Movie Musicals

Paint Your Wagon

In 1969, a film version of "Paint Your Wagon" was released. The expensive production ran for 2 hours and 44 minutes and starred Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg. The movie version of "Paint Your Wagon" included several new songs by Alan Jay Lerner and Andre Previn. The movie was not a success and it soon became a forgotten film. [read more...]

Singin' in the Rain

"Singin' in the Rain" was a hit movie in 1952 and since then it has become a classic. It is considered one of the best films of all time by the American Film Institute and in 1989, "Singin' in the Rain" was added by the Library of Congress to the National Film Registry. The film starred Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds. [read more...]

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" was a 1950s film success. Released in 1954, the film starred Howard Keel and Jane Powell, with a supporting cast of dancers and gymnasts, including a young Russ Tamblyn. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1954. In 2004, it was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry. [read more...]

Gigi

The movie musical, "Gigi," was an enormous success, winning 9 Academy Awards in 1958, including the award for Best Picture. It starred Leslie Caron as the naive and lively Gigi, Louis Jourdan as the older, romantic Gaston and the unique Maurice Chevalier as Honore, Gaston's sophisticated, woman-chasing uncle. [read more...]

Mary Poppins

The 1964 film version of "Mary Poppins" was one of Disney's most successful movies. It starred two accomplished Broadway performers in the lead roles - Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins and Dick van Dyke as Bert. [read more...]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was the second Disney film to star the gifted Broadway, and later TV, performer, Dick van Dyke. As with the earlier "Mary Poppins," the 1968 film used Broadway performers for most of the major roles, including hiring Sally Ann Howes to play the female lead. [read more...]

Grease

The film version of "Grease," released in 1978 and starring John Travolta and Olivier Newton-John, has become a film classic. New songs were added to the film, including the title song, written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and the Academy Award nominated song, "Hopelessly Devoted to You." Most of the other songs were written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The film was very successful at the box office but it was not rereleased until 1998 and DVD fans had to wait until 2002 to purchase "Grease." [read more...]

Hair

A film adaptation of "Hair" was released in 1979. It had a new, tighter screenplay, written by Michael Weller, and it was directed by Milos Forman. New choreography was created for the film by Twyla Tharp and the film starred Treat Williams, John Savage and Nell Carter. Significant changes were made for the film version and the show's original creators, Rado and Ragni, were dissatisfied with the final result which, according to them, did not match the play's original concept. The film did not receive any Academy Award nominations and, although it was initially successful with audiences, it did not become a classic film like "Grease" did. [read more...]

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

In 1967, a film version of "How to Succeed" was made and it should have been a success, but it wasn't nominated for any Academy Awards and it has become, unfortunately, a forgotten film. The movie starred several members of the original Broadway cast, including Robert Morse in his Tony winning performance as Pierpont Finch andRudy Vallee. Other cast members of the film who also appeared in the stage version were Michelle Lee as the female lead, Rosemary, Sammy Smith as Twimble and Ruth Kobart as Miss Jones. [read more...]

Flower Drum Song

The movie version of "Flower Drum Song" is a wonderful, happy musical with great music, dancing, singing, and acting. However, it was not a very successful film and it did not receive any major Academy Award nominations. It was only released about a year ago on DVD and it was the last of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals to be available on DVD. [read more...]