The MGM Blogathon is Here!

Kick up your heels and start singin' in the rain, for the MGM Blogathon is here!! 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, founded in 1924, is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood and certainly ranks as the best in movie-making history. To celebrate this legendary establishment, we are hosting The MGM Blogathon, a three-day event featuring wonderful posts about the marvelous films that they made and the talented people that called MGM their home.

Below you will find the entries listed in no particular order. Since the event will take place over three days ( June 26th-28th ), we will be adding the links to the posts as they are published. 

If you missed the blogathon announcement and want to add a post during or after the blogathon has ended, just shoot us an email and we will be glad to add your post to the list. 

So without more ado.....here are the entries! Scroll down below for snippets.

THE MASTER LIST

Behind-the-Scenes at MGM - Silver Scenes

The MGM Costume and Prop Auction of 1970 - Taking Up Room

Irving Thalberg, MGM's Boy Genius - The Lady Eve

Dancing Lady ( 1933 ) - Critica Retro

After the Thin Man ( 1936 ) - Hamlette's Soliloquy

A Day at the Races ( 1937 ) - Critica Retro

An American in Paris ( 1951 ) - Silver Screen Modes

Father's Little Dividend ( 1951 ) - Realweegiemidget Reviews

Scaramouche ( 1952 ) - The Caffeinated Fangirl

36 Hours ( 1965 ) - Classic Film & TV Cafe

A Brief History of the MGM Lion(s) - Silver Screenings

Jean Harlow - The First Blonde Bombshell - Whimsically Classic

Joan Crawford: Channeling the Spirit of Norma Desmond - A Person in the Dark 

Six Fun Eleanor Powell Dance Numbers - The Story Enthusiast

Garbo, Gilbert, and MGM - Critica Retro 

The Production of the Silent Epic "Ben-Hur" - The Cinema Century

Arthur Freed and The Freed Unit at MGM - Silver Scenes

First, take a look at some candid snapshots taken on the set of famous MGM films with our Behind-the-Scenes at MGM post. It must have been a wonderful studio to work at. 

Taking Up Room tells us the story of The 1970 MGM Auction and how the Hollywood villain Kirk Kerkorian almost single-handedly dismantled MGM as a film studio. 

Critica Retro shares with us a review of Dancing Lady ( 1933 ), a milestone in Joan Crawford's film career. 

What would MGM have been without The Thin Man series? This low-budget 1934 film reaped such profits at the box office that the studio reunited William Powell and Myrna Loy for five sequels...the first of which was After the Thin Man ( 1936 ), reviewed here by Hamlette's Soliloquy.

One of the most popular comedy teams at MGM was undoubtedly The Marx Brothers, and one of their best films is reviewed by Critica Retro: A Day at the Races ( 1937 )

Gene Kelly made his home at MGM studios as well and Silver Screen Modes shares with us an excellent look at the making of the Academy Award winning, An American in Paris ( 1951 ). 

Father of the Bride was a big hit for MGM stars Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor. The wedding at the end of the film clearly hinted that a sequel was to come....and within a year it was released. Realweegiemidget Reviews gives us the story of Father's Little Dividend ( 1951 ). 

Warner Brothers Studio had Errol Flynn, but MGM had Stewart Granger, an English import who specialized in swashbucklers. Scaramouche was one of his best and to this day it remains one of the finest screen tellings of Raphael Sabatini's novel. The Caffeinated Fangirl shares her review of this classic. 

MGM produced films of all genres and Rick at the Classic Film and TV Cafe shares his review of the taut James Garner WWII thriller 36 Hours ( 1965 ).

Everyone can recognize MGM's famous logo with the roaring lion but do you know the name of that lion....or that there were multiple ones used throughout the years? Ruth gives us A Brief History of the MGM Lions over at her blog, Silver Screenings.

MGM's shining star Jean Harlow was the first and most famous of the "blonde bombshells" and Whimsically Classic shares with us an excellent bio of this talented actress with her post Jean Harlow - The First Blonde Bombshell.

What makes a star a "star"? Norma Desmond knew what it took...and A Person in the Dark convinces us that Joan Crawford knew the secret formula as well. She shares her thoughts in her post Joan Crawford - Channeling the Spirit of Norma Desmond.

