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The MGM Story
This revised edition includes all the films produced and distributed by MGM from the early days of silent films, through the golden age of the 1930s and 1940s right up to the blockbusters of the 80s and 90s. Year by year every film is appraised alongside a still from the movie.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 2, 2017
“Make it good…make it big…give it class!”
The MGM Story was the first in that string of all-encompassing film books about each studio. It set the template for the others, with a listing of each fabulous film, and at least a small but lush photo taken from the film. It does differ from the others in a few minor ways, however.
The index at the back is not separated into personnel and film sections, as it is in the RKO book. This makes it a shade slower to find something — or someone — you wish to look up. This continued in The WB Story. It’s a minor quibble, but it’s such a wealth of information for researchers of the studio, that it is worth a casual mention.
The text at the beginning is a basic overview of the forming of MGM. It is a story of theater chains and mergers. Once Mayer and the wunderkind, Irving Thalberg took the reins, it became an icon marked by prestige and profits. MGM was a studio with more stars than in the heavens, and boasted the world’s largest — at the time — film laboratory. However, I didn’t find it particularly insightful — or critical — as was the overview of the tumultuous RKO.
For example, the often contentious relationship between Thalberg and Mayer, two men who needed each other yet were often at odds, is given short thrift here. While Mayer’s business acumen and Thalberg’s film instincts and production genius are touched upon, the massive gap between their personalities, sense of taste, and foresight is not given much ink.
The staggering blow to the studio when the sickly Thalberg died young in 1936, gets a mention, as does Mayer’s ability to keep MGM on top for another decade-plus, even without the production genius of Irving Thalberg. Just a few more pages about their relationship, however, and the years following Thalberg’s death, could have filled in some gaps for the novice. Mayer’s wish for everyone working there to feel like family became a reality. It didn’t mean everyone in the family was always happy, or that Papa Mayer wasn’t sticking it to you at times, but it was, more than any other studio, a family. It was also an organization like no other studio. Almost like baseball scouts, MGM had people scouring around to find new talent. Garbo was found in Berlin, Greer Garson in London, and little Judy Garland in their own backyard.
The final difference between The MGM Story and the others, might be the size and quality of the photos. Gadzooks! Like the other books, this is glossy, good quality stuff, perfect for photos of the gazillion films MGM made in both America and Britain (unlike The RKO Story, the British films are given photos and commentary along with the more familiar Hollywood films). The photos are not only magnificent, some of them take up entire pages! They’re beautiful shots of so many stars and films it makes any film buff salivate. The frequency as you turn pages of the larger photos popping up is surprising, and a delight. Were it not for destroying the book, fans might be tempted to frame some of them.
There is a shot of James Craig and little Margaret O’Brien in Lost Angel that is particularly wonderful. Another is a quarter-page shot of Robert Walker and Judy Garland in The Clock. My favorite, perhaps, is a half-page photo from Three Comrades. It is the scene under the pier, as Margaret Sullavan and Robert Taylor curl up together on the sand against the dock pillars. The expression on Sullavan’s face — which Taylor can’t see — tells you that her character knows something sad that Taylor does not yet know.
The weight of this one, with all these photos, is hefty. It encompasses the silent film era also, covering MGM from 1924 - 1981 (I believe there have been updates, but that’s the version I own). When you open up the book, you immediately get a shot of the sprawling acres of sets, and a kind of outline of the backlot. At the back is a section of photos from musicals, and it’s the only section I found disappointing. Some are blurry, especially the color ones — the rest of the book’s photos are black and white, of course. It’s like someone decided to throw them in at the last second, and they don’t match up in quality or tone with the rest of the book.
The MGM Story is an invaluable resource for anyone who loves film. For fans, it’s as close to heaven on earth as you’re likely to get. Just a fabulous book every person who loves the movies should own.
The MGM Story was the first in that string of all-encompassing film books about each studio. It set the template for the others, with a listing of each fabulous film, and at least a small but lush photo taken from the film. It does differ from the others in a few minor ways, however.
The index at the back is not separated into personnel and film sections, as it is in the RKO book. This makes it a shade slower to find something — or someone — you wish to look up. This continued in The WB Story. It’s a minor quibble, but it’s such a wealth of information for researchers of the studio, that it is worth a casual mention.
