The collection consists of the following films, packaged in chronological order: The Jazz Singer (1927), The Broadway Melody (1929), 42nd Street (1933), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), An American in Paris (1951), Show Boat (1951), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), A Star is Born (1954), The Music Man (1962), Viva Las Vegas (1964), Camelot (1967), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), Cabaret (1972), That’s Entertainment! (1974), Victor/Victoria (1982), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), and Hairspray (1988).
Released in 1927, The Jazz Singer holds a place in film history as the first film to feature spoken dialogue. Starring Al Jolson, one of the biggest stars in the world at the time, sings and dances his way through this tale of a young Jewish man determined to be an entertainer despite family traditions and his father’s expectations. While the obvious racism in the story makes The Jazz Singer dated, its historical importance makes it an essential film for any collection.
Released just two years later in 1929, The Broadway Melody shows just how much sound had advanced. Set in the world of Broadway, two sisters (Anita Page, Bessie Love) are a vaudeville act looking to make it big on the Great White Way. While one sister is smart and feisty, the other is a blonde bombshell. One guess at who gets most of the attention… The Broadway Melody was the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Early in the sound era, Hollywood realized that Broadway was a wonderful place to mine for movie musicals. 1933’s 42nd Street represents what would become the basic framework for the plot of a ‘backstage’ Hollywood musical: a beautiful ingénue, egotistical stars, money hungry producers and various shady hangers-on. Story aside, the real highlight of 42nd Street are the production numbers by Busby Berkley. No one created arrested dance scenes, with their complex geometric patterns, like he did. Staying firmly in the world of Broadway, are The Great Ziegfeld, which stars William Powell as the legendary Broadway impresario Florenz “Flo” Ziegfeld, Jr. and Yankee Doodle Dandy, directed by and starring Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney in his Oscar winning role as song-and-dance man, George M. Cohan.
By the late thirties, Hollywood was still keeping an eye on Broadway for musical material, but they weren’t afraid to look in other areas. Case in point, the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and starring Judy Garland, the film features one of the best known songs in movie history, “Over the Rainbow,” and is consistently ranked in the top ten in various polls concerning the best films ever. 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain, featuring some of the slickest dancing on film from Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds, has long been considered by many the best musical ever made. Having watched it upwards of thirty times, I’d have to say it’s definitely in the top two. The Music Man, also included here, is just a delightful musical romp from start to finish, starring an energetic Robert Preston and an effervescent Shirley Jones.
Even at the height of the genres popularity, some at the forefront of musicals were eager to break new ground. 1951’s An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly, produced by Arthur Freed and written by Alan Jay Lerner, combines impressionist inspired set design (courtesy of art directors Preston Ames and Cedric Gibbons, as well as set decoration by Edwin B. Wallis) and some truly innovative, modern dance steps from star Gene Kelly. All of this is set to the wonderful music of George Gershwin. Showboat, which also debuted in theaters during 1951, was risky given its strong message against racial intolerance. The second film based on the 1927 play, this version was filmed in the typically lavish MGM style and remains a favorite of musical movie lovers more than sixty years after its original release. The plot of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) is rather typical stuff—a backwoodsman and his seven brothers learn a thing or two about manners from his proper, city bride—but what makes Brides special is director Stanley Donen’s use of wide screen as an artistic tool for showing off Michael Kidd’s unique choreography.
As of this writing, A Star Is Born has been filmed three times. The version included here is the 1954 release starring Judy Garland. Presented in its reconstructed length, the film tells of the dark side of stardom. Garland stars as Esther Blodgett, an up and coming singer; James Mason is Norman Maine, a former matinee idol whose career is in decline due in large part to alcohol. Despite obvious issues, the two fall in love and have an intense, complicated relationship. As their careers continue to go in opposite directions, one wonders if either one of them will survive the harsh slings and arrows of show business.
By the late 1950’s, rock ‘n roll was exploding in America and abroad, so it came as little surprise that it began to show up in movies. Elvis Presley had made a successful big screen debut in Love Me Tender (1956). While the plots were rarely anything to write home about, his dashing good looks and inevitable hit single from the film usually meant box office success. Presley is represented here by 1964’s Viva Las Vegas. One of Presley’s most popular films, it’s got some memorable songs, fast cars and Ann-Margret at her sexy best. What more could you want?
1967’s Camelot, starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero marked the end of the big budget musical. The tale of King Arthur and his knights of the round table, the soundtrack was a major best seller and provided Richard Harris with one of the best roles of his career.
As the 1970’s rolled around, movie audiences were largely disinterested in traditional musicals. American audiences were rather pessimistic about the country’s future. That cynicism was on full display in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Based on the Roald Dahl bestseller Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the occasionally touching and wonderfully creepy story of an unusual ‘candy man’ has become a true classic.
Directed by Bob Fosse, 1972’s Cabaret proved that a traditional musical could still attract an audience if it was adapted for the times. Starring Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey (who both won Oscars for their roles), the film tells the story of American cabaret singer Sally Bowles (Minnelli), a performer at the Kit Kat Klub in 1931 Berlin.
One of my favorite offerings in the box set is the 1974 documentary That’s Entertainment!. A star-studded tribute to musicals and MGM’s then fifty year history, it features some of the best musical film clips interspersed with comments by some of the world’s biggest celebrities at the time. Gene Kelly played a key role in recruiting major stars to appear in the film. It proved to be the last time film footage was shot on the MGM lot. Soon thereafter, the studio was razed and the land sold for housing. Thankfully, the films and this documentary live on.
Though film musicals were few and far between in the 1980’s, three of them are included in this set. First up, is 1982’s Victor/Victoria. Directed by Blake Edwards, this gender Bending comedy stars Julie Andrews impersonating a cross dressing male. Co-starring Robert Preston, the film presents an interesting take on homosexuality and gender politics. James Garner also shines in a supporting role. Next, is the wildly funny (albeit somewhat dark), Little Shop of Horrors. An adaptation of the off Broadway hit the film stars Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Victor Gardenia, Steve Martin and the voice of Levi Stubbs (as a man eating plant) has become a modern classic. The last film is John Waters’ Hairspray, released in 1988. A true cult hit, this mix of rock n’ roll and Waters’ special brand of crazy shows just how far musicals have come in the past sixty years or so.
All twenty films are accompanied by some of the special features that can be found on their original DVD releases. There are hours of audio commentaries and featurettes to keep viewers busy for weeks! The set also includes a booklet that contains a synopsis of each film. The transfers vary and are what’s to be expected give that they are just the DVD releases imported from the stand-alone releases. This set comes highly recommended for any musical fans who hasn’t had a chance to pick these movies up yet, or as a sampler for a young person interested in film history.
