Musicals

I love musicals! I especially love anything Rogers & Hammerstein. Also Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Gene Kelley, Liza Minnelli, and various other artists.

I know there are alot of musicals that I haven't seen though. Do any of you have some favorite musicals or know of any good ones out there? I could make a list of the ones I've seen, but that would take a while. Would appreciate any suggestions.

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Herr Zeller: Perhaps those who would warn you that the Anschluss is coming - and it is coming, Captain - perhaps they would get further with you by setting their words to music.
Captain von Trapp: If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section.

It sounds like you've seen everything I could mention. But I'll stay away from MGM and give it a try.

The 1936 version of Showboat is better than the MGM remake.

Possibly a little too dark for your taste, but worth seeing:

Oh, What a Lovely War

The Ruling Class

No original songs in either. The first has no plot, basically a musical revue using popular World War I songs to make an anti-war statement. Very cinematic and well staged. The latter is a black comedy with Peter O' Toole as a madman who thinks he is Jesus Christ, but later gets better when he thinks he is Jack the Ripper. Not everyone would call this a musical, but when people burst into song and dance on numerous occasions, what else is it?

Blondie Goes Latin The long running Blondie series based on the comic strip had one entry that definitely qualifies as a musical and this is it. There are six or seven songs, mostly original, not great, but pleasant. Penny Singleton who was a singer gets to belt out a few, two more singers are added for this one, and even Baby Dumpling gets to do a duet with a little girl. It all takes place on an ocean liner and is well done in a modest way, with a good share of laugh thanks mainly to Arthur Lake and Daisy the dog.

I dom't know if you've seen Doris Day musicals. She was better in those than in the Rock Hudson team-ups. Her two best are Pajama Game and Calamity Jane. Love Me or Leave Me where she plays singer Ruth Etting isn't really a musical, but it's worth seeing.

MGm was the studio that excelled at musicals during the golden age of Hollywood. Paramount had Bing Crosby so they made them, too, but the only standout one is Holiday Inn with Fred Astaire.

Here is a real life musical.

Jesus Christ Superstar 2000 is my fav.
Brigadoon is one that makes me feel better when I'm ill.
Moulin Rouge is great fun for me.
Funny Girl is a classic that I enjoy.
West Side Story
Buffy the musical episode is in my cd player right now.
The Sound of Music
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Desperado while not a musical, is one that I bought the DVD and CD to listen to.
Godspell is a pretty terrible movie but the sound track is good. Then again I have a special fondness for it because I've done that show. LOL.

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Bleacheddecay

Since bleachedaddy broght up Brigadoon, which I assumed you've seen, let me point out the television version of it is available on youtube,which won an Emmy. It stars Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

Some great suggestions...I enjoy dark musicals as much as the warm and fuzzy stuff. In fact if you really look at the subject matter of some of the most popular musicals they're pretty dark. Sound of Music for instance...Dead mother, Nazi's, child exploitation, greed, war, fleeing your homeland to never return? Pretty dark stuff.

I've actually never seen Brigadoon I'll check out both versions. Oh what a lovely war...i'm not sure if I've seen that but I'm going to check it out as well.

I am sure you've seen these but here goes.

Roger's and Hammerstien's Cinderella (a childhood obsession)

The Stepsister's Lament (this is over the top but these girls are very talented
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When I was a kid I wanted to play one of the stepsister, the one with the creaky knee in the Lesley Ann Warren version.

Once Upon A Mattress (another childhood obsession)

Shy (Carol Burnett as the Princess Fred)
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Another role I coveted as a kid.

La Vie en Rose (Edith Piaf biopic)

Non, Je ne Regrette Rien (sung by Piaf and lip synched by the fabulous Marion Cotillard)


Ray (biopic about Ray Charles starring the multi-talented Jamie Foxx)

Hit the Road, Jack (sung by Jamie Foxx)
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Phantom of the Opera (a latter day obsession)

Think of Me (Emmy Rossum)
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I love this scene, the spinning camera takes in everything from the glittering Paris audience, to the crew in the flies then down into the pit, through a hole in the register, slipping through a chink in the stone floor we find the Phantom in the sewers listening to his pupil become a star.

When the dancing mistress suggests Christine replace Carlotta and Andre says, "What a chorus girl! Don't be silly." I crack up.

