 Starring: Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Eddie MurphyDirector: Bill Condon Year Of Release: 2006 Plot: In the early 60s, a trio of young singers dream of making it to the top. Initially picked to be backup singers for the legendary James Thunder Early, the trio eventually get the chance to break out on their own and find success at Curtis Taylor, Jr.s record company. However when Taylor picks the beautiful but less talented Deena to be the lead singer instead of the talented but more portly Effie, the band splits. |
The Move-A-Day Project is a series of articles based on a multiude of subjects inspired by a different film each day. To find out more about the project click here, or for the full list of previous articles and future movies we’ll be covering click here.
If people say they like The Sound of Music, do you just answer Well, which music do you like the sound of? When you hear someone singing Thank heaven for little girls, is your first thought to phone the NSPCC? If this sounds like you then you need our help, as your education in the movie musical is sadly lacking. Dont worry, people wont think youre a big girls blouse if you know that Gigi was not a critically panned movie starring J-Lo and that Top Hat isnt just something you wear on you head. Everyone will just assume your cultural IQ has gone up. So heres our beginners guide to Movie Musicals.
The first problem when youre talking about musicals is deciding what youre gonna class as one. While its not difficult to say that Dreamgirls is most definitely a musical, what about This Is Spinal Tap, or does that not count because its about musicians? And how about Saturday Night Fever, which is riddled with music, but the characters dont sing a note? However, while its a delightfully pointless argument because it doesnt really matter, its something to beware of, in case anyone ever tries to out-talk you, by bringing up movies which are dubious as musicals at best. In fact, do you class the first sound film ever made as a musical? After all The Jazz Singer includes Al Jolson warbling a fair few songs, but as he sings them because hes an entertainer, rather than because he just spontaneously bursts into tune, does that class as a musical?
Either way, it just goes to prove that the musical has a long heritage, starting from the very moment sound came to the cinemas. Interestingly, it was also around the same time that the musical was taking form on stage. Although opera and operetta had been around for centuries, the first shows we would recognise as musicals didnt arrive until the very end of the 19th Century, with many different productions claiming the title of being the real first. However, the first genuine modern musical, rather than operetta or musical comedy, which has a proper plot, dialogue and popular songs (which realte to the story), is generally considered to be Jerome Kerns Show Boat, which didnt open on Broadway until December 1927, three months after The Jazz Singer had made movie history.
A Bit Of History
If you ever need to give someone a potted history of movie musicals, its probably best to keep it short. Basically, the 30s and 40s were mainly populated with musical comedies and musical revues, mostly with very little plot and songs which seemed to be slotted in, rather than having much to do with the story. Indeed, the studios would often buy the rights to a Broadway show, change the plot, get new songs written, with only the original title remaining. In the 50s the movie musical saw its heyday, with MGM in particular churning out grand productions, with the stories just as important as the music. With the musical, which had a proper plot and songs that were specifically tied to that plot, also taking off on Broadway, there were also far more faithful adaptations, such as Oklahoma! and The King and I.
The 60s was very much a transitional decade as while it saw some of most successful musicals ever, like The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady, it also marked a dramatic decline in the genres overall popularity, with movies like Paint Your Wagon and Finians Rainbow flopping spectacularly. Since then its been much the same story, with highlights such as Grease and commercial failures like Annie and Little Shop of Horrors. However, with Chicago becoming the first musical Best Picture Oscar winner since Oliver! in 1968, and the likes of Dreamgirls getting 8 Oscar nominations, as well as box office hits like Hairspray, High School Musical 3 and Mamma Mia!, theres little doubt the musical is more popular now than its been for the past three decades.
If I Were A Rich Man
Another interesting thing to note is the boom and bust success of movie musicals. The odd thing is that if you look at the whole of movie history, the genre has been a stunning success. When you adjust the US box office for inflation, 15 of the top 100 movies ever are musicals, however if you dont bother taking inflation into account, things dont look so good. Of the top 100 films at the non-adjusted worldwide box office, only three are musicals, and two of them are Disney animated movies (The Lion King and Aladdin), with only Mamma Mia there to represent live action. The next most successful live action musical flick is Grease, from way back in 1978, at number 129 in the rankings. Fact is that since Oliver! In 1968, the musical has been one of the most unreliable genres, simply because theyre expensive to make and very few become major successes. When it works its fantastic, but when it doesnt, youll lose millions.
The Freed Unit
In the history of the movie musical, nothing has been as important as the Freed Unit at MGM in the 40s and 50s. Headed by producer Arthur Freed, he set new benchmarks for the genre by using the best available talent, the most innovative approaches and ensuring the story was as good as the music. Under his unit, Stanley Donen (Singin In The Rain, Kismet) and Vincente Minnelli (Meet Me In St Louis, An American In Paris) got their first directing jobs, and he also gave Gene Kelly the freedom to bring art into musicals. He also oversaw Cabin In The Sky, Ziegfeld Follies, Easter Parade, On The Town, Annie Get your Gun, Show Boat (1951 version), Brigadoon and Gigi, winning two Best Picture Oscars along the way. Interestingly he started off as a lyricist, and what is arguably his greatest movie came about simply because he wanted to put together a movie using old songs that he and Nacio Herb Brown had written. The result was Singin In The Rain.
