The Movie Musical - Part One, because this turned into a longer piece than I anticipated!
Music in Film - Category 1: The Movie Musical
To see the genesis of this article, read the original here.
As I started to consider what the absolute best movie musicals are, I quickly began to realize that compiling a list of the Top 5 Musicals would be completely out of the question. Top 10 Musicals would likewise be totally unrealistic. Perhaps a Top 25 list…
Thing is, if there was ever a genre of film that I have an intense emotional and nostalgic attachment to, it’s the movie musical. I am not overstating it to say that I was raised on the MGM musical. Starting at a very early age - probably about 7 or 8 - my parents (usually my father) would go to the video rental store (hey, remember those?) and come home with Singin’ in the Rain. Or Easter Parade. Or Kiss Me Kate. Or On the Town. Or Barkleys of Broadway. Or High Society. Many of the above titles my parents finally bought a VHS copy of because they figured it would be cheaper than renting it for the 20th time. Even when I was in high school and went to the video store on my own, if I had a choice (meaning I wasn’t with my cynical friends), I would gravitate to the “Musicals” section. I have so many fond memories of watching these over and over and over again, with my younger sister Meaghan in the chair right next to me. Her favorite is On the Town, and she freely admits to crushing on what she calls Young Frank (I read that as pre-mafia Frank Sinatra). My favorite? Are you kidding? How on earth can I pick just one? Then college came, and I watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers over and over. Then I discovered the early thirties Fred & Ginger musical and fell in love all over again. Enter the Bob Fosse musicals of the seventies, and you have a whole different type of love affair. Gritty, sexual, almost shocking… these are great pieces of film, and certainly great movie musicals! And how on earth are you supposed to compare them to the ephemeral bliss of something like Swing Time?
So I cannot make a “Best Of” list for musicals. I could list my top 10 favorite noirs, I could probably rank them, and that is a genre that is very dear to my heart. I could probably even come up with a list of top 10 dramas if I really tried. But top 10 musicals? No. Impossible. Simply too much love for too many films.
In that respect, when considering a “Best Of” list, I will defer to the American Film Institute’s list of the Top 25 Greatest Movie Musicals. It is a solid list - I’ve seen everything on it, most of them more than once. There are a few things I disagree with - Gigi gets a great deal of flack, in my opinion, and is a wonderful film that deserves a spot on this list and it’s ridiculous that it’s not on there - but overall, not too bad at all.
However, I will still make a list, but it is not a Best Of. It is a “These Are My Favorites” list. And the best way to sort it, crazily enough, is by decade. I feel it’s the best way to categorize musicals, as it shows the evolution of the genre.
1930s
With the advent of sound in film in 1927, movie musicals were one of the first new genres to pop up, pulling greatly from the vaudeville stage. However, very early movie musicals were too much - too loud, too crazy, too all over the place. It was as if Hollywood was so excited to make musicals it couldn’t hold it any longer and just went ahead and wet its’ pants. After a few years, however, they got it together and started to make much better formed musicals.
When talking about the 1930s, I must mention Busby Berkeley, definitely a father of American Movie Spectacle. His backstage musicals are not favorites of mine, but I enjoy Footlight Parade because it stars James Cagney. When James Cagney sings and dances, I get a warm fuzzy feeling on the inside.
Definitely a defining feature of musicals in the 1930s for me is the Fred & Ginger musical. When RKO realized what they had in the pair, they kept on pairing them up in many, many films. Favorites of mine are Top Hat, Swing Time, Follow the Fleet, and Shall We Dance. The elegance, the art deco, the sophistication, and the good humor of these films combine to make one damn intoxicating drink. They are like the lightest of champagnes; fizzy, bubbly, and they make you giddy with joy.
How wonderful!
The decade went out on a very high note with arguably the most famous movie musical of all, The Wizard of Oz. Oddly enough, when I remember this film, I kind of forget that it’s a musical. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way - instead, I mean it in a “It’s so iconic, it transcends its genre” kind of way.
I also feel compelled to mention 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Disney’s - and anyone else’s, for that matter - first full length animated film.
For me, however, my absolute favorite musical from the thirties - even more than the unadulterated happiness that is Fred & Ginger - is Rouben Mamoulian’s Love Me Tonight, 1931. Starring Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, and a pre-Thin Man Myrna Loy, this musical is, to me, absolute perfection, and very much a forbear of MGM musicals coming in the next few decades. Without a doubt, the most accomplished musical number is “Isn’t It Romantic.” The tune is passed from a shop owner (the hero) to bridegroom, bridegroom to cab driver, and so on and so forth until it reaches the heroine in a remote country estate. I’m a huge champion of this movie; it’s remembered by film critics and historians, but the general film public has forgotten it. So any chance to recommend it, and I jump. It’s funny, it’s witty, and it’s chock full of charm.
I love how the director manages to unite the hero and heroine through this song before they have even met!
