with Norma? She sleeps with the boss!"

Naturally, Joan Crawford wasn't the only other actress on the MGM lot that felt shafted and overlooked by the Thalberg-Shearer union. Marion Davies, a major star of silent screen comedy, had a career carefully guided under the direction of her lover William Randolph Hearst, who was also a influential businessman. Hearst had created his own movie company, Cosmopolitan Pictures, to produce Marion's movies, while Marion herself was technically an MGM contract player. Hearst was always going to bat with the studio to try and get Davies cast in "prestige" pictures. Hearst wanted her to play the leads in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Romeo and Juliet, and Marie Antoinette. All those roles went to Norma Shearer.

Was Norma Shearer the actress best-suited to these roles? Probably. But he could've have gave Joan Crawford and Marion Davies (or someone else for goodness sake) a chance somewhere in the mix.

​

 

[cinemel1]

Metro's history is so rich and deep, it really is an obscene treasure trove of goodies, many, but not all of them mined to perfection. For me, it's Metro's last act that truly seems incomprehensible; Mayer's ousting from power and Dore Schary's problematic reign, capped off by his disastrous all-consuming passion to will 'another' Gone With the Wind out of Raintree County - the picture that pretty much killed the Southern Civil War epic as a viable sub-genre - not only at MGM but all over Hollywood. Looking at Raintree today, one is immediately reminded of the creative malaise afflicting the studio after Schary's installation as its head.

There will never be another mogul like Louis B. Mayer - Hollywood's raja, who ruled with an iron fist, but later, could not understand why his reputation in the biz was somewhat tainted by his legendary reign. Mayer could literally will a star from a virtual unknown - he had that much power, and, the machinery behind him to churn out a personality from a nobody. One of his greatest discoveries was Greer Garson, whose career has yet to be mined properly in hi-def. We need her debut in 1939's Goodbye, Mr. Chips. It would also be beneficial to get Blu-rays of Madame Curie, Mrs. Parkington, Blossoms in the Dust, When Ladies Meet, The Valley of Decision, and, Random Harvest.

Just cannot understand how two of the studios greatest stars - Norma Shearer and Clark Gable - once dubbed Queen and King of the backlot, remain conspicuously absent from Blu-ray. Gable, of course, is present in GWTW, and a few of his 'lesser'/later offerings after he left Metro and moved on to Fox. Shearer's only movie in hi-def currently is The Women (1939). And while it's a career highpoint, we could really use her Romeo & Juliet, as well as Marie Antoinette, and, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, not to mention The Divorcee. As for Gable - there's never been a Hollywood he-man like him and Warner is sitting on a power keg of outstanding performances: Idiot's Delight (also with Shearer), Honky Tonk, Boom Town, San Francisco, Red Dust, Test Pilot, China Seas, and, Strange Cargo among them.

Someone mentioned Myrna Loy, so in reply I'll thrown in William Powell - as, for me, at least, they are a matching set. We need The Great Ziegfeld, Love Crazy, I Love You Again, Manhattan Melodrama, and Evelyn Prentice on Blu. Ditto for all their magnificent screen sparing in the rest of the Thin Man franchise. You simply cannot go wrong here. Incidentally, reminds me of the story Loy once told when she and Gable were crowned king and queen of the movies by Look Magazine. Powell, who came in fourth in their voting poll, sent Loy what appeared to be a box of flowers as congratulations. Not at all - the box contained dirty, rotten grapes with a handwritten note from "William the fourth". Translation - sour grapes. Very funny indeed.

Speaking of screen teams - hopefully we get more of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy on Blu-ray - together and apart. Kate and Spenc' need to be given their due in Adam's Rib - still, one of the funniest comedies of all time. Let's get Sea of Grass, and, Keeper of the Flame too. I'd also like to see WAC tackle Tracy alone, in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Fury, and, Boy's Town.

MGM had so many stars under contract throughout the 1930's, 40's and early 50's, it's impossible to cover all of their careers comprehensively on Blu-ray. But really - do we need more reason to see more Fred Astaire from his Metro days - The Barkley's of Broadway, Royal Wedding, The Belle of New York to start. Elizabeth Taylor should be another star that gets more play time - National Velvet, The Girl Who Had Everything, A Date with Judy, The Last Time I Saw Paris. And then, of course, there's Mickey Rooney - one of the most versatile performers of the 20th century. There's noting Mick' couldn't do as his Andy Hardy movies, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Young Thomas Edison, Babes in Arms, and Babes on Broadway can attest.

Garbo, Harlow, Garland - more please. Eleanor Powell - my God - YES!!! Broadway Melody of 1936/38/40. Rosalie? Born to Dance? Wow! What a gal. Jane Powell? You bet. Start with Holiday in Mexico, and work your way up to Small Town Girl, and, Athena. Debbie Reynolds? Dear Debbie - Give A Girl A Break, why don't you? And I Love Melvin...or rather, she did, and we have ever since too. Mario Lanza - with Kathryn Grayson - That Midnight Kiss, and, The Toast of New Orleans. We really should get The Student Prince too - featuring Lanza's golden tenor emanating from the handsome Edmund Purdon. Grace Kelly? Anyone up for High Society or The Swan, or even, Green Fire?

Lots more to discuss, but I'll leave you with these for now and hope it stimulates some conversation about these and MGM's other great stars. More, please. Lots more!!!!

The stereo sound on the MGM DVD of Student Prince is stellar. Lanza and the student chorus sing a rousing Drink, Drink, Drink as well as other fine choral highlights. Ann Blyth is lovely and has a perfect singing voice for this operetta. A Warner Archives blu-ray would definitely do this justice.

 

[roxy1927]

We are lucky we are getting Good News and I just received a notice today it will be coming Feb 18th. But there is still plenty of time for more delays. I would be shocked if The Student Prince came out. It never played that I can remember at any of the many MGM festivals I used to go to. I only got to see it on PBS. The sound track is wonderful. Shearer is incandescent in the Lubitsch. There is an anecdote about her in a confrontation with Mayer in his office which is very funny but not repeatable here.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Looks like MGM is replacing their MGM lion logo with a all CG logo. "Leo the lion is dead, long live Leo the CG lion".

MGM's iconic roaring movie lion replaced by an all-CG logo