Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday: Lovely to Look At (1952)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

lovely to look at2This week’s musical:
Lovely to Look At (1952) – Musical #705

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Mervyn LeRoy

Starring:
Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Ann Miller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kasznar, Marcel Dalio

Plot:
Broadway producers — Al Marsh (Skelton), Tony Naylor (Keel) and Jerry Ralby (Gower Champion) — are trying to raise capital for their new show. Just as they are about to give up, Marsh learns that he inherits a fashion house in France after his Aunt Roberta passes away. The three travel to France, to sell Marsh’s portion of the fashion house to earn capital for their show. The plan backfires when they learn the business is financially not doing well. The three stay on to help Stephanie (Grayson) and Clarisse (Marge Champion) get the business back up on its feet.

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TCMFF Musical Monday: It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
It’s Always Fair Weather – Musical #150

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

Starring:
Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Michael Kidd, Dolores Gray, David Burns, Jay C. Flippen, Madge Blake (uncredited)

Plot:
After serving in World War II, three Army pals — Ted Riley (Kelly), Doug Hallerton (Dailey) and Angie Valentine (Kidd) — promise to continue to stay friends and meet 10 years later. When they meet again, they find themselves changed and living entirely different lives. Doug and Angie have settled down with families, and Ted is living a fast life with gambling and women.

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Musical Monday: Breakfast in Hollywood (1946)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

breakfast in hollywood2This week’s musical:
Breakfast in Hollywood (1946) – Musical #704

Studio:
United Artists

Director:
Harold D. Schuster

Starring:
Bonita Granville, Beaulah Bondi, Billie Burke, Raymond Walburn, Zasu Pitts, Edward Ryan,
Themselves: Tom Breneman, Hedda Hopper, Spike Jones, Andy Russell, The King Trio, Anna Le Seur, Ida Beneman, Alice Cooper

Plot:
Several people attend the “Breakfast in Hollywood” radio program, hosted by Tom Breneman (himself):
• Dorothy Larson (Granville) who is looking for her solider fiancée, who she hasn’t heard from
• Elderly Mrs. Annie Reed (Bondi), who has no one to look after her
• Plain Mrs. Frances Cartwright (Burke) who’s husband (Walburn) is stepping out on her
• Elvira Spriggens (Pitts), who desperately wants to win the radio’s crazy hat contest.
While all of seemingly only attending the program for fun, each of them has an experience that follows that alters their life.

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Musical Monday: Easter Parade (1948)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Easter Parade (1948) – Musical #31

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles Walters

Starring:
Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford, Jules Munshin, Clinton Sundberg, Lola Albright (uncredited), Joi Lansing (uncredited), Jimmie Dodd (uncredited)

Plot:
When Nadine Hale (Miller) decides to leave her act with Don Hewes (Astaire), Don bets that he can find a new partner who can perform just as well as she does. Don finds Hannah Brown (Garland) performing in a pub and trains her to become a top-notch performer.

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Musical Monday: I’ll Remember April (1945)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

i'll remember april2This week’s musical:
I’ll Remember April (1945) – Musical #703

Studio:
Universal Studios

Director:
Harold Young

Starring:
Gloria Jean, Kirby Grant, Milburn Stone, Edward Brophy, Samuel S. Hinds, Jacqueline deWit, Hobart Cavanaugh

Plot:
When her father (Hinds) goes bankrupt, April Garfield (Jean) tries to get a job singing on the radio to help out financially.

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Musical Monday: You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

you were never lovelir5This week’s musical:
You Were Never Lovelier (1942) – Musical #66

Studio:
Columbia Studios

Director:
William A. Seiter

Starring:
Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou, Isobel Elsom, Leslie Brooks, Adele Mara, Gus Schilling, Barbara Brown, Douglas Leavitt
Himself: Xavier Cugat, Lina Romay,

Plot:
Eduardo Acuña (Menjou) wants his daughters to be married in order of age. While his two youngest daughters are eager to be wed, his second eldest Maria (Hayworth) is indifferent. To instill some romance in her life, Eduardo arranges a ruse of a secret admirer, who she mistakes to be New York dancer Robert Davis (Astaire).

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Musical Monday: Frankie and Johnny (1966)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

frankie and johnnyThis week’s musical:
Frankie and Johnny (1966) – Musical #681

Studio:
United Artists

Director:
Frederick De Cordova

Starring:
Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, Sue Ann Langdon, Nancy Kovack, Audrey Christie, Robert Strauss, Anthony Eisley, Joyce Jameson, Jerome Cowan (uncredited), Eddie Quillan (uncredited), Naomi Stevens (uncredited)

Plot:
Johnny (Presley) is a singer on a riverboat. Much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Frankie (Douglas), Johnny gambles all of his salary away, because he’s constantly on a losing streak. A gypsy tells Johnny that a redhead will bring him luck. When redheaded Nellie Bly (Kovack) comes aboard, Johnny woes her, getting himself in trouble with Frankie, and Nellie’s boyfriend (and his boss), Braden (Eisley).

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Musical Monday: Top o’ the Morning (1949)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Top O’ the Morning (1949) – Musical #450

top o the morning

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
David Miller

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Ann Blyth, Barry Fitzgerald, Hume Cronyn, Eileen Crowe, John McIntire, Tudor Owen, Jimmy Hunt, Morgan Farley,

Plot:
When the Blarney Stone is stolen from an Irish village, an American insurance investigator Joe Mulqueen (Crosby) travels to Ireland to investigate. In Ireland, the local police Sergeant Briany McNaughton (Fitzgerald) is trying to investigate the case. Joe falls for McNaughton’s daughter Conn (Blyth).

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Musical Monday: Roberta (1935)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

robertaThis week’s musical:
Roberta (1935) – Musical #106

Studio:
RKO Studio Pictures

Director:
William A. Seiter

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Claire Dodd, Ferdinand Munier, Luis Alberni, Victor Varconi

Plot:
Former American football hero, John Kent (Scott), travels to Paris with his pal Huck Haines (Astaire) and Haines’s jazz band. Huck and his band fail to secure a job, and the group is down on their luck. John seeks help from his Aunt Minnie (Westley) who runs an exclusive fashion house, immediately falling for her assistant Stephanie (Dunne). The jazz band finds success with the help of a phony countess (Rogers). But things get complicated when John inherits the fashion house.

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Musical Monday: Stars Over Broadway (1935)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Stars Over Broadway (1935) – Musical #700

stars on broadway3

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
William Keighley

Starring:
Pat O’Brien, James Melton, Jane Froman, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Eddie Conrad, William Ricciardi, Marie Wilson, Frank Fay, E.E. Clive
Himself: Jack Dempsey, the Morgan Family

Plot:
Theatrical agent Al McGillevray (O’Brien) is on the ropes and unsuccessful. He’s about to end it all until he hears the singing voice of porter Jan (Melton). Al is reinvigorated and wants to try to put over Jan King as a singer. Training his voice, he finds him a steady gig. But success goes to Jan’s head and starts to tumble.

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