Golden Age Hollywood Musicals Collection
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- That's Entertainment (1974) was directed by Jack Haley Jr. and compiled MGM musical highlights from 1929 to 1958.
- Fred Astaire starred in 31 musical films between 1933 and 1968, including Top Hat (1935) and Funny Face (1957).
- Easter Parade (1948) paired Astaire with Judy Garland and featured 17 Irving Berlin songs.
- My Fair Lady won eight Academy Awards in 1965, including Best Picture and Best Director for George Cukor.
- Mary Poppins (1964) blended live action and animation, earning Julie Andrews the Best Actress Oscar.
- Gene Kelly choreographed and starred in Singin' in the Rain (1952), widely considered the greatest movie musical ever made.
That's Entertainment (1974) — Warner Home Video
The ultimate MGM highlight reel, two hours of pure dopamine. Jack Haley Jr. stitched together clips from The Wizard of Oz (1939), An American in Paris, and dozens of lesser-known gems, with narration from Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Bing Crosby. You get Eleanor Powell tap-dancing on a drum kit, Esther Williams in a sequined swimsuit, and Judy Garland at peak tremolo — all in glorious film grain. It's the kind of documentary you put on when you need proof that Hollywood once built entire soundstages just to watch people sing about love on a painted Paris street. Explore our current copy of That's Entertainment. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) — Warner Home Video
More of the same magic, plus outtakes and comedy bits MGM buried in the vault. This sequel digs deeper — deleted musical numbers from Royal Wedding (1951), bloopers from The Pirate (1948), even a Greta Garbo dance scene that never made the final cut. Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire host together, which alone is worth the runtime. If Part I was the greatest hits album, Part II is the deluxe edition with liner notes. The behind-the-scenes footage reminds you these weren't just films — they were feats of engineering, with rotating sets and hidden wires and dancers rehearsing until their feet bled. Explore our current copy of That's Entertainment, Part II. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
That's Entertainment III (1994) — Warner Home Video
The trilogy closer, released 20 years later to scrape every last gem from the MGM archives. This one expands beyond musicals — you get comedy sketches from the Marx Brothers, dramatic monologues from Spencer Tracy, even a scene from The Thin Man (1934). The musical segments are still the heart of it: Lena Horne singing "Stormy Weather" from Cabin in the Sky (1943), Cyd Charisse's legs in The Band Wagon (1953). By 1994, most of the original stars were gone, so the narration shifts to archival interviews and wistful voiceover. It's elegiac in a way the first two weren't — a studio mourning its own golden age. Explore our current copy of That's Entertainment III. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
Fred Astaire [DVD] — Warner Home Video
A standalone collection devoted to the man who made tap dancing look like antigravity research. This Warner Home Video compilation pulls scenes from Top Hat, Swing Time (1936), and The Band Wagon — the holy trinity of Astaire's peak years. You also get rarities like his duet with Joan Crawford in Dancing Lady (1933) and the ceiling-dance scene from Royal Wedding. Astaire's genius wasn't just the footwork — it was the way he made impossible choreography feel conversational, like he was tapping out a joke only you could hear. As of May 2026, this DVD remains the cleanest entry point if you've only ever seen Astaire in clips. Explore our current copy of Fred Astaire. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
Mary Poppins (1964) [DVD] — Disney
The movie that proved Julie Andrews could out-sing, out-dance, and out-charm the entire MGM back catalogue. Walt Disney blended live action with hand-drawn animation, dropped in a chimney-sweep ballet on the rooftops of London, and somehow made "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" a word people still sing in 2025. Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent is famously terrible, but his physicality — especially the penguin dance sequence — is pure vaudeville. The film won five Oscars, including Best Actress for Andrews, and kicked off Disney's live-action musical empire. It's saccharine, sure, but the kind of saccharine that sticks. Explore our current copy of Mary Poppins. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
My Fair Lady (1964) [DVD] — Universal
Rex Harrison talk-singing his way through Pygmalion, with Audrey Hepburn in the biggest hats you've ever seen. George Cukor's adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe musical is all Edwardian manners and class warfare, wrapped in Cecil Beaton's Oscar-winning costumes. The controversy: Hepburn's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, which infuriated critics and probably cost her the Oscar. The triumph: Harrison's Professor Higgins is the perfect mix of condescension and charm, and "The Rain in Spain" still slaps. It swept the 1965 Oscars with eight wins, including Best Picture. Explore our current copy of My Fair Lady. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
Easter Parade (1948) [DVD] — Warner Home Video
Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in Technicolor, tap-dancing to 17 Irving Berlin songs about hats and parades. Originally slated for Gene Kelly, Astaire came out of retirement after Kelly broke his ankle, and the result is one of the warmest musicals MGM ever made. Garland plays a chorus girl Astaire molds into a star — shades of My Fair Lady, but with more heart and less elocution. The "Steppin' Out with My Baby" number, shot in slow motion while Astaire dances at full speed, is a technical marvel. Ann Miller shows up to steal scenes in a polka-dot dress. It's frothy, glossy, and exactly what post-war audiences wanted. Explore our current copy of Easter Parade. Browse more Photography & Film books at Patina.
Golden age Hollywood musicals are the ultimate comfort food — overproduced, over-the-top, and utterly committed to the bit. Whether you're bingeing the That's Entertainment trilogy or cherry-picking Fred Astaire's greatest hits, you're stepping into a world where problems are solved with a ballad and a time step. Shop all Photography & Film books at Patina Paperbacks →
Where can I buy classic Hollywood musicals on DVD in Australia?
Patina Paperbacks stocks preloved DVDs of golden age musicals, including Fred Astaire collections, the That's Entertainment trilogy, and Disney classics like Mary Poppins. We ship Australia-wide from Sydney, so you don't need to trawl op shops or wait on overseas postage. Stock rotates weekly, so what's listed today might be gone tomorrow — that's the nature of secondhand.
What's the difference between the three That's Entertainment films?
The first (1974) is the greatest-hits compilation — pure MGM musical clips from 1929 to 1958. Part II (1976) digs into outtakes and deleted scenes, plus comedy bits from the Marx Brothers and Laurel & Hardy. Part III (1994) expands beyond musicals to include drama and comedy, with more archival interviews and a wistful tone. If you only watch one, start with the 1974 original — it's the purest distillation of what made MGM musicals iconic.
Are Fred Astaire movies worth watching if I'm not into old films?
Honestly, yes. Astaire's choreography holds up because it's not nostalgic — it's genuinely impressive. The man danced on ceilings, up walls, and with coat racks, and the camera filmed it all in long, unbroken takes. If you've ever watched a modern action sequence cut into 47 shaky frames, Astaire's work feels like a masterclass in restraint. Start with Top Hat (1935) or Swing Time (1936) — both are under 100 minutes and packed with routines that still look impossible.
Why do golden age musicals look better on DVD than streaming?
Film grain. Older DVDs were mastered from 35mm prints, so you get the texture and warmth of actual film stock. Streaming services often compress golden age titles or pull from lower-quality digital transfers, which smooths out the grain and makes everything look weirdly plastic. If you care about how These films were meant to look — Technicolor saturation, deep blacks, visible texture — physical media is still the move.
What other musicals should I watch if I loved Easter Parade?
Try Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) for more Judy Garland, or An American in Paris (1951) for Gene Kelly at his peak. If you want something closer to Easter Parade's vibe — light, romantic, heavy on Irving Berlin — check out Holiday Inn (1942) with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. For pure spectacle, nothing beats Singin' in the Rain (1952), which is less a musical and more a thesis statement on why musicals matter.