This isn't really a feature film. It's actually an amalgamation of shorts tied together by a flimsy and unfunny storyline about actor Frank Morgan (playing himself) producing his first movie at MGM. There are five shorts in all, four musical vignettes (Eleanor Powell, Lucille Norman & Carlos Ramirez, the King Sisters, and Virginia O'Brien and Tommy Dorsey), a Pete Smith short ("Badminton"), and a "Passing Parade" short ("Our Old Car").
It's hard to understand why MGM would bother doing this, when those shorts could have been shown separately before their feature films. In any case, it doesn't work. None of the shorts are first rate, while the silly Morgan storyline is painful to watch. But not all is lost. "The Great Morgan" allows us to take a rare glimpse at a few behind-the-scenes MGM workers: sound recorder Douglas Shearer (Norma's brother), art director Cedric Gibbons, and costume designer Irene. Too bad Louis B. Mayer didn't play himself (a more dignified movie equivalent is played by Leon Ames). Also, there's a clever (and bizarre) twist at the end involving Leo, the lion, and the ever-befuddled Frank Morgan. That one last minute is worth seeing -- else, you won't believe it.
It's hard to understand why MGM would bother doing this, when those shorts could have been shown separately before their feature films. In any case, it doesn't work. None of the shorts are first rate, while the silly Morgan storyline is painful to watch. But not all is lost. "The Great Morgan" allows us to take a rare glimpse at a few behind-the-scenes MGM workers: sound recorder Douglas Shearer (Norma's brother), art director Cedric Gibbons, and costume designer Irene. Too bad Louis B. Mayer didn't play himself (a more dignified movie equivalent is played by Leon Ames). Also, there's a clever (and bizarre) twist at the end involving Leo, the lion, and the ever-befuddled Frank Morgan. That one last minute is worth seeing -- else, you won't believe it.