Behind-the-Scenes at MGM

The MGM Blogathon is taking place today right here on Silver Scenes, so we thought we'd kick off the event with a photographic peek behind-the-scenes at one of the most famous film studios in the world. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded in 1924 after Marcus Loew merged Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. They hired a number of well-known actors of the time, as well as top-notch screenwriters, plunged lots of money into lavish sets, and then, with the benefit of Loew's own nationwide chain of motion picture theaters, released the films they made to the public, catapulting MGM into the top studio of the 1920s. 

The MGM logo bearing the famous roar of Leo the Lion was the trademark of a studio of quality. At MGM, there were no "B" films, all of their films were "A" productions or secondary features ( e.g. the Maisie or the Andy Hardy series ) made with just as much care but on a lower budget. 

For years, they reigned as the best studio in Hollywood, one which any actor longed to have a contract with. And then, in the 1950s, with the death of Louis B. Mayer and the dismissal of studio head Dore Schary, MGM began to flounder, relying heavily on big-budget productions such as Ben-Hur to give the studio a profit. By the 1960s, they were just a shadow of the wonderful studio they once were. In 2024, MGM will be celebrating its 100th anniversary, but clearly its golden age is over, so let's take a trip down memory lane by seeing a view of the MGM studios the audience rarely got to see - the behind-the-scenes view. 

Enjoy! 

King Vidor directing John Gilbert in one of MGM's first major productions, The Big Parade ( 1925 )

Greta Garbo, soon to become MGM's biggest star, is looking a little anxious to be sitting so close to Leo the Lion

Tarzan tries to make love to Jane but he has a lot of onlookers

The MGM Wardrobe Department as seen in the early 1930s

Lace-makers are busy working on the bridal veil for Helen Hayes in White Sister ( 1933 )

W.S. Van Dyke directs William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man ( 1934 ), a film that launched one of the studio's most popular series

Norma Shearer getting a bite of lunch between scenes during the filming of Marie Antionette ( 1936 )

Leslie Howard on the ( massive ) set of Romeo and Juliet ( 1936 )

Studio head Louis B. Mayer playing a game of Sunday baseball with producer Irving Thalberg 

Director George Cukor and producer Hunt Stromberg with the "women" from The Women ( 1939 )

Lewis Stone celebrating his birthday on the set of one of the Andy Hardy films, another popular series

Basil Rathbone and Angela Lansbury enjoy some steak and hamburgers at the MGM commissary

Judy Garland displaying her ballgown for Little Nellie Kelly ( 1942 )

Frank Sinatra discusses a scene with director George Sidney on the set of Anchors Aweigh ( 1945 )

Greer Garson is getting a view from the scaffolding on the set of That Forsythe Woman ( 1949 )

Some of MGM's stars gathered for the studio's 25th anniversary....see how many you can recognize!

The Irving Thalberg Building at the MGM Studios at Culver City

Acting certainly isn't a private affair! William Welman directs the cast in this scene from The Next Voice You Hear ( 1950 )

Gene Kelly gets to take a seat in the cameraman's chair on the set of An American in Paris ( 1951 )

Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, and the Show Boat ( 1951 ) cast gather for a publicity photo

Esther Williams being filmed by a special underwater camera

Louis Jourdan and Leslie Carton share a laugh during the making of Gigi ( 1958 )

Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman look over the script on the set of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ( 1958 )

Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd at the premiere of Ben-Hur ( 1959 )

The crew filming Carroll Baker in a scene from How the West Was Won ( 1962 ), one of MGM's last great epics

Announcing The MGM Blogathon!

Get Ready to Roar! 

To celebrate one of the greatest film studios of Hollywood, the grand-daddy of them all, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Silver Scenes will be hosting The MGM Blogathon that will take place right smack In the Good Ol' Summertime - June 26-28th, 2022. 

It will be a three-day event celebrating the great stars, character actors, films, and behind-the-scenes personnel from the golden age of MGM: 1925-1959. Between these years when Leo the Lion heralded a film, audiences knew they were in for a treat. 

