MGM Auction 1970 Video/Picture Montage

[@rickymariscalespinosa662]

That was really soooo sad all the legacy of MGM sold and lost, only the movies are preserved by the future generations, i really want to cry. I'm mexican, I'm 33 years old, and the MGM movies are my favorites, all these movies stars aren't not here, but now the will bright eternally in the sky. R.I.P. MGM studios :'(

[@bigbandsrock1]

So heart wrenching.

[@71crm]

I think Debbie Reynolds was the only person there who knew that they come to regret ever tearing down the back lots. She later said that "And if a dumb little girl from California like me could see that, why didn't they see it?" She had the idea of turning the back lot into a theme park much like what Universal did a few years later

[@metrogoldwyn]

so true.sadly,we live In a throw-away nation

[@MrRHolmes571]

I've always been fascinated by this and all the old Lots. I've been lucky to have been on them all, but the most memorable was as a teen crawling through the fence of Lot 2 one night with some friends and walking the streets of New York, the train station and others. The Lot was half torn down by then. So haunting and magical.

[@jimsher9880]

It is also interesting to note that MGM in its day had one of the finest research libraries in the world. People came from the Smithsonian to use that library.

[@RNDH1987]

My God, the ending is just heartbreaking. Seeing the once busy, buzzing MGM train station, European villages, townhall/school building and what they became in the 70s is eerie. It was a ghost town slowly decaying.....

[@johnb332]

I recall see seeing bits and pieces of the MGM auction in the TV documentary "Hollywood, the Dream Factory". In its heyday the movie industry in Hollywood employed a 100,000 people. In 1920, it was the 5th largest industry in the US. It was the only industry that continued making a profit throughout the great depression.

[@SteveTheFordGuy985]

I know change has to happen but seeing this makes me sad, so much history of film making , just seems sad to see it dismantled / destroyed, gone forever. Thank you so much for making this video.

[@xylfox]

8:23 WOW! This is MGMs Quality-street. "Staying alive" by BeeGees was filmed there in 1977.And demolished about a year later i think. You can see this church on the beginning of their 76-Million-views video "BeeGees Stayin´Alive (Official music video)

[@extremeroller]

As one who grew up with Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri I am familiar first hand with many of the props sold at this auction, including the Cotton Blossom and Victrix (right next to it in this footage) which were bought by Lamar Hunt for use at Worlds of Fun. Sadly they have all been demolished, in some cases many years ago, but its amazing to actually see the auction I have only read about for many years!

[@bigbandsrock1]

No wonder dear Debbie Reynolds fought so very hard to purchase all she could and then spent a fortune to keep care of them for nearly half a century! I hope she 'knows' somehow, many of her lovely costumes are in the grand new museum on Wilshire Blvd. today!

[@EddieMillerStudios]

8:13 and 8:22 is where they filmed the music video for "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees.

[@thatDonOguy]

Good old Bill Stout (the reporter). Don't see much of him on KZbin. Thanks for posting this.

[@rjmcallister1888]

As can be seen in the video, though, MGM had let things pretty much go to seed by the time they sold the props, sets and other items in the period 1969-73, after Kirk Kerkorian got his mitts on the studio and hastily dismantled it, then sold the land to be developed as offices and apartments. Kerkorian had little interest in movies; he wanted the name for his other hotel and casino properties. The late Debbie Reynolds bought a number of items to preserve them and would have to sell them later after two husbands forced her into bankruptcy. The rest of the MGM complex would be sold in the 80's; first to producer Aaron Spelling and later to one-time rival Columbia Pictures, then owned by Sony. It remains the Sony Pictures studios today, primarily making TV shows.

[@ldaxxx1]

Investor/Speculator Kirk Kerkorian destroyed MGM the way Howard Hughes destroyed RKO. Kerkorian had no interest in film history and saw the studio only as a chunk of real estate. Back Lot No. 3 could have been developed into a profitable tourist attraction, but Kirk wanted the quick cash. Debbie tried valiantly to preserve what she could, much to her credit.

