Star-filled revue features music and comedy
Musical revues became popular in the theater and later in early sound films. Studios eager to sell the new-fangled talkies put their stars in specialty numbers in movies advertised as “all talking, all singing, all dancing.” Eventually, the public tired of the revue film and producers embraced traditional narratives with musical numbers interpolated at appropriate moments. For “Ziegfeld Follies,” MGM revived the revue form, drawing upon its extraordinary pool of talent to showcase its biggest stars.<br /><br />The film opens with impresario Flo Ziegfeld (William Powell, reprising his role from 1936’s “The Great Ziegfeld”) looking down from Heaven, wishing he could put together one final production packed with stars and songs. This leads into Fred Astaire singing “Bring on the Beautiful Girls” as a carousel wedding cake of girls attired in pink with enormous headdresses, Cyd Charisse dancing on pointe, and Lucille Ball standing atop a white horse majestically recreate a Ziegfeld staging. A series of unrelated comedy and musical sequences follows.<br /><br />A water ballet by Esther Williams, modest by comparison to her MGM extravaganzas, precedes a stiffly staged operatic selection by James Melton and Marion Bell. A comedy skit called “Pay the Two Dollars” stars Edward Arnold as a lawyer refusing to let his client Victor Moore pay a fine, resulting in the client’s landing in jail. Other comedy skits, one starring Keenan Wynn, the other Red Skelton, are long and not especially funny. A production number, “The Great Lady Has an Interview,” stars Judy Garland as a Greer Garson-style star of dramatic films who is being interviewed by a bevy of chorus boys, but Garland’s talent is wasted on uninspired material.<br /><br />“Limehouse Blues,” a dramatic musical pantomime set in a stylized Chinatown, stars Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer in Asian make-up. Astaire is shot during a robbery and imagines himself dancing with a beautiful woman he has just glimpsed briefly. We see him in a red costume, surrounded by darkness, until he reaches his beloved, they touch and the stage is flooded with light, revealing a yellow and blue set. The dancers are magnetic but the number is over-produced.<br /><br />The best sequences are three other musical numbers. Lena Horne sings “Love,” by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, in a Caribbean setting. After a barroom scuffle the camera pans to Horne, who sings about how “love can be a moment’s madness…a life of sadness and pain…an endless fountain of youth” as she walks through the smoke-filled bar and seems to sing directly to the patrons. The number ends with a dazzling close-up of Horne’s radiant face.<br /><br />“This Heart of Mine,” subtitled a dance story, features Fred Astaire as a gentleman jewel thief who preys on the guests at a formal ball. He zeroes in on the beautiful, bejeweled Lucille Bremer and, after a fantastic duet with her, steals a kiss — and her bracelet. When they’re about to part, she calmly removes her necklace and gives it to him. He is dumbfounded but soon sweeps her into his arms. The song by Harry Warren and Arthur Freed is a perfect choice for the romantic scenario and the set design spectacular. A couple of treadmills in the dance floor allow for some fancy movements.<br /><br />“The Babbit and the Bromide” was the first time Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly danced together on screen. They would reunite for a bit of fancy footwork in “That’s Entertainment, Part 2.” In this number, the two dancers kid each other before getting into character as a couple of fellows who run into each other at ten-year intervals and make generic small talk, not saying anything significant. The dance number is spirited and is a great opportunity to see these two giants dance together.<br /><br />The film ends with Kathryn Grayson warbling “Beauty” as dancers swirl through massive mounds of bubbles, clouds appear on process screens, rocks glitter, and Dali-esque women pose against forced-perspective sets. It’s a garish conclusion to a film that bears the name of the showman famous for his theatrical excess.<br /><br />Bonus materials on the unrated Blu-ray release include the featurette “Ziegfeld Follies: An Embarrassment of Riches;” a vintage “Crime Does Not Pay” short; 2 cartoons; audio-only outtakes; and the film’s original theatrical trailer.<br /><br />“Ziegfeld Follies” is a pot pourri, stuffed with every form of entertainment the studio could think of in a two-hour format. The film’s vast star power was intended to draw audiences, and it did. The comedy sketches have not aged as well as the musical sequences, which seem timeless. It’s fun to see so many stars “under one roof.” The film is both a treat for fans of musicals and a fascinating curiosity.
The movie title "Ziegfeld Follies [Blu-ray]," available on Movies & TV, has received an average rating of 4.4 from 588 reviewers. 
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This title falls under the categories of Movies & TV, Featured Categories, Blu-ray and Comedy. 
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 {"Genre": "Comedy, Musicals & Performing Arts/Musicals/General", "Format": "Blu-ray", "Contributor": "Fred Astaire, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, George Sidney, Roy Del Ruth, Lucille BallFred Astaire, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, George Sidney, Roy Del Ruth, Lucille Ball   See more", "Studio": "Warner Archives", "MPAA rating": "NR (Not Rated)", "Product Dimensions": "5.31 x 6.77 x 0.55 inches; 2.26 Ounces", "Director": "Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney, Roy Del Ruth", "Media Format": "Blu-ray", "Release date": "June 15, 2021", "Actors": "Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson", "Country of Origin": "USA", "Number of discs": "1"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : Heaven's harps and wings are nice, but what showman extraordinaire Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. wants most now that he's no longer on Earth is to put on another extravaganza. It would have the brightest stars and creative talents. The most in glamour, gams and optimism. In short, it would be like Ziegfeld Follies. With a who's who of credited and uncredited Hollywood talents, this all-star revue is heaven to fans of musicals. Fred Astaire dazzles once, twice four numbers in all. Red Skelton reprises his funny Guzzler's Gin skit. Esther Williams swims, Lena Horne sings, and Judy Garland spoofs snobbery. There's Verdi opera and Fanny Brice vaudeville. Patter and pantomime. And The Babbitt and the Bromide, with Gene Kelly joining Astaire in their first-ever screen pairing. What a show! The man called Flo must be proud..