M-G-M's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit

by Hugh Fordin

M-G-M's Greatest Musicals (originally published as The World of Entertainment! Hollywood's Greatest Musicals) is not a biography of Arthur Freed (1894–1973), producer of the most outstanding series of musicals in motion picture history, but a turbulent, behind-the-scenes, film-by-film account of the making of his movies (which, to the exclusion of all else, were his life). From 1940 to 1970, under the auspices of M-G-M's celebrated Freed Unit, Hollywood's master actors, writers, directors, choreographers, composers, and set designers created The Wizard of Oz, Girl Crazy, Meet Me in St. Louis, Annie Get Your Gun, An American in Paris, Show Boat, Singin' in the Rain, Gigi, and nearly forty others. The author brings to vivid life the unexpected crises and everyday magic of the Freed Unit. Richly detailed, profusely illustrated with hundreds of rare photos, this book describes the lives and careers Freed touched and often shaped—Judy Garland, Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, and others like Saroyan, Berlin, Kern, Gershwin—and in the process reveals how a romantic, sentimental man became the uncontested master of the movie musical.

Genres: Nonfiction, Musicals, Film

576 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1982

Reviews

[Christopher Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just reread this, 37 years after I first read it. I loved it unreservedly back then, although to my older eyes it seems a bit dry and slightly disjointed. Still, it is one of the best researched and in-depth looks at the inner workings of a Hollywood studio of the golden age. Guess what? It wasn't all fun and games. This book focuses exclusively on films produced by Arthur Freed (from The Wizard of Oz in 1939 to Light in the Piazza in 1962), so many great MGM musicals are not included here, but it's still a must-read for lovers of old Hollywood.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit it, I am an MGM musical junkie looking for dirt. There's not much gossip here but there is an exhaustive amount of material on the work of Arthur Freed at MGM. There's no other history on the MGM musical that compares, so I give it 5 stars, despite how boring it is to read how much a day's shooting cost back in 1943. I will downgrade it once there is a more objective author (Fordin admits that he became close to Freed while writing) brave enough to untangle the stories of all of the people who were a part of the greatest film musical team in history.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucky me, getting to read books like this for work and research. This one took me down a Youtube rabbit hole of
great musical numbers from the Freed Unit. Fun!

[Russell Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugh Fordin’s MGM’s Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit is a fantastic book for those of us who are obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. Arthur Freed was the master at producing those films, and his career at MGM stretched decades. This book is an exhaustive look at each of those films, beginning with The Wizard of Oz in 1939 and extending to a non-musical film Light in the Piazza in the early 1960s. Not only are we treated to an analysis of each of the films, including budgets, pitfalls, star stories, and reception, but Fordin also includes info about films Freed hoped to make but didn’t. Freed was an amazing talent, and yet, in an afterward by the famous composer Irving Berlin, the songwriter tells us that meeting and speaking with Freed, one would never know you were in the presence of genius. This is the man who made the career of Judy Garland, who nurtured Gene Kelly, and brough us such classics as Easter Parade, Brigadoon, The Band Wagon and Gigi. One caveat: the copy I read was a reprint from Da Capo Press, done in 1996. I’m grateful it was released, but it is a facsimile edition, which in the earlier days of printing, meant photographs were taken of pages and then reprinted. This process left the numerous photographs peppered throughout the text washed out and almost unviewable, plus the many handwritten notes illustrated were totally incomprehensible. But at least this incredible book became available once more. It needs to stay available as a tribute to one of the greatest producers of early Hollywood.

[Coleman Wigger · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most wonderful books written about Hollywood.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good critique of the days of the Freed Unit which bought
us the best of the Hollywood Musicals. Gave us a good glimpse on the system and why it misfired and worked

so well. Not one to be missed.

[Amy Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're an MGM musical freak -- like me -- this book is pure Nirvana. Really goes behind the scenes on every classic made under the tutelage of Arthur Freed. Never knew that Fred had a temper, or that Kelly was such an egomaniac. Just an indispensable book for any Hollywood collection.