1940s
If Fred & Ginger were the defining musical stars of the 1930s, then without a doubt, their successor was the inimitable Judy Garland. After The Wizard of Oz, her star rose meteorically during the 1940s, with such favorites of mine as The Harvey Girls, In the Good Old Summertime, Easter Parade, and possibly my favorite musical from the forties, Meet Me In St. Louis. Garland’s artlessness and openness, those platter sized doe brown eyes, and that creamy voice turned her into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars - ever, musicals or no. This was her decade, no doubt.
One of my favorite tunes from Easter Parade
Which is not to say that Garland was the only hot ticket in town. On the contrary, Fred Astaire was still just as popular as ever, but had to move on from Ginger Rogers, who got all “serious” about her careers and did forgettable dramas instead of effervescent musicals. ANYWAY - Freddie moved on with a few different partners; he paired up with Judy in Easter Parade, even reunited with Ginger one more time in the guilty pleasure of mine The Barkleys of Broadway, but he always said his favorite costar was Rita Hayworth. Considering my girl crush on Rita Hayworth is seriously starting to rival my girl crush on Marilyn Monroe - and that’s HUGE - I have developed a penchant for Fred & Rita films. You’ll Never Get Rich and You Were Never Lovelier are similar in plot, quality, and even titles. They’re not the best musicals ever made, but they are light, airy, charming, and sophisticated. Sure, they suffer from the occasional plot hole or six, but they’ll certainly entertain you.
Rita Hayworth got her start in these musicals, and along the upwards trajectory of her career, paired up with another rising star to make the little gem of a musical Cover Girl. Of course, her costar in that great little film is none other than Mr. Sex On A Stick himself, Gene Kelly. Kelly’s inimitable career started mid forties and just went up up up as the decade faded. The studios paired him up with Young Frank in Anchors Aweigh, and liked the idea of the pair as sailors so much, they repeated it for one of the all time best movie musicals ever, On the Town. On the Town is so perfect, so glorious, so wonderful, it’s hard to come up with enough ways to extol its virtues.
Oh my goodness - so my favorite musical of the forties is between Meet Me In St Louis or On the Town? I cannot pick! I pick both!
For my darling sister, I must also mention one of her favorites, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Because seriously, any time James Cagney sings and dances, lovely things happen to my insides. I also feel compelled to include Disney’s darkest animated featured, the downright frightening Pinocchio. It’s so scary, Disney has stopped promoting it. It’s not princess-y enough.
To see the genesis of this article, read the original here.
As I started to consider what the absolute best movie musicals are, I quickly began to realize that compiling a list of the Top 5 Musicals would be completely out of the question. Top 10 Musicals would likewise be totally unrealistic. Perhaps a Top 25 list…
Thing is, if there was ever a genre of film that I have an intense emotional and nostalgic attachment to, it’s the movie musical. I am not overstating it to say that I was raised on the MGM musical. Starting at a very early age - probably about 7 or 8 - my parents (usually my father) would go to the video rental store (hey, remember those?) and come home with Singin’ in the Rain. Or Easter Parade. Or Kiss Me Kate. Or On the Town. Or Barkleys of Broadway. Or High Society. Many of the above titles my parents finally bought a VHS copy of because they figured it would be cheaper than renting it for the 20th time. Even when I was in high school and went to the video store on my own, if I had a choice (meaning I wasn’t with my cynical friends), I would gravitate to the “Musicals” section. I have so many fond memories of watching these over and over and over again, with my younger sister Meaghan in the chair right next to me. Her favorite is On the Town, and she freely admits to crushing on what she calls Young Frank (I read that as pre-mafia Frank Sinatra). My favorite? Are you kidding? How on earth can I pick just one? Then college came, and I watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers over and over. Then I discovered the early thirties Fred & Ginger musical and fell in love all over again. Enter the Bob Fosse musicals of the seventies, and you have a whole different type of love affair. Gritty, sexual, almost shocking… these are great pieces of film, and certainly great movie musicals! And how on earth are you supposed to compare them to the ephemeral bliss of something like Swing Time?
So I cannot make a “Best Of” list for musicals. I could list my top 10 favorite noirs, I could probably rank them, and that is a genre that is very dear to my heart. I could probably even come up with a list of top 10 dramas if I really tried. But top 10 musicals? No. Impossible. Simply too much love for too many films.
In that respect, when considering a “Best Of” list, I will defer to the American Film Institute’s list of the Top 25 Greatest Movie Musicals. It is a solid list - I’ve seen everything on it, most of them more than once. There are a few things I disagree with - Gigi gets a great deal of flack, in my opinion, and is a wonderful film that deserves a spot on this list and it’s ridiculous that it’s not on there - but overall, not too bad at all.