The text at the beginning is a basic overview of the forming of MGM. It is a story of theater chains and mergers. Once Mayer and the wunderkind, Irving Thalberg took the reins, it became an icon marked by prestige and profits. MGM was a studio with more stars than in the heavens, and boasted the world’s largest — at the time — film laboratory. However, I didn’t find it particularly insightful — or critical — as was the overview of the tumultuous RKO.
For example, the often contentious relationship between Thalberg and Mayer, two men who needed each other yet were often at odds, is given short thrift here. While Mayer’s business acumen and Thalberg’s film instincts and production genius are touched upon, the massive gap between their personalities, sense of taste, and foresight is not given much ink.
The staggering blow to the studio when the sickly Thalberg died young in 1936, gets a mention, as does Mayer’s ability to keep MGM on top for another decade-plus, even without the production genius of Irving Thalberg. Just a few more pages about their relationship, however, and the years following Thalberg’s death, could have filled in some gaps for the novice. Mayer’s wish for everyone working there to feel like family became a reality. It didn’t mean everyone in the family was always happy, or that Papa Mayer wasn’t sticking it to you at times, but it was, more than any other studio, a family. It was also an organization like no other studio. Almost like baseball scouts, MGM had people scouring around to find new talent. Garbo was found in Berlin, Greer Garson in London, and little Judy Garland in their own backyard.
The final difference between The MGM Story and the others, might be the size and quality of the photos. Gadzooks! Like the other books, this is glossy, good quality stuff, perfect for photos of the gazillion films MGM made in both America and Britain (unlike The RKO Story, the British films are given photos and commentary along with the more familiar Hollywood films). The photos are not only magnificent, some of them take up entire pages! They’re beautiful shots of so many stars and films it makes any film buff salivate. The frequency as you turn pages of the larger photos popping up is surprising, and a delight. Were it not for destroying the book, fans might be tempted to frame some of them.
There is a shot of James Craig and little Margaret O’Brien in Lost Angel that is particularly wonderful. Another is a quarter-page shot of Robert Walker and Judy Garland in The Clock. My favorite, perhaps, is a half-page photo from Three Comrades. It is the scene under the pier, as Margaret Sullavan and Robert Taylor curl up together on the sand against the dock pillars. The expression on Sullavan’s face — which Taylor can’t see — tells you that her character knows something sad that Taylor does not yet know.
The weight of this one, with all these photos, is hefty. It encompasses the silent film era also, covering MGM from 1924 - 1981 (I believe there have been updates, but that’s the version I own). When you open up the book, you immediately get a shot of the sprawling acres of sets, and a kind of outline of the backlot. At the back is a section of photos from musicals, and it’s the only section I found disappointing. Some are blurry, especially the color ones — the rest of the book’s photos are black and white, of course. It’s like someone decided to throw them in at the last second, and they don’t match up in quality or tone with the rest of the book.
The MGM Story is an invaluable resource for anyone who loves film. For fans, it’s as close to heaven on earth as you’re likely to get. Just a fabulous book every person who loves the movies should own.
May 23, 2020
I bought this book in my late teens and devoured it then, this year, it came out again, after having been boxed up in 2007.
A trip down memory lane and beyond, into the movie my mother and grandmother watched, great fun!
A superb history of movies over the decades.
A trip down memory lane and beyond, into the movie my mother and grandmother watched, great fun!
A superb history of movies over the decades.