[@pumpupjam54]

Best Studio the world has ever seen gone to pieces in the 70's. Sold like it was junk. Debbie Reynolds (RIP) saw what was happening and she got on the ball, worked a little more to buy up the jewels of this studio. Now she's gone too, and her son and granddaughter are selling these items off for millions to private buyers. It's a good think most of us have seen at least half of what she purchased and preserved. There will NEVER BE another place like MGM, 20th CENTURY FOX, WARNER BROTHERS studios, COLUMBIA with Harry Cohn, now they are studios used for cheap entertainment that cost billions to the consumers.

[@stanfordite]

MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Columbia and all those studios will rise again like a phoenix from the ashes to once again become the powers they were. Congress will be breaking up big media and big tech to the point that the 1996 Telecommunications Act will be repealed. For example, AT&T will forcibly have Warner Bros. taken away from them, be reduced to nothing but a telephone company and become government property. The studio system will rise again. Even RKO will be back.

[@songbirdy]

stanfordite Dream on.

[@stanfordite]

@@songbirdy Oh it's happening. Big tech is getting broken up, all the major film studios will be independent again and MGM will rise again. The old studio system will be coming back too.

[@vaslav030547]

They should be ashamed of their greed and lack of devotion Debbie had for preserving movie history.

[@johnjackson7045]

AH YES Good old harry cohn.They should bring back columbias original 17 acre lot on sunset boulevard..in the 70s what was happening to MGM was happening to Columbia.The columbia studio lot was sold and they joined forces with Warner bros.man that was just sad

[@TravellerFair]

Thank you for sharing this. I know that times were different but it seems such a pity that somebody sold the family silver, I guess that they didn't realise what they had until it was all gone, and the asset strippers didn't care anyway.

[@jamessawyer8889]

Wow, watching this video is something else that a lot of history being sold off 50 years ago blows my mind. It is interesting how much the backlot had deteriorated from all those years of not being used. Watching the movie That's Entertainment showed how the backlot looked considering that was a 1974 movie that my father & I saw at the theater. It would have been cool if MGM could have saved it so on the tours that for now are shut down so you could feel like you're checking out what was filmed there and snag some pictures of the sets and be awestruck by the stars of the day that made the classics that people like myself enjoy to this day. I mean if you could visit old Desilu studios and check out what was happening at the time it would be an awesome trip down memory lane

[@kathrynhill9885]

I WAS THERE ! Kathy

[@Moosetta]

What was it like?

[@melvinjohnson7033]

At 3:23 a lot of guns at MGM. No waiting period back then. Cash and carry.

[@jamessawyer8889]

Boy, to watch this video is really something to see considering that all of those old sets are gone, the props, everything gone to the adoring movie fans everywhere, it would be interesting to see if the people who bought this stuff still owns it or if it got resold again. This also makes me wish that for all the trips to California that I never thought of driving down one of the streets near the back of MGM and take pictures of the backlots before they got torn down. It really would’ve been nice to see all that stuff and relive the golden age of Hollywood

[@moc7323]

Could you imagine how great that tour would be today ... wow ... I’d be on the first plane over ..

[@jdude9314]

Leo is crying right now.

[@metrogoldwyn]

I'm crying too.What a shame we live in a throw away country.

[@PRLambert63]

When the MGM Grand Hotel in Vegas opened, Many of the items not sold at the auction were sold in the Hotel gift shop. Does anyone out there remember this ?

[@PRLambert63]

Sorry you did mention this in your description !

