Musicals- Can be so wrong or so right.

[SEA]

West Side Story. The Music Man. Oklahoma. My Fair Lady. Guys and Dolls. (Okay, I haven't seen Guys and Dolls. But I've heard the songs.)
I love Shirley Jones, but Carousel was so poorly realized. The accents were supposed to be Maine and they all ended up sounding like extras from Oklahoma.
What are your favorite hits and or misses and why?

[Sevorin]

Guys and Dolls is a gas. I love Damon Runyon and Jean Simmons was probably my first beat-off queen. There's a story told that Brando is supposed to have seen it, then commented, "It's lost its ebullience, hasn't it?" Not for me. But it does have that elephantine 'fifties pacing, along with a loud color scheme that's no longer in vogue -- and hasn't been for decades. But I don't care. I love this musical.

I'm also a big fan of Damn Yankees, though it has some re-e-ally shitty parts. But it also has Gwen Verdon. I don't need much more.

Around the same time Warners also released The Pajama Game. It's a better movie than Damn Yankees -- and I think a lot of it is a better musical, too. It has some nifty songs.
The cast is wonderful.

Calamity Jane is terrific, too. I know that "Secret Love" has become a gay anthem, but don't avoid seeing it on that account. It also has "Whip Crack Away" and Doris Day showing just how spunky she was before she got trapped into those professional virgin roles she was doing in the 'sixties.

Kiss Me, Kate has fabulous songs and the dancing is as exciting as Cole Porter's score. When the curtain rises for the play-within-a-play I'm in a state of delight all the way to the finish. This is one of the best of the bunch.

1776 has so many good parts and literate songs that I can easily forgive it when it occasionally goes into the shithouse.

I've never much liked The Music Man or the film version of My Fair Lady. Everything that made them exciting on stage seems to have been put under glass by the time they were made into movies. I'm not really fond of the Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff either. (But I really like Glenn Close's TV version of South Pacific. I like it more than the Joshua Logan movie.)

Camelot has a great score. It's a shame the movie's such a piece of shit. But the songs almost carry the show.

The 1958 version of Li'l Abner is soundstage-bound and has sets so gaudy and color so overrich that it may trigger your gag-reflex. But I don't think I've ever seen so much adorable womanflesh per square inch since the days of Busby Berkeley. Some of the songs are clever, too. But it's the wimmin that'll get your heart pumping.

I've seen three movie versions of Showboat. The 1936 version with Paul Robeson, Allan Jones, Helen Morgan, and Hattie McDaniel is the best. But the score is so great the 1951 version comes across as very watchable.

Jesus, there're so many musicals that I like. I'll stop here, without even getting to Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Betty Hutton, Jane Powell, Frank Sinatra, and so huge a shitload of other great films to list that it's pointless to try. I bet people are already pissing over my failure to mention their favorites.

(Another great one is The Wizard of Oz. But some people don't think of it as primarily a musical! And some even feel that way about Cabaret!)

I gotta say this: Dreamgirls is the lamest horseshit. I haven't got a clue as to why people like it. It doesn't have a single memorable song -- except for a number that's really more of a dramatic piece, one that won its original Broadway singer a Tony when she belted it out at the awards ceremony, and won Jennifer Hudson her Oscar.

[SEA]

HA! I couldn't stand Dreamgirls either. I got about 45 minutes into it and decided to fast forward through the rest. Can't believe people liked that movie. Thanks for all that info! I know, we could start a whole conversation on the gorgeous Gene Kelly. We totally should! So many to choose from. The first one that comes to mind for me is For Me And My Gal, and next would be Singin' in the Rain, which I'm sure everybody has seen. He was just amazing. And Judy... Big Judy fan here!

[Debra]

I'm wildly in love with Gene Kelly, he was the most amazing triple-threat performer ever, and one of the sexiest men. Watching him dance is mesmerizing. Thanks for sharing this.

[Olybob]

One of my favorite musicals is An American in Paris which featured the wonderful music of George Gershwin and the spectacular dancing of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. One of the worst musicals I’ve seen is Take Me Out to the Ball Game which also featured Gene Kelly as well as Frank Sinatra. I know that a lot of musicals don’t have interesting plots, but this one was really lame in my opinion.

[SEA]

thanks for the info! I'll avoid the "ballgame" movie! Will watch American in Paris all the way through this time! :)

[Sevorin]

The first part of An American in Paris is kinda dull and requires patience. But the music and lyrics are fabulous, so give it your best. By the finish it pays off the investment.

