Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Big Parade of Hits for 1940

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Big Parade Hits for 1940 (1940)

*** (out of 4)

Lewis Stones hosts this introduction to a theater opening in Cairo, Egypt that will be playing MGM movies. After the brief introduction we are then shown trailers for some of the upcoming movies that will be playing. These trailers include: TARZAN FINDS A SON, IDIOT'S DELIGHT, THE WOMEN, BLOCKHEADS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, AT THE CIRCUS, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS and several others. This here is basically going to be viewed today as a trailer compilation and for the most part it's entertaining. The introduction really doesn't last too long so for the majority of the 23 minute running time you will be seeing the trailers. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking here but it's nice getting to see how the studio would introduce their movies to a new group of fans.

Lewis Stone greets the audience with a little talk and then there's about ten minutes of clips from movies it proposes to release in 1940.

It's a bit more interesting than usual because Stone talks to the the King of Egypt and citizens of Cairo, talking about how MGM wishes to offer the best movies to them -- and Andy Hardy too (just kidding!). It makes me wonder if Mr. Stone recorded intros like this several times, each time making a local appeal to the audience in a different locale in the far-flung MGM-Lowe's empire.