Rediscovering Hollywood musicals

[body2body]

Bob Fosse has been mentioned several times. Before he was a Director/Choreographer he was a Dancer. He appeared in the 1953 screen adaptation of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate. He's the one with the shirt divided in half in yellow and orange. There is a duet for each of the three couples, and in the third one Fosse dances with the legendary Carol Haney, who would go on to Choreograph Funny Girl. Fosse and Haney had so many ideas about the number that, according to legend, the Choreographer let them do the number with little input from him. Oh, and this was originally filmed in 3-D.

[+ purplekow]

New York New York Liza in a very unusually cast musical

An American in Paris of course

Oliver!

And Lucy was terrible as Mame She made the old magnolia trees blossom at the mention of her name but made them drop the blooms when she sane

[longtime lurker]

My favorites seem to fall into little bunches from certain periods:

 

-The Maurice Chevalier period at Paramount (1929-32)

-The Busby Berkeley Years at Warner Bros. (1933-37 peak period)

-Astaire/Rogers period at RKO (also 30s)

-MGM's San Francisco, with Jeanette McDonald, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy is not really a "full" musical... more of a disaster movie.

-Also just a few among the Deanna Durbin/Universal period of the late 30s, although she may be too relentless happy for some of you to stomach. She did make me cry in 100 Men and Girl though. That one and Walt -Disney's Fantasia are worth seeing back to back just to enjoy Leopold Stokowski

-The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM post Wizard of Oz '39 and pre-Gigi '58... namely The Big Three: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire

-Anything Carmen Miranda did for 20th Century Fox and Doris Day for Warner Brothers. Yes, that is Doris dancing with Bugs Bunny in My Dream Is Yours. (The best way to appreciate the oddball 1940s)

 

 

-A few of the Rodgers-Hammersteins in the '50s like Oklahoma

-Aside from West Side Story, Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady during the first half of the sixties, we had that delightful "clunky" period post-Sound of Music. You have to watch something like Doctor Doolittle (Rex Harrison version, not Eddie Murphy) with your tongue in your cheek. Oliver! and Funny Girl were the two that everybody admitted to liking, but some of the others are so over the top that you can't ignore them.

-Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret and The Muppet Movie were the best of the seventies. Problem with so many after this point, even those of just a decade or two ago (like Chicago and Dreamgirls) is that they are a little too "specialized"... it is hard to feel neutral about them.

 

The Mae West movies (best being 1933's She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel) are more "comedy" than "musical"... but they fit in neatly with the mix.

 

 

Watch 1970's Myra Breckinridge at your own risk, although every scene with HER is a total riot.

 

[+ Robster]

I love Myra Breckinridge. In my opinion, it's extremely underrated.

 

Rob

[+ jeezopete]

Gypsy gets my vote. It was the first musical I can remember seeing on TV as a boy & I was enthralled.

 

 

There's also the Bette Midler made-for-TV version...quite impressive.

[OneFinger]

Yes Oklahoma is one that I was forgetting. That dance scene where the scary dude killed the "good guy" was kind of disturbing.

 

Hugs,

Greg

 

In high school I played the role of the "scary dude" and got rave reviews. That character was different from myself at the time.

 

Love that musical. And, by the way, I have my mother's 78 RPM records that she bought when she saw it on Broadway shortly after it opened.

[+ WilliamM]

Love that musical. And, by the way, I have my mother's 78 RPM records that she bought when she saw it on Broadway shortly after it opened.

 

I forgot about 78 RPM records. Thanks for the mention.

[+ quoththeraven]

I prefer to watch musicals live, so most of the old-fashioned movie musicals I've seen have already been mentioned. Here's some newer ones that don't necessarily fit that mold:

 

Little Shop of Horrors

Rocky Horror Picture Show

I'd even include the more dramatically oriented Moulin Rouge, but some might quibble over whether "musical" is the right term for it, especially considering the repurposing of modern pop music to tell a Victorian-era story.

[JayCeeKy]

The Music Man (1962)

[+ Topseed]

Greg: check out the Carmen Miranda musicals. They're a hoot.

[Decatur Guy]

Going away a step from the typical musical:

 

"Momma Mia" / "Everyone Says I Love You" / "Purple Rain" / "Dirty Dancing"

 

And then going back:

 

"Mary Poppins"

[Lookin]

I found 1974's That's Entertainment to be a terrific sampler of many of the MGM musicals, and a great way to see which ones you might want to see in toto.

 

You can find a copy in most libraries. There was a sequel, or two, or three, if you can't get enough, and it was filmed on the remnants of MGM's back lot. Not easy to find Dancing Lady with Joan Crawford, but you'll find a snippet here.

 

 

And Esther Williams popping out of the water in Million Dollar Mermaid, hair and makeup perfect, is another scene worth waiting for.

 

http://i1-1.fdbimg.pl/zvbkcl/654x490_lcsvhi.jpg

 

The history of MGM's back lot, where so many great musicals were made, and so much talent was assembled, is fascinating in itself. While it's sad that it is no more, we are truly blessed that it once was.