February 13, 2014
MGM Movies: A reference book
This is an excellent reference book for your coffee table that gives the description of 1,738 movies produced by MGM studios from 1924-1981. These movies signify the success of American cinema and in many ways MGM stands out as the leader of the studio-pack. MGM became a wonderland and the wizards were Marcus Loew, studio head Louis B. Mayer, production chief Irving Thalberg, and president of the studio Nicholas Schenk. MGM was formed by the mergers of Loew's Inc., Goldwyn studios, and Louis B. Mayer productions. MGM also absorbed William Randolph Hearst's Cosmo productions. When the studio was formed, it had the best stars on its payroll that included; Norma Shearer, Marion Davies, Buster Keaton, Ramon Navarro and others. The legend of Mayer as a ruthless egomaniac, and Thalberg as a young genius raised MGM to the pinnacles of success in American movie industry. "He who got slapped" was the first movie of the studio produced in Oct 1924. Greta Garbo was discovered by the studio in 1926 in Sweden. By 1927, she had become a star and theater owners and their patrons demanded to see more movies of Grabo. By this time she had grown into a business suave lady and demanded $5,000 a week salary from her initial salary of $600 a week. Louis B. Mayer soon realized that threats don't work and at last he met his match. Loretta Young started her movie career with MGM at the age of 15 in "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" opposite Lon Chaney. By 1929 MGM's profit zoomed to $12,107,026, a steady growth in revenue from 1927 indicated MGM was moving in the right direction. The "Trial of Mary Dugan" starring Norma Shearer is the first all dialogue picture MGM produced in 1929. In the same year when "Anna Christie" was released there was a buzz in the media that said "Garbo Talks" in the movies. Thousands of billboards went up across the country and the movie became a tremendous box office hit. The 1930 movie "The Divorcee" starring Norma Shearer reaped a fortune from public and won acclaim from movie critics. This highly controversial movie of that time won an academy award in best actress category for Norma Shearer. The 1930 movie "Minn and Bill," starring Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler was also a big box office success and Marie Dressler winning the best actress academy award. In 1932 MGM shook the industry by casting five top stars on its roaster in a single picture "The Grand Hotel." This was a huge box office success and won the best academy award in the best picture category. Making this movie was a shrewd and risk taking approach on the part of the studio during the height of great depression when every other studios were making losses on their investments. Jean Harlow made a string of very successful movies during 1932-35. "The Great Ziegfeld," an outstanding musical produced in 1936 was a staggering opulence. MGM paid $2 million for three hours of filming topping the cost of "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Ben-hur." "The Great Ziegfeld" was an outstanding success at the box office and won an academy award in the best movie category for MGM.
At the end, the book gives a list of musicals made by the studio and it is interesting to note that MGM is one the studios that made some of the best musicals. "The wizard of oz,' "Meet me in St Louis,' "The Great Ziegfeld," "The Barkley's of Broadway," Broadway Melodies of 1940," "Ziegfeld Follies, "Seven Brides for seven brothers, "Kiss me Kate," "Viva Las Vegas," "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," "Idiot's Delight," "A Date with Judy," "American Paris," "High Society," "Gigi," "Show Boat," "Good bye Mr Chips," Annie Got your Gun'" etc., were produced by MGM.
You can find all the facts and figures about the movies in chronological order including significant amount of information for each movie that shares some rare photographs, the work of actors, directors, and writers. The author of this fascinating book has done a monumental work of accumulating and archiving the materials.
This is an excellent reference book for your coffee table that gives the description of 1,738 movies produced by MGM studios from 1924-1981. These movies signify the success of American cinema and in many ways MGM stands out as the leader of the studio-pack. MGM became a wonderland and the wizards were Marcus Loew, studio head Louis B. Mayer, production chief Irving Thalberg, and president of the studio Nicholas Schenk. MGM was formed by the mergers of Loew's Inc., Goldwyn studios, and Louis B. Mayer productions. MGM also absorbed William Randolph Hearst's Cosmo productions. When the studio was formed, it had the best stars on its payroll that included; Norma Shearer, Marion Davies, Buster Keaton, Ramon Navarro and others. The legend of Mayer as a ruthless egomaniac, and Thalberg as a young genius raised MGM to the pinnacles of success in American movie industry. "He who got slapped" was the first movie of the studio produced in Oct 1924. Greta Garbo was discovered by the studio in 1926 in Sweden. By 1927, she had become a star and theater owners and their patrons demanded to see more movies of Grabo. By this time she had grown into a business suave lady and demanded $5,000 a week salary from her initial salary of $600 a week. Louis B. Mayer soon realized that threats don't work and at last he met his match. Loretta Young started her movie career with MGM at the age of 15 in "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" opposite Lon Chaney. By 1929 MGM's profit zoomed to $12,107,026, a steady growth in revenue from 1927 indicated MGM was moving in the right direction. The "Trial of Mary Dugan" starring Norma Shearer is the first all dialogue picture MGM produced in 1929. In the same year when "Anna Christie" was released there was a buzz in the media that said "Garbo Talks" in the movies. Thousands of billboards went up across the country and the movie became a tremendous box office hit. The 1930 movie "The Divorcee" starring Norma Shearer reaped a fortune from public and won acclaim from movie critics. This highly controversial movie of that time won an academy award in best actress category for Norma Shearer. The 1930 movie "Minn and Bill," starring Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler was also a big box office success and Marie Dressler winning the best actress academy award. In 1932 MGM shook the industry by casting five top stars on its roaster in a single picture "The Grand Hotel." This was a huge box office success and won the best academy award in the best picture category. Making this movie was a shrewd and risk taking approach on the part of the studio during the height of great depression when every other studios were making losses on their investments. Jean Harlow made a string of very successful movies during 1932-35. "The Great Ziegfeld," an outstanding musical produced in 1936 was a staggering opulence. MGM paid $2 million for three hours of filming topping the cost of "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Ben-hur." "The Great Ziegfeld" was an outstanding success at the box office and won an academy award in the best movie category for MGM.