I've never been a fan of Take Me Out to the Ball Game or Anchors Aweigh -- (I do love On the Town, though) -- or of a lotta the MGM "classics" that get so much adoration. I'll, probably get arrested for admitting this, but I've never been sympathetic to Easter Parade or Summer Stock or The Harvey Girls (where Judy Garland looks a bit too "amphetamined" for comfort) -- but a lotta the songs are terrific.

I particularly detest Words and Music -- or maybe I should say that I detest everything in it but the "words and music" when they're part of the musical numbers, like Lena Horne singing, "The Lady Is a Tramp", or Judy Garland dishing up "Johnny One-Note" or June Allyson doing "Thou Swell" or Gene Kelly's superb version of "Slaughter on 10th Avenue." Without these cameo performances the picture is a terrible bore.

All musical biographies are inaccurate. This one is unbearably so. But the DVD lets you skip the bullshit and go straight to the singing and dancing. I think the same may be said of Till the Clouds Roll By, the story of Jerome Kern. The film stinks but has some great material -- like Frank Sinatra singing "Old Man River."

The Warner Brothers bio-pic of George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue, is a factual howler, but the movie is saturated with some of the best music in American history. This isn't on DVD yet. But another Warners' flick, the story of Cole Porter in Night and Day, has been issued on disc. (When Porter was asked how he liked this movie about his life, he's reported to have said, "I love it. There's not a word of truth in it.")

If you like the "college musical" genre and don't get too pissed off by black-and-white movies or lame pre-war juvenile humor, you might go for Too Many Girls, released by RKO in 1940. It has a lotta people who went on to bigger things. One of them, a singer whose career seemed to evaporate when the Big Bands disappeared, is Frances Langford. She was the Real Deal.

Another picture from the same era that has at least two memorable songs is The Boys from Syracuse, but the comedy may not have stood the test of time. I haven't seen it myself for many years. I don't think it's reached DVD.

The two black musical compilations -- MGM's Cabin in the Sky and Fox's Stormy Weather -- cram as much talent in as they can, and there's plenty of it. The Nicholas brothers are seen at their absolute best in the Fox film.

[B-Independent.com]

As a fan of musicals, my tastes are really all over the place, with the exception of Buzby Berkey's work. I've never been able to connect with his visual style.

My mother raised me on musicals, and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS was a staple in my home. 30 years later I still have vivid memmories of sitting on the couch eating popcorn during the annual broadcast television airing.

My favorite is easily ALL THAT JAZZ, and Bob Fosse is often sited as the man who single-handedly killed the integrated musical with his bleakness. Fosse's most personal film, it's his 8 1/2, and I enjoy it more than Fellini's film.

CABARET. Back to Fosse. Very few films I love for the editing, but this is one of them. The first time I screened this, I was heavily into studying editoring technique, and some of the things Fosse and David Bretherton do to punctuate scenes seem sloppy at first, but upon repeated viewing at extra punch to an already emotionally gripping film.

My favorite non-Fosse musical is SWING TIME. Some critics site TOP HAT as the best Fred and Ginger, but I think they're full of shit. The chemistry here is magic, and so are the numbers. The story, while flimsy, isn't as completely contrived as TOP HAT, and Ginger Rogers alwasy dares viewers not to crush on her...

Gene Kelly's war trilogy. Well, actually just the two he co-directed with Stanley Donnen, ON THE TOWN and IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER. ANCHORS AWAY always seemed to fluffy for my tastes, but there's a rough-around-the-edges quality that makes ON THE TOWN a complete blast...almost as if they were winging the entire production. FAIR WEATHER was intended as an official sequel to ON THE TOWN, but Sinatra wouldn't come back. Kelly and Donnen hit on some interesting post-war themes in this often depressing film, the most obvious of which is the notion of wartime brotherhood and how those bonds often can't last past battle.

I see some dislike for MY FAIR LADY in this thread, but I'm extremely fond of it. Perhaps it's because I worked the play in college, but it's most likely due to my crush on Audrey Hepburn. No matter how long I go between screenings, I always remember the lyrics and sing along.

Many don't consider Peckinpah's BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE a musical, but I think it fits. It might not be integrated like the MGM classics, but the lyrical style of the story and Stella Stevens' musical interludes work for me.

