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"
Young At Heart (1954)
6.9/10
Director: Gordon Douglas
Starring: Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore
A great musical/drama, based on the 1938 film 'Four Daughters', with Frank Sinatra as a musician who comes to a small town to work with composer Alex... Read more
Young Man With A Horn (1950)
7.2/10
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael, Juano Hernandez
Based on the life of jazz trumpeter Bix Biederbecke and adapted from the novel by Dorothy Baker, Kirk Douglas is the Bix character, Rick Martin, one o... Read more
Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
6.6/10
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Starring: Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, William Powell, Esther Williams, Red Skelt...
This enchanting MGM musical treat has late, great showman Florenz Ziegfeld (William Powell) looking down from heaven and envisioning an assortment of... Read more