Musicals
As soon as sound was introduced to the movies, the movie musical was born. The musical was one of the most popular movie entertainments from the 1930s through to the 50s, before falling out of favour at the end of the 60s for audiences now being weened on Vietnam, race riots, political assassinations, flower power and psychedelia. The musical still continued onwards, albeit in a different form, with various efforts such as "Cabaret", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Grease", "Hair", "All That Jazz" and "The Blues Brothers" appearing over the next decade. More recently, "Moulin Rouge" and particularly "Chicago" hark back to the glory days of the musical.
Right: Liza Minnelli does "Cabaret"
Roustabout (1964)
6/10
Director: John Rich
Starring: Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Freeman
Elvis is a free-wheeling singer (and karate-chopping biker!) who joins Barbara Stanwyck's carnival, learns the meaning of hard work and true love. Son... Read more
Sarafina! (1992)
6.4/10
Director: Darrell Roodt
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba
Based on the hit play, this musical-drama is set against the backdrop of racial strife in Soweto, South Africa, in 1979, where rebellious schoolteache... Read more
Screen Legends: Starring Bing Crosby (1936)
5.6/10
Director: Leo McCarey, Mark Sandrich, Norman Z McLeod, Victor Schertzinger
Starring: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Fred Asta...
A collection of four Bing Crosby classics. "Pennies From Heaven" (1936) - Legendary crooner Bing Crosby sings and dances his way through this charming... Read more
Scrooge (1970)
7.5/10
Director: Ronald Neame
Starring: Albert Finney, Dame Edith Evans, Kenneth More, Alec Guinness
The spirit of Christmas becomes a musical celebration of life in this rousing adaptation of Charles Dickens' beloved family classic, 'A Christmas Caro... Read more
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)
7.4/10
Director: Stanley Donen
Starring: Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Jeff Richards, Marc Platt
When outdoorsman Howard Keel decides to get married, his 6 younger brothers also get the urge. The musical movie inspiration for the TV series contain... Read more
Sextette (1978)
3.2/10
Director: Ken Hughes
Starring: Mae West, Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, George Hamilton...
Mae West's swansong is this bizarre musical comedy in which the bleach blonde diva puts her honeymoon (with Timothy Dalton) on hold while she goes off... Read more
Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1956)
5.1/10
Director: Edward L Cahn
Starring: Fats Domino, Sterling Holloway, Touch Connors, Margaret Dumont
The endearingly awful "Shake, Rattle and Rock!" serves as a showcase for four top rock-and-roll talents of the 1950s. Fats Domino heads the cast as "h... Read more
Shall We Dance / Follow the Fleet (1937)
Director: Mark Sandrich
Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
A Fred Astaire double feature of 'Shall We Dance' (1937) and 'Follow the Fleet' (1936), both with Astaire's long-time co-star Ginger Rogers. 'Shall We... Read more
Show Boat (1951)
7/10
Director: George Sidney
Starring: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel
George Sidney supplies movement and grace to the great Jerome Kern score that colours the lives of misfits and losers in a musical that deftly moves f... Read more
Showbands (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Ian Fitzgibbon
Starring: Liam Cunningham, Kerry Katona, Tina Kellegher, Hugh O'Conor
This four-part made for television drama, steeped in the music, atmosphere and nostalgia of the showband era, is an endearing tale of bar cleaner Deni... Read more