While i'm not a huge fan of BRIGADOON, there's something about the theme of timeless love that always touches the softy in me. Then again, it could be my hormones and Cyd Charisse.

Some bad movie musicals that I absolutely love...

ANNIE. I remember screening this a couple of times at the local theater as a child. I think I might have even had a crush on a few of the orphan girls. Honestly, who doesn't sing along with TOMMORROW number? It's not really a great movie, but the tunes are damn catchy.

POPEYE. Just rewatched thie earlier in the week and I'd forgotten who simplistic the tunes were. It's easy to confuse "bad" with "simplistic", but that weird Altman McCABE AND MRS. MILLER-vide that runs throughout blends perfectly with the simplistic nature of the characters. Besides, Robyn Williams and Shelly Duval WERE Popeye and Olive.

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Rewatched this on T-giving. I can do without the second half, but the first half is complete gangbusters. Great musical and Tim Curry's finest performance. Oh, and Susan Sarandon in her yummy prime....

[B-Independent.com]

How could I forget A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO FORUM. Yikes, my memory is failing me....

5 years of Latin studies, one dedicted to Roman theatrics, reveals how closely this captures the simplistic, yet bawdy style, of Roman plays. Also, Zero Mostel does here what he couldn't in THE PRODUCERS - be funny.

[SEA]

I'm loving the lists that are happening here! I can't believe I have missed so many musicals that I ought to form my own opinions on.
When Annie came out, I felt like I was too old to appreciate it. Same with Popeye.
Now, RHPS, I fell into that bigtime in highschool. What a great crappy movie that is. Tim Curry is the key to it's popularity, I think. The music is catchy, and yes, Susan's breastices are so photogenic in that big white bra.
I'm going to check out Swing Time and 7 Brides, even though the latter title makes me a little nauseous. :) Will check out "A Funny thing happened" also. Love Zero.
All That Jazz is up there with my favorite musicals. Cabaret was awfully good too. I'm afraid the remake of Chicago queered me on the idea of seeing the original version (if a film version exists) even though Fosse probably choreographed it.
Oh, you know what musical I loved as a show and detested as a movie? A Chorus Line. Ohmygod, how I loathed that movie!
I don't really understand why they had to remake The Producers. It was a gem the way it was. I will not see the remake. The same with Bedazzled. Some great songs in both original films.
There seem to be a lot of Grease freaks out there also.

[B-Independent.com]

GREASE is a bad movie with some great numbers. I remember in college, back in the early 90's, whenever the topic of favorite movies came up, I was able to break the girls down into two groups based on their choice....and of the 20 or so women, they all only named two movies. GREASE, from the ladies who secretly wanted to be bad, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC from the ones who were virginal pure and wanted to stay that way.

I was 8 when I saw POPEYE (premiered on cable in 81), and slightly older when I saw ANNIE theatrically. My enjoyment has never diminished, and I don't find either film childish....but in all honesty, neither film seems like it would be an ideal fit for their respective directors.

SWING TIME is on TCM thsi week. There's a Ginger Rogers night that looks liek fun.

I think you'll be surprised with SEVEN BRIDES.

Zero is a complete blast in FORUM, but I don't remember even snickering during THE PRODUCERS...I hate, hate, hate the unfunny monstronsity. I thought the remake just HAD to be better, but I was wrong.

From what I understand, the filmmakers of CHICAGO did what Fosse did to CABARET...got rid of the play's actual story and went with something barely resembing the original. They tried to stay true to Fosse's style of choreography, but not his play.

[Debra]

I just discovered this forum; it's wonderful with great commentaries on many musicals. I'm a fan of musicals from way back. Of course the newer ones can't compare to the old ones. My all-time favorite film is 'Cabaret'; being Jewish, the symbolic messages behind each musical number were very meaningful to me. One of my favorite numbers in a musical is Fred Astaire & Judy Garland in Easter Parade - A Couple of Swells (Fred Astaire came out of retirement to have the opportunity to work with Judy Garland; they'd never worked together before) Others musicals I love are Guys and Dolls, and Flower Drum Song (Nancy Kwan, yes), the King and I (Yul Brynner, ooh), Fiddler on the Roof, Bye Bye Birdie (just some light-hearted fun)... many more, too many to mention. Thanks for having this forum.

[SEA]

Thanks for adding that clip and jumping aboard the thread. The more the merrier!
I haven't seen this clip in ages. Big Judy fan here. :)