鈥淭he 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood: Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos,鈥� by Steven Bingen (Lyons Press)
The title of film historian Steven Bingen鈥檚 new book is reminiscent of B-movie trailers of the 1950s that breathlessly hype 鈥淭he Most Important Picture of the Year!鈥� But like many of those overripe flicks, 鈥淭he 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood鈥� can be entertaining, too.
The qualifications for getting on the list are surprisingly squishy. Bingen doesn鈥檛 limit himself to the 鈥渞eal鈥� Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions created by or inside the legendary Culver City studio ruled by moguls like Louis B. Mayer. He writes as if any milestone in MGM鈥檚 journey 鈥� success or failure, trendsetter or swan song 鈥� is transformative given MGM鈥檚 starring role in Hollywood history.
He also counts 鈥渇ilms鈥� as theatrical releases, television productions, cartoons and documentaries financed, distributed or later acquired by MGM throughout its corporate history. That means MGM stalwarts like 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz鈥� (1939) and 鈥淔orbidden Planet" (1956) sit side by side with 鈥淒r. No鈥� (1962), first of the James Bond films released by United Artists but acquired years later by MGM. Stepfathers don鈥檛 get credit for raising children if they鈥檙e already out of the house.
Such dings aside, Bingen鈥檚 book offers thoughtful essays sprinkled with fun trivia:
鈥� The first 鈥渙fficial鈥� MGM production was the bizarre silent feature 鈥淗e Who Gets Slapped鈥� (1924) in which Lon Chaney plays a disturbed clown whose entire act is鈥� getting slapped.
鈥� 鈥淲hite Shadows in the South Seas鈥� (1928), filmed in Tahiti, was a forerunner of expensive location shoots and featured the first audible roar from MGM鈥檚 Leo the Lion.
鈥� Despite being the first big-budget feature with an all-Black cast, 鈥淗allelujah鈥� (1929) succumbs to many of the stereotypes of its day. However, leading lady Nina Mae McKinney鈥檚 star-turn landed her the first five-year contract for any Black actor.
鈥� 鈥淔reaks鈥� (1932) was a proto-cult film, so unsettling with its cast of real-life human oddities that it cratered financially. At the other end of the box office spectrum that year, the hit 鈥淕rand Hotel鈥� (1932) popularized the 鈥渁ll-star cast.鈥�
鈥� The highly profitable Andy Hardy series of 15 films over 10 years starring Mickey Rooney was a grandfather of the TV sitcom. The fourth, 鈥淟ove Finds Andy Hardy鈥� (1938), may have been the best.
鈥� The stars of 鈥淧uss Gets the Boot鈥� (1940), a cat-and-mouse animated short designed to compete with Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons, were eventually refined and renamed Tom and Jerry.
Bingen鈥檚 best analyses come when he sidesteps the chronology to juxtapose related films to achieve greater salience for both, such as examining the divergence between the World War II standard 鈥淏attleground鈥� (1949) and the more elegiac 鈥淭he Red Badge of Courage鈥� (1951). Listed separately are the pro-British 鈥淢rs. Miniver鈥� (1942) and the pro-Soviet 鈥淪ong of Russia鈥� (1944). Both naked propaganda, the former landed its writers an Oscar while the latter helped land its writers on the blacklist.
鈥�50 MGM Films鈥� can descend into flabby writing and occasional errors. For instance, the Frank Sinatra fans who bedeviled production of 鈥淥n the Town鈥� (1949) were 鈥渂obby-soxers,鈥� not 鈥渢eenyboppers.鈥� The Robert Taylor film 鈥淨uo Vadis鈥� (1951) was not a 鈥済ladiator epic.鈥� And by no means was HAL 9000 a 鈥渞obot鈥� in 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey鈥� (1968).
Hardcore aficionados and budding cinephiles alike can enjoy Bingen鈥檚 informed take on titles that often show up on the cable channel TCM. 鈥�50 MGM Films鈥� proves that strands of the studio鈥檚 corporate and creative DNA continue to influence today鈥檚 entertainment.
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Douglass K. Daniel is the author of 鈥淎nne Bancroft: A Life鈥� (University Press of Kentucky)
Douglass K. Daniel, The Associated Press
