The Best Movie Musicals of the 1960's, the beginning of the end of great movie musicals

Another great routine.


Donald O'Connor AND Gene Kelly.....................both amazing dancers!!!!! I've heard said that Donald was the better dancer technically while Gene had that "Star" quality...........I say "who cares". As a Duo absolutely amazing. Individually captivating.

Greg
 
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I agree Mama Mia and LaLa Land were great as was Phantom of Opera, Hamilton, Cabaret, Evita, Cats, etc. My point is the number and size of these great musicals are decreasing. Where we had 20 to 40 new musical films a year we are lucky if we get 15 or 20 and most of those are going to be animations or revivals of older productions, TV specials, and single performer productions. We are now calling movie musicals any movie with a couple of songs and half dozen cast members. Major musicals in mid 20th century typically had casts of 25 to 40 with 10 to 15 musical numbers. Today real musicals rarely have a cast of more dozen performers.

In 2016 we had 14, musicals but only 2, LaLa Land and Sing Street had a live cast and were made for movie theaters. The rest were animations , TV specials, and single performer shows.
I didn't like Phantom of the Opera Music on record and I don't think I ever saw all the screen version; just no appeal. But my wife took me to the live version in London and frankly I was blown away!!! Amazing show; I was absolutely spellbound!!!

Yet I still don't like the music much.

Chicago was the opposite; stage show in London was DULL; Movie was brilliant.... :4_13_65:

Greg
 
Donald O'Connor AND Gene Kelly.....................both amazing dancers!!!!! I've heard said that Donals was the better dancer technically while Gene had that "Star" quality...........I say "who cares". As a Duo absolutely amazing. Individually captivating.

Greg

Donald had no formal dance training, like the other professionals of the day.

One of my favourite male ballet dancers, Richard Cragun, (since deceased) first took his inspiration and interest in dance from O’Connor.
 
Donald had no formal dance training, like the other professionals of the day.

One of my favourite male ballet dancers, Richard Cragun, (since deceased) first took his inspiration and interest in dance from O’Connor.
Wow. I didn't know that.

Self-taught...amazing!!!

Greg
 

If they just didn't use that damn yellow orange filter, it would have been one of the greatest movie musicals ever. I don't understand why Josh Logan, the director decided to make the movie with yellowish tint. People see it today and think the film was defective.
 
This is the last decade of America's love affair with movie musicals. In the decades of the 30s, 40s, and 50s we averaged about 250 movie musicals a year. In 1958, MGM released the last of it's great musicals, Gigi. In the 1960s we still had a lot of musicals but the numbers were falling, only 140 for the decade as was the quality with many rather silly teen musicals and Elvis Presley films.

In 2000, we had less than 100 musicals and in the 2020's we will surely have less. Not only have the numbers fallen but so has the size of the musicals, less cast, more animations, more concert tours, etc... There are many reasons for the demise of the great American musicals which are covered in the link below.


So here is what I consider the best of the decade in no particular order. I'll do one more review of best musicals covering 70's and beyond.

  • Bells are Ringing is an adorable musical comedy with Judy Holiday and Dean Martin.
  • Flower Drum Song
  • West Side Story is one of the greatest dramatic musicals to make it to the screen. I only wish it was not quite so sad.
  • The Music Man, what a great musical that brings to life the small town of River City Iowa in 1912 and the infamous Howard Hill and his all boys marching band.
  • Bye Bye Birdie
  • A Hard Days Night
  • Camelot- Probably the most notable thing about this musical other than it's association with JFK is the takeaway of the musical which is although King Arthur's plans failed the vision of Camelot remains that might does not make right but right makes might.
  • Mary Poppins - Disney proves he can make a great musical that isn't animated. There's a good side story told in the movie Saving Mr. Banks with Tom Hanks which tells the story of how Mary Poppins almost did not get made.
  • My Fair Lady- By far, my favorite musical. It is wise, witty, and winning. In short, a miraculous musical that is every bit as good as the Broadway production, nominated for 12 Oscars and wining 6.
  • The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
  • The Sound of Music - the last and some say the best of the Rogers and Hammerstein musicals
  • Brigadoon
  • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch (Robert Morse) who buys the book How to Succeed in Business, describing in step-by-step fashion how to rise in the business world. Thus begins the very funny tale how he climbs the later to success. Great songs with great performances by Robert Morse, Michelle Lee, and Rudy Vallee. The movie was remade without the music a few decades later with Michael J. Fox in the lead. Also a good movie but IMHO not as good as the original.
  • Funny Girl - along with Hello Dolly, Barbra Streisand's best works. Of the two, I like Funny Girl the best.
  • Hello Dolly
  • Oliver


South Pacific,......
 