At the end, the book gives a list of musicals made by the studio and it is interesting to note that MGM is one the studios that made some of the best musicals. "The wizard of oz,' "Meet me in St Louis,' "The Great Ziegfeld," "The Barkley's of Broadway," Broadway Melodies of 1940," "Ziegfeld Follies, "Seven Brides for seven brothers, "Kiss me Kate," "Viva Las Vegas," "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," "Idiot's Delight," "A Date with Judy," "American Paris," "High Society," "Gigi," "Show Boat," "Good bye Mr Chips," Annie Got your Gun'" etc., were produced by MGM.
You can find all the facts and figures about the movies in chronological order including significant amount of information for each movie that shares some rare photographs, the work of actors, directors, and writers. The author of this fascinating book has done a monumental work of accumulating and archiving the materials.
November 4, 2019
I have owned this book for over 45 years. I bought it when it came out and used to peruse it all the time, especially if I saw some movie on TV and I wanted to find out more about it. This was before the Internet age remember.
I recently pulled it off my shelf to take another look after finishing a fabulous 2019 book called "Forbidden Hollywood - When Sin Ruled the Movies." Some of MGM's most successful films during the early 1930's suffered the wrath of the censors. So I just had to waltz down memory lane once again. My copy covers MGM from 1924-1974 with loads of photos. I see it was reprinted in the 80's so mine is the earlier edition. I do not know if this book is still in print but if you can find it at a thrift store, it will be worth the money.
I recently pulled it off my shelf to take another look after finishing a fabulous 2019 book called "Forbidden Hollywood - When Sin Ruled the Movies." Some of MGM's most successful films during the early 1930's suffered the wrath of the censors. So I just had to waltz down memory lane once again. My copy covers MGM from 1924-1974 with loads of photos. I see it was reprinted in the 80's so mine is the earlier edition. I do not know if this book is still in print but if you can find it at a thrift store, it will be worth the money.
January 25, 2021
I read the book from page to page as I am a big believer that coffee table books should not just merely be ornaments but be read. It provides an overview of MGM's entire filmography during this period through plot summaries. I read this book with the intent of learning more about film history and discovering movies to watch. Reading this book led me to accomplish both of these goals. This book is the best it could be for what it was trying to be. The only reason this book is a 3/5 is because there were a lot of film made that were uninteresting.
May 5, 2024
A nicely low-key and mellow scan through the long and august history of Leo's studio, thankfully free of the acerbic bent which other studio accounts have been known to exhibit. At most Eames tosses off a whimsically sly little shot every once in a while (although he does tend to lean on the phrase "the masses" a bit too often...and it's true that it's not always especially easy determining what text goes with which pic, and the synopses do seem a bit sparse at times).
PS My copy is actually a hardback.
PS My copy is actually a hardback.
November 27, 2019
A great encyclopedia of all the early MGM films!
June 19, 2021
Old movie buffs, this is your book. Reliving my father in law’s career as a special effects man at this fabulous studio.
January 14, 2011
Excellent resource for film buffs on the history and films of metro Goldwyn Mayer.
May 22, 2011
I have always enjoyed watching and reading about clssic movies so this book is one of my long time keepers.
July 20, 2012
A pretty amazing must-have for any classic film fan :D
April 26, 2016
Super
August 29, 2019
I grew up on MGM films, and this is an exceptionally good rundown of films for each year of its history.
Read for the first time in 1995.
Read for the first time in 1995.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews