The footage is invaluable. This is a tribute to Hollywood stars from the silent era to the present (1938). Some of the stars - especially the silent ones - will not be recognized by modern audiences. Heck, I bet some of them were not recognized in 1938 when this short was made.
Since it was made by MGM, there is an emphasis on MGM's stars, and in the case where a star has died, their death is also mentioned. If they had a career of tremendous ups and downs, such as in the case of Wally Beery, that is mentioned too.
If I have one criticism it is that there is "silent film style" music accompanying all of the film clips, even the ones that had sound. For example, if I didn't know better I'd think "Dinner at Eight" was a silent film since there is no dialogue shown in these clips, just the musical accompaniment.
Jean Harlow is singled out at the end, mentioning her accomplishments and the fact that she had died young, with the last scene being a bit over the top and consisting of a close up with her face with what looks like sun rays radiating from it. This is probably because she did die so suddenly and young, and this was made only one year after her death.
If you do like looking at rare film footage I would say this one is worth looking at.
1 out of 1 found this helpful