{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = Marlon Brando MGM Parade.JPG | caption = [[Marlon Brando]] in a series episode, with "Little Leo" | genre = [[documentary film|Documentary]] | creator = | starring = [[George Murphy]] (1955–56)<br>[[Walter Pidgeon]] (1956) | theme_music_composer = [[Arthur Schwartz]]<br>[[Howard Dietz]] | composer = | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 34 | executive_producer = Leslie Petersen | producer = | company = [[MGM Television]] | camera = | runtime = 26 minutes (minus commercials) | network = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] | opentheme = "That's Entertainment" | first_aired = {{Start date|1955|09|14}} | last_aired = {{End date|1956|05|2}} }}
'''''MGM Parade''''' is a documentary television series produced by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and broadcast by the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] network during the [[1955–56 United States network television schedule|1955–56 season]] on Wednesdays at 8:30pm (E.S.T.), under the alternate sponsorship of [[American Tobacco Company|American Tobacco]] ([[Pall Mall (cigarette)|Pall Mall]]), and [[General Foods]] ([[Maxwell House|Instant Maxwell House]]).
The 30 minute ''MGM Parade'', one of MGM's first TV programs, was produced by MGM's trailer department as one of the compilation and promotional shows that imitated [[Walt Disney|Walt Disney's]] ''[[Walt Disney anthology television series|Disneyland]]''.<ref name=mah/>
==Background== [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] first used television for promotional purposes having a tie in with ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' (on [[CBS]]) in the early 1950s. The Sullivan Show, however, switched to [[20th Century Fox]] in the mid-1950s, so MGM attempted to have a promotional agreement with [[NBC]], but could not come to terms on the specifics. Instead, MGM's trailer department produced what became MGM's first television series, which was called the ''MGM Parade''.<ref name=mah>{{cite book|last1=Segrave|first1=Kerry|title=Movies at Home: How Hollywood Came to Television|date=January 1, 1999|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786406542|pages=33, 34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZTehB3M1_kC&q=In+1955%2C+MGM+launched+Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer+Television+-wiki&pg=PA31}}</ref> Within three years after its cancellation, the company then launched what became [[MGM Television]].
==History== ''The MGM Parade'' premiered on ABC in the fall of 1955.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 1955|url=http://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/lippincott/corprpts/abc/abc1955.pdf|website=University of Penn|publisher=American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc.|accessdate=April 8, 2015|page=31}}</ref> Hosted by [[George Murphy]] (September 14, 1955 – March 7, 1956), [[Walter Pidgeon]] (March 14–May 2, 1956) and other MGM stars, the series went into the MGM vaults to offer segments extracted from such past productions as ''[[Good News (1947 film)|Good News]]'' (1947) and ''[[The Pirate (1948 film)|The Pirate]]'' (1948); in December, a condensed edition of the 1938 version of ''[[A Christmas Carol (1938 film)|A Christmas Carol]]'' was presented for the first time on television. Exploring the inner workings of the MGM studios, it featured interviews with prominent MGM stars to promote current and upcoming releases. The program also presented "selected short subjects" from the studio's library ([[Carey Wilson (writer)|Carey Wilson]]'s ''Miniatures'', [[John Nesbitt (announcer)|John Nesbitt]]'s ''[[Passing Parade]]'', [[Pete Smith (film producer)|Pete Smith]]'s ''Specialties'', [[Tex Avery]]'s cartoons, [[Robert Benchley]], etc).
After Walter Pidgeon became the host, the format was slightly altered to include edited multi-part versions of "classic" MGM feature films, including ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]'' and ''[[The Pirate (1948 film)|The Pirate]]'', as well as a tribute and biography of [[Greta Garbo]].
An example of its use as a promotional tool can be seen in the 2008 DVD release of the 1955 musical film ''[[Kismet (1955 film)|Kismet]]'', which includes two episodes of ''MGM Parade'' in which actors from the film are interviewed, along with excerpts from the film plus behind-the-scenes footage.
Episodes of the series sporadically air between features on the [[Turner Classic Movies]] network in the United States.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0047753|title=MGM Parade}}
[[Category:1955 American television series debuts]] [[Category:1956 American television series endings]] [[Category:American Broadcasting Company original programming]] [[Category:Black-and-white American television shows]] [[Category:1950s American documentary television series]] [[Category:Television series by MGM Television]]