[@scvandy3129]

Sure, I remember buying 8x10 b&w stills in the gift shop. In the mid 1970s I felt fortunate to be granted access to MGM Lot 2 on a couple weekends where friends and I explored and I shot slides and Super 8 movies. And there I was seeing how MGM catalogued its sets by the stacks of photos I was going through. It seemed kinda strange for the studio's internal inventory of photos of its sets and streets to be sold anywhere, much less the MGM Grand's gift shop. In hindsight I wish I'd bought MORE prints and spent more time sifting through them, but when you're with friends having fun in Vegas THAT tedious activity isn't on the agenda. . . . And then a few years later watching live, daytime aerial POV coverage of the massive MGM Grand fire was chilling. Still, the worst in the city's history Thinking back it's a tragedy more individuals AND institutions didn't follow Debbie Reynolds' lead and realize the important value of some aspects of the studio's belongings and 'grabbed them' for future 1) use, 2) display, 3) preservation 4) sale for fundraising purposes. "Thanks, Paul Lambert, for bringing up these old memories that I know I'm fortunate to have." MGM Lot 2, R.I.P. MGM Lot 3, R.I.P. 87 fatalities from MGM Grand fire, 1980, R.I.P.

[@dubbie17]

Those gowns that were auctioned off, oml. SO wish I could have been there.

[@angiegirl1097]

Lamar Hunt. Owner of the KC Chiefs was planning on opening a amusement park and sent a employee to the auction. He bought many items including the Cotton Blossom which is where I worked in the 80's.

[@genniejefferson6588]

Those were the days.

[@JSB1882]

Damn! That was sad. I know that Jane Withers and Debbie Reynolds bought a lot of things at that auction to hopefully make a museum, but I never really knew if that happened. I would love just one prop from any MGM film.

[@caroltenge5147]

such a pity. Greed tears history to shreds.....

[@RobRVA]

In the 2016 documentary "Bright Lights" about Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher at one point you can see some of the signage from the Wizard of Oz haunted forest. I can't remember which one (maybe "I'd go back if I were you!" ..not sure tho) I immediately recognized it as such. I have been curious ever since if it was something Debbie bought at the auction or if it was a reproduction or what exactly. Asked her son on Twitter but got no response. If original I bet worth a lot of money.

[@aviduser1961]

How ironic that TCM (Turner Classic Movies) was born from these ashes.

[@johnb332]

A lot of film history was auctioned off and torn down in 1970. MGM was struggling and needed money to complete films not yet released. Fox sold off its back lot to Alcoa.

[@Lgdnevada1]

Hello ThePropKing, fyi there is footage of this auction on the current, double DVD set of Meet Me In St. Louis, narrated by Dick Cavvat (spelling?). Shows the boat from "Showboat" on the block - the boat from "Mutiny on the Bounty" on the block - both sold for a pittance……you might want to check it out….brought tears to my eyes.

[@kylesievertsen6]

Is There Such Thing As The Disney Version of MGM Stands For Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer?

[@aviduser1961]

Not really, but there are many important items that regularly go up for auction. Searching "Disney auctions" should find many past and current auctions.

[@BRENDANGCARROLL]

The auction was a very sad event but at least these things were sold and bought by collectors and fans who wished to preserve them. Far more tragic was the wholesale destruction of the unique MGM Music Library, which occupied a 4 storey building and contained thousands upon thousands of rare scores, sheet copies, manuscripts and all of the original orchestral parts and conductor books for MGM films going back to the 1920s. The entire library was incinerated and the building demolished, after a young Accountant from New York visiting the studio for an appraisal apparently said "What's with all this junk? Why are we paying to keep this old stuff? Get rid of it!". So...they did.

[@scvandy3129]

That "pencil pusher" had way too much power. Someone there should have seconded the proposal or -- killed it. All a conscientious individual had to do was alert a few individuals in academia and that collection would have been snapped up easily. The trucks would have arrived within a week to cart away the "stuff." "The story goes" decades ago ABC Television's west coast division was ready to send tens of thousands of reels of 35 mm film copies representing hundreds of their series to the dumpster. Paying a monthly storage fee seemed useless and that made the inventory seem useless and of no value. ed. - how STUPID could one be? ONE individual, a female employee at the network who had been tipped off, informed of the plan, thought is was a tremendous waste of a one-of-a--kind collection. She contacted UCLA. The UCLA Film and Television Archive "rescued them" -- all of them -- and today are part of its holdings. One can go on the website and see validation via the archive's holdings. The moral of the story is "someone -- with a brain -- has to care."

