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"
Holiday Inn (1942)
7.6/10
Director: Mark Sandrich
Starring: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds
This grand musical showcase for Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire about a romantic triangle, and the establishment of a country inn that's open only on the... Read more
Hollywood Singing and Dancing - A Musical History (2008)
7.7/10
Starring: Shirley Jones, Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds
A celebration of song and dance in the movies, beginning with the first musicals in the Busby Berkeley era through to the Oscar-winning fare of 'Chica... Read more
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
7.3/10
Director: David Swift
Starring: Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee, Robert Morse
Robert Morse recreated his Tony-winning stage role in this filming of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical. Window washer J. Pierpont Finch applies the... Read more
Huckleberry Finn (1974)
5.4/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Arthur O'Connell, David Wayne, Gary Merrill, Natalie Trundy, Paul Winfield, Harv...
A delightful musical adaptation of Mark Twain's most famous novel. Huckleberry Finn, a rambuctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilizat... Read more
Hunky Dory (2011)
6.2/10
Director: Marc Evans
Starring: Minnie Driver, Robert Pugh, Haydn Gwynne
It's the long hot British summer of 1976 and Viv (Minnie Driver) has left London, and her thespian aspirations, to work as a drama teacher in the loca... Read more
Idlewild (2006)
6.2/10
Director: Bryan Barber
Starring: Big Boi , Andre Benjamin, Macy Gray, Terrence Howard, Faizon Love, Paula Patton,...
Andre Benjamin and Big Boi (both from hip-hop band Outkast) star in this raucous, larger-than-life action/comedy/musical set in prohibition-era Virgin... Read more
Into the Woods (2014)
6/10
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp,...
Be careful what you wish for "Into the Woods" is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choi... Read more
Into the Woods ( Blu-ray ) (2014)
6/10
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp,...
Be careful what you wish for "Into the Woods" is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choi... Read more
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)
6.1/10
Director: Norman Taurog
Starring: Elvis Presley, Joan O'Brien, Gary Lockwood, Vicky Tiu, Edith Atwater, Yvonne Cra...
Fun, music and Elvis all happen in this romp boasting one of the best backdrops of any Elvis Presley movie: the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, with its sh... Read more
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1975)
6.1/10
Director: Denis Heroux
Starring: Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman, Elly Stone
An example of the daring kind of 70s filmmaking which is almost unimaginable today, using a kaleidoscope of imagery and a heady mix of cinematic style... Read more