This report is on the PBS special Great Performances - Musicals Great Musicals/Arthur Freed Unit at MGM. The program talked about Arthur Freed, described many of the musicals he produced, and detailed the organization he created.

Although little of Arthur Freed's personal life was discussed, the program did talk about his career. Arthur Freed was a talented person. He acted, played music, and sang, but his primary discipline was song writing. He worked with the Marx brothers and later on with Gus Edwards. How he came to MGM and how he managed to gain control of the movie-musical division was not mentioned. However, his ability to produce the best musicals developed because he appreciated others' talents. This was the key to his success.

Before Arthur Freed, most movie-musicals had a plot and also had dance, but these two elements were not truly combined. Freed revolutionized the movie-musical by integrating music and dance with the plot and creating one big story. He chose pop music from the time (as opposed to classical), usually had a tap dance number, and created innovative and experimental camera shots and scenes.

Arthur Freed was a conductor of people. He developed a "cabinet" of people around to him, who created what he dreamed. Most of these people had been working on Broadway, and were lured away to bring the Broadway feel to the movies. Three people of particular note were Vincente Minnelli, Rodger Edens, and Charles Walters. Minnelli is probably the most known, in that he directed many of Freed's famous movies. Edens wrote music and made musical arrangements, while Walters choreographed many of the amazing dance sequences which Freed's movies became famous for.

The program had scenes from many of Freed's productions. To comment on each of them would take too much space, but a mention of some of them is necessary to illustrate what he accomplished. For The Wizard of Oz he wanted Judy Garland, and he got her. He then took the Broadway smash Babes in Arms by Rodgers and Hart, and converted it to the big screen starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Along with Busby Berkley, he produced several very successful Rooney/Garland shows.

The show that really launched the Freed unit was Meet Me in St. Louis, which featured the classic "Trolley Song." It also echoed the "there's no place like home" theme of The Wizard of Oz. The Ziegfeld Follies was more than its Broadway counterpart. It had music, comedy sketches, and was extravagant (there was even a dance scene with mountains of soap bubbles!). The orchestration was outstanding and the production huge. To top it off, it featured the top stars of the generation, including Fred Astaire and Lucille Ball.

MGM had become the pinnacle of showbiz, and all of the top stars flocked to work with Arthur Freed. As previously mentioned, much of his success lay in the fact that he was interested in cutting edge music, not classical. Arthur Freed was also very loyal to those whom he worked with. An often cited example is Judy Garland. Although she had drug problems, Freed still protected her, and even tried to have her star in Annie Get Your Gun.

The Freed unit continued to dazzle people. Originally on Broadway with a score by Leonard Bernstein, On The Town became one of the most spectacular Freed movies made. After opening night, one of the other MGM units called the Arthur Freed unit the "royal family."

Arthur Freed brought fantasy to reality. An American in Paris is a prime example of the amazing things the Freed unit put together. It had a score by George Gershwin, starred Gene Kelly, and included a ballet which reflected French Impressionism artwork. It won six Academy Awards. Probably his most famous production is Singing in the Rain. What can one say! Another movie, The Band Wagon, was unique in that it was a comedy about the theater, by people who had been in theater (recall that Freed recruited most of his talent from Broadway). It was a fusion of dance and ballet, and along with Gene Kelly, revolutionized dancing.

Unfortunately musicals were on their way out. It's Always Fair Weather marked the downward trend of musicals falling out of favor with the public. Additionally, administration problems at MGM made producing huge musicals almost impossible. Gigi was Freed's final success, despite the administration's efforts to kill the movie. It was filmed in Paris, was huge and lavish like his earlier musicals, and earned nine Oscars.

I enjoyed the program a lot. Almost every movie-musical seemed to be featured, which is a testament to Arthur Freed and the group of people he led. The comments by the people who helped create those fantastic movies were interesting and insightful.

Mordechai Cohen
HS 495U Musical Theater
Professor Dyskow
13 December 1997

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