Encyclopedia > Musical film
Musical film
The musical is responsible for the transition from silent film to sound film in the development of the motion picture. The popularity of movies grew rapidly during the golden days of the silent film era, but the concept of "talking pictures" was considered a risky investment by the major Hollywood studios, until the Warner Bros. studio took the leap and produced The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson. Jolson's song "Mammy" in the picture forever changed the medium of film, and it jolted Hollywood into the era of sound.
As Hollywood adapted to sound films, musicals were an important part of Hollywood's movie output, ranking alongside action movies (Westerns), dramas, and comedies. Musical stars such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were among the most popular and highly respected personalities in Hollywood, and many regular actors gladly participated in musicals as a way to break away from their typical typecast roles. For instance, James Cagney had originally risen to fame on the stage as a singer and dancer, and he was highly talented; but his repeated casting in "tough guy" roles and gangster movies gave him few chances to display these talents. Cagney's Oscar-winning role in Yankee Doodle Dandy allowed him to sing and dance, and he considered it to be one of his finest moments.
Many comedies (and a few dramas) included their own musical numbers. The Marx Bros.' movies included a musical number in nearly every film, allowing the Marx Bros. themselves to highlight their own musical talents.
The musical in film was a natural development from the stage musical. Typically the biggest difference between the movie musical and the musical theater is the use of lavish background scenery which would be impractical in a theater. Many musical films, e.g. Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music, are straightforward adaptations or restagings of successful stage productions. Others, e.g. Moulin Rouge, were specifically written for the screen, and some, such as Singing in the Rain, have made a reverse transition from their original screen version to a successful stage format at a much later date. The trend in modern film-making is not to make a "musical" as such, but to use a lot of background music by popular rock or pop bands in the hopes of selling the soundtrack album to fans. There are exceptions to this rule, and films about actors, dancers or singers have been made as successful modern-style musicals, with the music as an intrinsic part of the storyline. The other exception to the rule is children's animated movies. These almost always include traditional musical numbers, and some of them (eg Beauty and the Beast) have later become full live stage productions.
Famous musicals include:
- An American in Paris
- Carousel
- High Society
- Kiss Me Kate
- Oklahoma!
- Peter Pan
- Singin' in the Rain
- South Pacific
- The King and I
not yet classified
- Dancer in the Dark
- Everyone Says I Love You
- Guys and Dolls[?]
- Hello, Dolly!
- Holiday Inn
- Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
- My Fair Lady
- On the Avenue[?]
- One Hour With You[?]
- Sister Act[?]
Animated musicals (mostly by Disney)
- Anastasia
- Aladdin
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- The Lion King
- The Little Mermaid[?]
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