The Music Men
You cant really say you know anything about movie musicals if you dont know who wrote them. Everyone can name musical stars, but being able to talk lyricists and composers is far more impressive if you’re going to be a musicals genius.
Jerome Kern – Composer
Top Films: Show Boat (1929, 1936, 1951), Swing Time (1936)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Hes the grandfather of American musical theatre, you know.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III – Composer and Lyricist
Top Films: Show Boat (Hammerstein only) (1929, 1936, 1951), State Fair (1945, 1962), Oklahoma! (1955), Carousel (1956), The King and I (1956, 1999), South Pacific (1958), The Sound of Music (1965)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Despite both of having success with other people, together they became the most important musical team ever.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe – Lyricist and Composer
Top Films: Brigadoon (1955), Gigi (1958), My Fair Lady (1964)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Among experts, My Fair Lady is generally considered to be the Citizen Kane of musicals.
John Kander and Fred Ebb – Composer and Lyricist
Top Films: Cabaret (1970), Funny Lady (1975), New York, New York (1977), Chicago (2002)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Despite the fact that Judy Garland was her mother, it was Kander and Ebb who made Liza Minnelli a star.
Irving Berlin – Songwriter
Top Films: Top Hat (1935), Holiday Inn (1942), Easter Parade (1948), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), White Christmas (1954)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Irving Berlin couldnt read music and could only play the piano in one key.
Harold Arlen – Songwriter
Top Films: The Wizard of Oz (1939), Cabin in the Sky (1943), Kismet (1944), A Star Is Born (1954)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Its incredible nobody knows who he is, because he wrote everything from Somewhere Over The Rainbow and Stormy Weather, to Its Only A Paper Moon and That Old Black Magic.
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken – Lyricist and Composer
Top Films: Little Shop Of Horrors (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992)
What To Say To Sound Like A Genius: Ashman and Menken reinvigorated Disney musicals, but ever since Ashman died of AIDS in 1991, Menken has never managed to reach the same heights again with other lyricists.
Other Movie Musical People You Need To Know
Heres a few more people who were immensely important to the movies musical world, just so you can be the best namedropper around.
Busby Berkeley
Whos He?: Director, famed for his lavish dance sequences. Worked mainly in the 30s and 40s.
Top Movie: Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Vincente Minnelli
Whos He?: Father of Liza and first husband of Judy Garland. Made musicals at MGM in the 40s and 50s.
Top Movie: Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)
Stanley Donen
Whos He?: A choreographer turned director who had such an impact on the movie musical that he got an honorary Oscar in 1998 for the grace, elegance, wit and visual innovation of his movies.
Top Movie: Singin In The Rain (1952)
Gene Kelly
Whos He?: Originally a dancer who went on to become one of the silver screens biggest stars and most successful directors.
Top Movie: Singin In The Rain (1952)
Fred Astaire
Whos He?: First screen test evaluation said Can’t act. Can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little. Went on to become one of the top movie entertainers ever.
Top Movie: Top Hat (1935)
Alan Parker
Whos He?: While they havent all been huge successes, Parker has helped keep the musical alive with films like Evita, Bugsy Malone, Fame and Pink Floyds The Wall.
Top Movie: Bugsy Malone (1976)
Rob Marshall
Whos He?: Former choreographer, who was acclaimed for bringing the musical back to the big screen, with Chicago.
Top Movie: Chicago (2002)
Bob Fosse
Whos He?: One of Broadways top directors/choreographers, who was nominated for the Best Director Oscar for three of the five films he directed.
Top Movie: Cabaret (1972)
Howard Keel
Whos He?: Broadway star turned staple of 1950s movie musicals. Found fame with later generations as Clayton Farlow in Dallas.
Top Movie: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)
Judy Garland:
Who’s She?: One of the few female musical stars to get the same billing as the men. Her movie career virtually ended after illness and drug problems meant she had to be replaced a few days into filming Annie Get Your Gun in 1950.
Top Movie: The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Five Directors You Wouldnt Have Expected To Make A Musical
Francis Ford Coppola Finians Rainbow (1968)
Sidney Lumet The Wiz (1978)
John Huston Annie (1982)
Martin Scorsese New York, New York (1977)
Norman Jewison Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Five Actors You Wouldnt Have Expected To Make A Musical
Clint Eastwood Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Michelle Pfeiffer Grease 2 (1982)
James Cagney Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Marlon Brando Guys and Dolls (1955)
Robert De Niro New York, New York (1977)
Musicals That Have Won The Best Picture Oscar
Chicago (2002)
Oliver! (1968)
The Sound of Music (1965)
My Fair Lady (1964)
West Side Story (1961)
Gigi (1958)
An American In Paris (1951)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Broadway Melody (1929)
TIM ISAAC
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