Donald O'Connor AND Gene Kelly.....................both amazing dancers!!!!! I've heard said that Donald was the better dancer technically while Gene had that "Star" quality...........I say "who cares". As a Duo absolutely amazing. Individually captivating.

Greg
It's amazing that Debbie Reynolds had never danced before this move. In high school she avoided school dances because she danced so poorly. When offered the part in Singing in the Rain, she didn't know how she would get through the dance numbers. Gene Kelly said he would help her till she knew the numbers. And boy did they work, weekends and nights. Debbie said, she literally danced till her feet were bloody.

I think Donald O'Conner's dance number, Make'em Laugh is just as good as Gene Kelly's Singing in the Rain number. Kelly's dancing is more artistic and O'Conner's is more energetic. And both are great in their own way.

 
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Stop the World, I Want to Get Off starring Anthony Newley is a great musical that appeared on and off Broadway and the London stage and has been revived a number of times. It was made into a movie in 1965. It is both funny and sad and very memorable.

The show, set against a circus backdrop focuses on Littlechap from the moment of his birth until his death. Each time something unsatisfactory happens, he calls out 'Stop the world!' and addresses the audience. The story takes you through his life, finding a job, marrying the bosses daughter, pregnancy, birth of his children, success in business. Sadden by family responsibilities and denied the one thing in life he wanted most, a son. He drifts through affairs with women, ignores the family and most of the true joys of life. And all of a sudden, life is over.

At the moment of his death, he watches his second daughter give birth to a son. When the boy nearly dies, Littlechap intervenes and allows Death to take him instead which gives way to the beautiful song What Kind of Fool Am I. I don't think I had ever teared up in a movie or play but I certainly did in this one. It is rare that you see a production that drives home such wonderful moral as this one.
 
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What about the following:
The Wiz
Fame
Flashdance
A Chorus Line
I saw The Wiz on Broadway and enjoyed it. It was a huge success. I saw the movie and didn’t think it was as good. I agree with critics, Diana Ross was too old for the part. The movie was neither a box office or critical success. 28 songs is a lot for a musical and 2:40 is a long movie.
I
I found Dirty Dancing very enjoyable due to the dancing and the love story. The plot is a bit thin but who cares. I believe all the music were recordings from the 50’s and 60’s so I think of the movie as more of a romantic drama rather than a musical.

Saw Chorus Line on Broadway and loved it. Friends said the movie was pretty awful compared to the stage version. I really liked some of the music, particularly One, I Can Get, and What I Did for Love.

For some reason, I never saw Fame. I heard it was very good.

I wrote a review covering movie musicals from the 70’s to date. Each decade we had fewer and fewer major musicals. We began calling musicals any film that had a couple of songs in it. I think it was the 2010’s, when half of the ten top musicals were animations. My review sounded like an obituary so I didn’t post it.
 
I saw The Wiz on Broadway and enjoyed it. It was a huge success. I saw the movie and didn’t think it was as good. I agree with critics, Diana Ross was too old for the part. The movie was neither a box office or critical success. 28 songs is a lot for a musical and 2:40 is a long movie.
I
I found Dirty Dancing very enjoyable due to the dancing and the love story. The plot is a bit thin but who cares. I believe all the music were recordings from the 50’s and 60’s so I think of the movie as more of a romantic drama rather than a musical.

Saw Chorus Line on Broadway and loved it. Friends said the movie was pretty awful compared to the stage version. I really liked some of the music, particularly One, I Can Get, and What I Did for Love.

For some reason, I never saw Fame. I heard it was very good.

I wrote a review covering movie musicals from the 70’s to date. Each decade we had fewer and fewer major musicals. We began calling musicals any film that had a couple of songs in it. I think it was the 2010’s, when half of the ten top musicals were animations. My review sounded like an obituary so I didn’t post it.
Then of course there is my favorite: The Blues Brothers movie. Blues Brothers 2000 was weak in comparison.
 
It was a fun musical. If we could exclude the fact that neither Clint Eastwood nor Lee Marvin could carry a tune in a basket, it would be a great musical.
"Barroom Buddies" written by Clint Eastwood hit #1 in American Country Songs when he teamed up with Merle Haggard in a duet in 1980. He's considered one of the most versatile actors who ever lived, and forever I remembered having my first crush on Rowdy when I was very, very young. <giggle> I heard a rumor he sang the theme song to "Rawhide" but if he did, it wasn't the original artist when Rawhide first aired. Rumors are just that. lol

Taken from Eastwood's movie, "Bronco Billy,"



 
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