[jimboivyo]

summer stock

easter parade

[+ azdr0710]

The history of MGM's back lot, where so many great musicals were made, and so much talent was assembled, is fascinating in itself. While it's sad that it is no more, we are truly blessed that it once was.

 

the history nerd in me had to look this up.....it was in Culver City.....now occupied by offices and housing, it says

 

http://www.moviemail.com/blog/this-day-in-cinema/1772-This-Day-in-1970-MGM-s-backlots-are-sold-off

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8xJWUzDIQQ

[stop]

In high school I played the role of the "scary dude" and got rave reviews. That character was different from myself at the time.

 

Love that musical. And, by the way, I have my mother's 78 RPM records that she bought when she saw it on Broadway shortly after it opened.

 

 

Different at that time? Does that mean now you are similar?

[stop]

Meet me in St. Louis was one of my favorites

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmx1L8G25q4

 

and of course Victor Victoria...Chicago Illinois one of the best songs in the show

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om_fsyY3pc0

[+ friendofsheila]

I'll take the path that no one else is taking and recommend based on the weirdness that lives in my mind:

 

MUSICALS THAT

 

ARE REALLY, ACTUALLY FUNNY:

Singin' in the Rain

On the Town

Thank Your Lucky Stars

 

ARE THOUGHT OF HIGHLY BUT CAN TOTALLY BE A DRAG IF YOU DON'T ADORE (INSERT NAME OF DIRECTOR, SINGER, ETC. HERE):

An American in Paris

West Side Story

The Great Ziegfeld

 

ARE TOTALLY OVERLOOKED, YOU'VE GOTTA LIKE THE ERA, AND YOU'LL BE WELL-REWARDED IF YOU CAN GET PAST THE SCREWBALL-NESS OR ROMANTIC-NESS OF THE ERA:

You'll Never Get Rich

You Were Never Lovelier (Both with Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth)

 

WILL TAKE SOME GETTING USED TO SINCE THEY'RE OF A DIFFERENT ERA, BUT WILL REWARD YOU WITH A TRULY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE:

Love Me Tonight

42nd Street

 

ARE GODDAM GORGEOUS:

Cover Girl (Rita Hayworth in color, so be prepared to cream your boxers, Greggy-pie)

Ziegfeld Girl (Lotsa legs, lotsa Heddy Lamarr, and lotsa feathers)

The Gang's All Here (You've gotta see one Carmine Miranda, and in this one, the director goes abso-fucking-lutely ape shit. Watch it and try to tell me otherwise).

 

HAVE DANCING THAT WILL TURN YOUR MIND INTO CREAM CHEESE, IT'S SO AWESOME:

Broadway Melody of 1940

Silk Stockings

[+ poolboy48220]

New York New York Liza in a very unusually cast musical

An American in Paris of course

Oliver!

And Lucy was terrible as Mame She made the old magnolia trees blossom at the mention of her name but made them drop the blooms when she sane

I love the Rosalind Russell Auntie Mame, I couldn't make it past the first 20 minutes of Mame with Lucille Ball. She just did not seem to have the same love for young Patrick that Roz did, which imho made that movie wonderful.

[N13]

Don't miss

Deep in My Heart

The Student Prince

The Great Caruso

[N13]

Lovely To Look At

[+ WilliamM]

I prefer to watch musicals live, so most of the old-fashioned movie musicals I've seen have already been mentioned.

 

I agree, but it's probably unfair because we can both see musicals in New York.

 

For example, I liked the Bette Midler version of "Gypsy, " but not as much as the original stage version with Ethel Merman and one of many "Gypsy" revival with Bernadettte Peters.

[oceansunshine]

One of my favorite but heavy movie musicals was Cabaret. This movie musical was great (Liza played Sally Bowles, Michael York played Brian) -

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068327/

 

And now the broadway musical is back on the road, and in Miami thru tomorrow(sunday) and I'm going. .

http://miami.broadway.com/buzz/184483/leave-your-troubles-outside-national-tour-of-cabaret-opens-in-miami/

 

And Randy Harrison of QAF fame is the Joel Grey Emcee character from the movie.

http://chicago.gopride.com/news/interview.cfm/articleid/894609

 

and then on Youtube:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLtFWSd_l8s

 

Saw the musical play Cabaret this last Sunday with friends. It was a superb performance with a strong message/reminder we should NEVER forget.

 

http://cabaretmusical.com/news/

 

http://cabaretmusical.com/#home-page

 

Doug

[+ SundayZip]

Don't forget Hair and Jesus Christ SuperStar.

[body2body]

This is not a Hollywood musical, but it may be the most beautiful musical film ever made. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,

directed by Jacques Demy, an exquisite pop score by Michelle LeGrand, Catherine Deneuve in her first international success, and the handsome Nino Castelnuovo as her star crossed love. The entire film is sung, and the visuals are stunning ( the film received a complete restoration about 20 years ago). This is a great one to watch on a rainy day (and the complete film is available on You Tube). Here's a taste:

[+ glennnn]

Such a great thread! Such a pleasure to recall a small taste of each of these incredible works of art as one reads though the lists. Such memories. Thank you, @seaboy4hire[/uSER]. I really do love you.

 

 

Hugs,

 

Glennnn