From the fledgling days of MGM, through the wonder years of Irving Thalberg, on up until the collapse of the studio system in the late 1950s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made its mark in the film industry with quality productions, a galaxy of stars covering all ages, and publicity campaigns that were like no other. Poignant romances ( Waterloo Bridge, Camille ), ambitious spectacles ( Marie Antionette, The Good Earth ), and entertaining musicals ( Rose Marie, Million Dollar Mermaid ) shot out of the studio at lightning speed and set the mark for other studios to follow. 

As has often been noted, MGM never made a "B" film. There were secondary flicks such as The Thin Man or Calling Dr. Kildare, but no matter how low the budget, all films proudly bore the MGM stamp of excellence. A studio with such standards deserves a whale of a good celebration and what better way to celebrate than through the written word.

The MGM Blogathon will take place during that Strange Interlude between the start of summer and the Fourth of July: June 26-28th. You can submit as many posts as you'd like for we'll be gathering a Random Harvest of MGM-themed articles. And, just to show we have Sporting Blood, we're going to select a random participating blogger and award them with an original vintage MGM photo from the Silverbanks Pictures Archives.

Note: Only posts submitted between June 26-28th will be eligible for the award.

Are there any rules to this blogathon? Heck no! Listen Darling, you can write about any topic you want just so long as it has to do with MGM. If you want to write about an experience/memory watching an MGM film that is alright too. But since it's going to be a Big Parade and we'd like to cut down on the Greed, we have this one request to make: no two participants can write about the same film or star. Make your choices quickly then, for when a topic is gone, it's Gone with the Wind.

Why, we're so generous with the rules that if you want to join in on the fun AFTER the blogathon ends, you're welcome! If Winter Comes and we're still getting submissions we'll be happy. There are no Forbidden Hours nor forbidden bloggers. All are welcome...the Bad and the Beautiful, Freaks, and even Laughing Sinners. No Invitation is needed, no topic is Too Hot to Handle and there are No Questions Asked ( but all will be answered ). We want to create a spot for classic film fans to find great posts on their favorite MGM films, all in one place. The celebration will be lasting all year long!

If you want to join in on the fun: just click on the comment box below and leave your name, blog site and the topic you would like to write about. You can also email us at silverbankspictures at gmail ( you know the rest ).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced some of the greatest films in cinema's history; featured more stars than there were in the heavens; and had some of the most talented directors, producers, screenwriters, and technicians the world has ever known....but just in case you can't think of any ideas at the moment, here are some suggestions:

Stars: Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Van Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Mickey Rooney, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, Jane Powell, John Barrymore, Lon Chaney, Spencer Tracy, Fred Astaire, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jean Harlow, Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy.

Films: The Women, Gigi, Ben-Hur, Singin' in the Rain, When Ladies Meet, A Date with Judy, Mogambo, Mrs. Miniver, Elephant Walk, National Velvet, State of the Union, The Three Musketeers, Daddy Long Legs, An American in Paris, Chained, Dinner at Eight, Manhattan Melodrama, Queen Christina, The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Grand Hotel, He Who Gets Slapped, Naughty Marietta, Waterloo Bridge, Camille, The Good Earth.

Series: Andy Hardy, Tarzan, Maisie, The Thin Man, The Little Rascals, The Fast Series, Dr. Kildare, Tom and Jerry, Lassie.

Behind-the-Scenes: Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg, Douglas Shearer, William Tuttle, Cedric Gibbons, Helen Rose, Dorothy Jeakins, James Wong Howe, Natalie Kalmus, Victor Fleming, Clarence Brown, Busby Berkeley, George Cukor, Arthur Hornblow Jr., Irving Berlin.
 

Wikipedia also has a small sampling of MGM films listed here, and if you really want to be The Prince of Adventurers then you can head on over to IMDB.com and stay up to The Thirteenth Hour perusing their list of MGM titles.

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Now that you've heard the Good News, it's time to Get Happy and join The Band Wagon! Beg, Borrow, and Steal an idea if you have to ( although we don't recommend stealing Personal Property ) but let's celebrate this monumental studio in style!

Banners are available below, so please post them on your site and help promote this roaring good event!

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