“More stars than there are in heaven” was the MGM motto in the 1930s; not only was the studio's array of contract acting talent staggering, but MGM assembled a coterie of great film artists, from directors to technicians, who together developed the look, the sound, the light and the tempo that were to set the style for Hollywood filmmaking almost from the studio's inception in 1924, and for decades to follow. In paying tribute to MGM in its 60th year, its “diamond jubilee,” PFA also acknowledges the studio as a leader in the all-important realm of film preservation, for their generosity in making preserved studio vault prints available for archival use, as well as their serious and continuing effort to make new prints of classics and rediscovered gems. Our tribute represents only a tiny part of MGM's enormous output over 60 years; from the lavish musical to the polished melodrama to the “B” gangster film, all are presented in fine, sometimes new 35mm prints. The series continues into September, when we will present early films from the MGM collection as well as revivals from the 1950s through the '70s.