Ultra kitsch, fabulousity.

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Louise Vale first woman to play Jane Eyre in the flickers.

Seeing that Carol Burnett clip reminded me of New Faces, a flimed version of the Broadway review that featured Eartha Kitt singing many of her standards and Alice Ghostly (she reminded me of Burnett, not Kitt), Paul Lynde, and that French guy on Hogan's heroes.

Although West Side Story is my alltime favorite movie, hands down, there are also some other musicals that, while they don't hold the same special place in my heart regarding movie musicals and movies generally as West Side Story, I like them well, too. Here they are, in no particular order:

Wizard of Oz

My Fair Lady

Sound of Music (although I've got ambivalent feelings about the story behind TSOM for a number complicated reasons)

Cabaret

Hair

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"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)

Here is Alice Ghostly from New Faces.

I've never seen that Carol Burnette musical..didn't even know it exsisted!!

I'll try to list all the musicals I've seen
Sound of Music
My Fair Lady
Oklahoma
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Les Miserables
State Fair
South Pacific
Charlottes Web
All the animated Disney movies
Meet me in St. Louis
Summerstock
Wizard of Oz
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Guys and Dolls
Phantom of the Opera
Cats
Greatest Show on Earth
Mary Poppins
Sweeny Todd
Ray
Walk the Line
Dreamgirls
Grease 1&2
White Christmas
Harvey Girls
Easter Parade


I know there are more that I'm not thinking of..but I think my brain has just flat lined

Oh Eartha Kit just reminded me...St. Louis Blues! and of course West side story

Sound of music is probably one of my favorites. What makes you feel ambivilant about the story? It's obviously not historically accurate, but I'm always interested in finding out how others feel about things.

You said earlier that you liked Liza Minnelli, but I only saw in your list one movie she was in (she "played" a baby in Easter Parade), so I have to second Cabaret as a film you need to watch.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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More to check out:

The King and I

The Music Man

All That Jazz (Which I found to be quite profound plus it had one of the sexiest dance scenes ever, IMO.)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (With the delicious Truly Scrumptious.)

Dirty Dancing

Oklahoma

Holiday Inn (Save for the X'mas season!)

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Sweeny Todd.

Across the Universe

Oh well, I'll add Love Me Tonight, Gold Diggers of 1933, the Astaire-Rogers series, Stormy Weather, Cabin in the Sky, On the Town, An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon, Porgy and Bess, Gigi, My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Fame (1980), Chicago (2002), and Hairspray (2007) for now.

If I repeat some that are on your list, I appologize.

Singing in the Rain has often been called the greatest musical ever made. It's certainly Gene Kelly's best.

Academy Award best picture winners:

An American in Paris

Gigi

Oliver

Chicago

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Many Fred Astaire ones are good. I think the best is Band Wagon with Cyd Cherise. He first became a hit dancing wirh Ginger Rogers in the 1930's. They're a little dated now. The general critical consensus is the two best are Top Hat and Swing Time. I like The Gay Divorcee best.

Other ones worth checking out

Damn Yankees (if only to see Gwem Verdon dance and sing "Whatever Lola Wants")

Carousel

The Music Man (The movie version with Robert Preston, not that lousy TV version with a miscast Matthew Broderick

Mark F just mentioned them in his list, but two of my favorite are:

Singin' in the Rain and Gigi.



Singin' in the Rain is easily my favorite musical. It's got great songs, terrific performances, and is funny as hell.


Gigi is just great; I don't know how else to describe it but "sumptuous."


I also love An American in Paris. Gene Kelly is just amazing. I've always thought of this as a "masculine musical," if that makes any sense. Watch it and I think you'll see what I mean.



My wife's favorite is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It's also quite good.

Of course, a true musical has just as much dancing as singing, although I guess that's normally considered a ballet. I want to offer The Red Shoes as one of the greatest musicals even if it has no singing at all. Besides that, if The Red Shoes never existed, there probably would have never been An American in Paris.

It's too stagey to be a complete success, but with a great cast and songs there's How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying

Annie Get Your Gun was the musical Judy Garland was making when MGM fired her and replaced her with Betty Hutton. It's good.

Kiss Me Kate Great score and performances, even by the usually bland Kathryn Grayson