[@DDumbrille]

Do you have a video of just the footage from the auction(s)? This was nice, but some of the cuts were so short it was hard to see what was going on...

[@ThePropKing]

+DDumbrille Wish I had more but unfortunately that's all the auction footage I have or ever seen.

[@stanfordite]

MGM will rise again in the not too distant future and Sony will be banished from Culver City.

[@axelhernandez1521]

I wish Warner Bros. will literally bought Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

[@davaotripsters]

Yep since Turner Entertainment did currently owned the pre-May 1986 MGM library and as of July 1, 2020, Warner Bros. took over the worldwide home media distribution rights of MGM Home Entertainment catalog titles replacing Disney/Fox.

[@StevenTorrey]

The world of make believe is very real; the ephemeral is very permanent.

[@levieenrose7646]

So sad..all those wonderful treasures just disregarded like rubbish. I read Debbie Reynolds autobiography and she describes how she tried so hard to keep the props and costumes from MGM. She spent millions buying up so many of the items sold at the MGM auction, only for the majority of them to be auctioned off or stolen by employees of her Las Vegas hotel and museum. Debbie recalls sadly seeing iconic original film scripts and musical scores just dumped in huge waste disposal bins around the old MGM lot. The majority of the MGM costumes were all made to measure, hand made by talented seamstresses. It was heartbreaking to see that a once great studio like MGM had become a ghost town by 1970 with all the historic artifacts thrown out like rubbish.

[@scvandy3129]

Heartbreaking to say the least. . . . As for the original scripts and musical scores, surely at least half a dozen American colleges /universities would have jumped to have those as part of their archives (e.g. the University of Wisconsin's Performing Arts Archive; USC; UCLA; Columbia); made available for study by media and music scholars worldwide. At least "set them (contents) aside" to consider salvation, among the options; instead of 'spur-of-the-moment' trashing the whole lot.

[@kascnef]

And now mgm is for sale

[@vaslav030547]

Greed without regard.

[@dbo4852]

Sometimes when new owners come in, all they see is Real Estate. How much is that portion of the property worth? True, it does seem that MGM had quite a large property estate and majorly not used. BUT, once it is sold, it is gone forever! Unfortunately during economical times, studios have to make a decision, whether to stay in business or fail. It is heartbreaking to see decisions made so lightly. Many new owners know NOTHING about the business. As a child the privileged ones dreamed of owning a major motion picture studio. Somehow, they convinced the family to invest in such a deal only to cause pain and destruction to the family business. Enough said. So many of the non-major studios demise is contributed to such.

[@quackquack3466]

Although MGM had been struggling for over a decade, the new owner who bought the studio in 1969 was what one would consider a corporate raider, who had no interest in making movies only liquidating the studios assets for cash to fund other interests which were hotels and casinos. He bought and sold MGM three different times, sucking out every last dollar and running the studio into the ground. Thankfully, Ted Turner was one of the buyers of the studio who kept most of the pre-1986 movies when he sold the studio back. TCM has been the end result of that deal and that is thankfully the greatest of the MGM history that could have been and has been preserved.

[@pixnstix]

A time before Hollywood sucked.

[@kensims4086]

Watch the movie called girl 27... And see it sucked back then too..

[@wilsonpicket8505]

That's depressing as hell.

[@dbo4852]

Sorta like Trump is trashing our country

[@ModMokkaMatti]

Democrats and Republicans alike - as well as their predecessors - have been trashing "our" country since its inception. No politician is worth respecting in this era - and most definitely, neither Trump *nor* Biden.

[@scvandy3129]

"David Oakden" MUST YOU bring up politics, when these MGM films and their representative props and artifacts engaged the U.S.A. public, the breadth of the political spectrum leaving no individual un-entertained, via the resultant, pure, unfiltered joy of going to the movies?" Whether or not your claim is on the level, there are SO MANY hungry, appropriate arenas awaiting expressions of political views -- please, leave Hollywood history alone.