However, I will still make a list, but it is not a Best Of. It is a “These Are My Favorites” list. And the best way to sort it, crazily enough, is by decade. I feel it’s the best way to categorize musicals, as it shows the evolution of the genre.
1930s
With the advent of sound in film in 1927, movie musicals were one of the first new genres to pop up, pulling greatly from the vaudeville stage. However, very early movie musicals were too much - too loud, too crazy, too all over the place. It was as if Hollywood was so excited to make musicals it couldn’t hold it any longer and just went ahead and wet its’ pants. After a few years, however, they got it together and started to make much better formed musicals.
When talking about the 1930s, I must mention Busby Berkeley, definitely a father of American Movie Spectacle. His backstage musicals are not favorites of mine, but I enjoy Footlight Parade because it stars James Cagney. When James Cagney sings and dances, I get a warm fuzzy feeling on the inside.
Definitely a defining feature of musicals in the 1930s for me is the Fred & Ginger musical. When RKO realized what they had in the pair, they kept on pairing them up in many, many films. Favorites of mine are Top Hat, Swing Time, Follow the Fleet, and Shall We Dance. The elegance, the art deco, the sophistication, and the good humor of these films combine to make one damn intoxicating drink. They are like the lightest of champagnes; fizzy, bubbly, and they make you giddy with joy.
Click to viewHow wonderful!
The decade went out on a very high note with arguably the most famous movie musical of all, The Wizard of Oz. Oddly enough, when I remember this film, I kind of forget that it’s a musical. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way - instead, I mean it in a “It’s so iconic, it transcends its genre” kind of way.
I also feel compelled to mention 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Disney’s - and anyone else’s, for that matter - first full length animated film.
For me, however, my absolute favorite musical from the thirties - even more than the unadulterated happiness that is Fred & Ginger - is Rouben Mamoulian’s Love Me Tonight, 1931. Starring Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, and a pre-Thin Man Myrna Loy, this musical is, to me, absolute perfection, and very much a forbear of MGM musicals coming in the next few decades. Without a doubt, the most accomplished musical number is “Isn’t It Romantic.” The tune is passed from a shop owner (the hero) to bridegroom, bridegroom to cab driver, and so on and so forth until it reaches the heroine in a remote country estate. I’m a huge champion of this movie; it’s remembered by film critics and historians, but the general film public has forgotten it. So any chance to recommend it, and I jump. It’s funny, it’s witty, and it’s chock full of charm.
I love how the director manages to unite the hero and heroine through this song before they have even met!
1940s
If Fred & Ginger were the defining musical stars of the 1930s, then without a doubt, their successor was the inimitable Judy Garland. After The Wizard of Oz, her star rose meteorically during the 1940s, with such favorites of mine as The Harvey Girls, In the Good Old Summertime, Easter Parade, and possibly my favorite musical from the forties, Meet Me In St. Louis. Garland’s artlessness and openness, those platter sized doe brown eyes, and that creamy voice turned her into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars - ever, musicals or no. This was her decade, no doubt.
One of my favorite tunes from Easter Parade
Which is not to say that Garland was the only hot ticket in town. On the contrary, Fred Astaire was still just as popular as ever, but had to move on from Ginger Rogers, who got all “serious” about her careers and did forgettable dramas instead of effervescent musicals. ANYWAY - Freddie moved on with a few different partners; he paired up with Judy in Easter Parade, even reunited with Ginger one more time in the guilty pleasure of mine The Barkleys of Broadway, but he always said his favorite costar was Rita Hayworth. Considering my girl crush on Rita Hayworth is seriously starting to rival my girl crush on Marilyn Monroe - and that’s HUGE - I have developed a penchant for Fred & Rita films. You’ll Never Get Rich and You Were Never Lovelier are similar in plot, quality, and even titles. They’re not the best musicals ever made, but they are light, airy, charming, and sophisticated. Sure, they suffer from the occasional plot hole or six, but they’ll certainly entertain you.
Rita Hayworth got her start in these musicals, and along the upwards trajectory of her career, paired up with another rising star to make the little gem of a musical Cover Girl. Of course, her costar in that great little film is none other than Mr. Sex On A Stick himself, Gene Kelly. Kelly’s inimitable career started mid forties and just went up up up as the decade faded. The studios paired him up with Young Frank in Anchors Aweigh, and liked the idea of the pair as sailors so much, they repeated it for one of the all time best movie musicals ever, On the Town. On the Town is so perfect, so glorious, so wonderful, it’s hard to come up with enough ways to extol its virtues.
Oh my goodness - so my favorite musical of the forties is between Meet Me In St Louis or On the Town? I cannot pick! I pick both!
For my darling sister, I must also mention one of her favorites, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Because seriously, any time James Cagney sings and dances, lovely things happen to my insides. I also feel compelled to include Disney’s darkest animated featured, the downright frightening Pinocchio. It’s so scary, Disney has stopped promoting it. It’s not princess-y enough.