Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday- Academy Award Winner: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

seven-brides-for-seven-brothersThis week’s musical:
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954)– Musical #4

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Stanley Donen

Starring:
Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Russ Tamblyn, Jeff Richards, Tommy Rall, Julie Newmar, Ruta Lee, Ian Wolfe, Marc Platt, Matt Mattox, Jacques d’Amboise, Nancy Kilgas, Betty Carr, Virginia Gibson, Norma Doggett

Plot:
Set in 1850 in the backwoods of Oregon, Adam Pontipee (Keel) heads to the city looking for a wife. He finds Milly (Powell), who agrees to marry him. Little does Milly know that Adam is one of seven brothers and she is more of a glorified housekeeper than a wife. She tries to refine the brothers-encouraging bathing and teaching them how to read and dance. They are all eager to find wives of their own and decide to use the story of Romans kidnapping the Sabine women as an example.

Adam (Keel) and his new bride Milly (Powell) who has no idea what she's in for.

Adam (Keel) and his new bride Milly (Powell) who has no idea what she’s in for.

Milly (Powell) inspects the hands of the usually dirty Pontipee brothers before heading to a barn raising social

Milly (Powell) inspects the hands of the usually dirty Pontipee brothers before heading to a barn raising social

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Musical Monday-Academy Award Winners: Mother Wore Tights (1947)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Mother Wore Tights– Musical #215

mother wore tights

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Walter Lang

Starring:
Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman, Connie Marshall, Sara Algood, William Frawley, Sig Ruman, Lee Patrick, Robert Arthur, Vanessa Brown, Kathryn Grimes (uncredited), Mae Marsh (uncredited), Kathleen Lockhart (uncredited)
Narrator: Ann Baxter

Plot:
Narrated from the point of view of a grown daughter, the story follows Myrtle McKinley (Grable) who graduates from high school and accidentally finds herself in vaudeville; shirking her original plans of business college. In vaudeville, she meets and falls in love with fellow performer, Frank Burt (Dailey). The two eventually get married, have children and adjust to life on the road with their children.

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Musical Monday-Academy Award Winners: Naughty Marietta (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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

naughtyThis week’s musical:
“Naughty Marietta” (1935)– Musical #242

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
W.S. Van Dyke and Robert Z. Leonard

Starring:
Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Elsa Lanchester, Douglass Dumbrille, Joseph Cawthorn, Cecilia Parker, Akim Tamiroff, Cora Sue Collins (uncredited)

Plot:
Princess Marie (MacDonald) is ordered by her uncle (Dumbrille) to marry elderly Don Carlos (Kingsford). To avoid this, Marie dresses up like her maid, who plans to sail on a ship headed to New Orleans that is full of brides for the colonists. En-route to New Orleans, the ship taken over by pirates who kill the crew and turn their attention to the women. Before this can escalate, a troop of mercenaries rescue the women and get them safely to New Orleans. The leader of the troop Warrington (Eddy), takes a fancy to Marie, who does not return the feeling. The women are welcomed by the Governor (Morgan) and his wife (Lanchester), and Marie announces that she doesn’t want to marry anyone. While she is disgraced and housed in a different area of the town, the Governor is sure he has seen her somewhere before.

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Musical Monday-Academy Award Winners Edition: With a Song in My Heart: The Jane Froman Story (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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

Each of our February Musical Mondays will be Academy Award-winning films, taking part in the 31 Days of Oscar event. 

With-a-Song-in-My-Heart-PosterThis week’s musical:
“With a Song in My Heart – The Jane Froman Story” (1952)– Musical #534

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Walter Lang

Starring:
Susan Hayward, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Thelma Ritter, Robert Wagner, Una Merkel, Max Showalter, Lyle Talbot

Plot:
Biographical film of singer Jane Froman (Hayward). The film chronicles Froman’s rising star as a popular singer in the 1930s and 1940s through a life-changing event: a 1943 plane crash during a USO tour. The film looks at how Froman overcame lifelong disability to continue her career and also inspire the soldiers overseas during World War II.

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Musical Monday: Winter-A-Go-Go (1965)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

winter a go goThis week’s musical:
Winter a Go-Go –Musical #324

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Richard Benedict

Starring:
James Stacey, William Wellman Jr., Beverly Adams, John Anthony Hayes, Jill Donohue, Duke Hobbie, Julie Parrish, Linda Rogers, Nancy Czar, Tom Nardini
Themselves: The Reflections, Nooney Rickett Four, Peter Brinkman, Joni Lyman,

Plot:
Jeff (Wellman) inherits a ski lodge from his father and his friend Danny (Stacey) convinces him to turn it into a swinging resort. The two hire beautiful girls and wait for the money to roll in. The only problem is two men show up trying to run the two off so they can foreclose.

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Musical Monday: Duchess of Idaho (1950)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Duchess of Idaho–Musical #24

poster

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Robert Z. Leonard

Starring:
Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Paula Raymond, John Lund, Connie Haines, Amanda Blake, Clinton Sundberg, Mel Torme, Bobby Troup (uncredited), Mae Clarke (uncredited)
Themselves: Lena Horne, Eleanor Parker, Red Skelton

Plot:
Secretary Ellen Hallit (Raymond) is in love with her boss Doug Morrison (Lund), who constantly has Ellen pretend to be his fiance to get him out tight spots with women. In an attempt to play matchmaker, Ellen’s roommate and best friend Christine (Williams) travels to Sun Valley, Idaho, where Doug is also vacationing. Christine’s plan is to get Doug to fall in love with her, so he will call on Ellen to help him out. However, things get more complicated when Christine meets and falls for bandleader Dick Layne (Johnson).

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Musical Monday: Sun Valley Serenade (1941)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

sun valleyThis week’s musical:
Sun Valley Serenade –Musical #539

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Bruce Humberstone

Starring:
Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, Lynn Barrie, Joan Davis, Ann Doran (uncredited)
Themselves in Specialty Performance: Tex Beneke, Ray Anthony, Angela Blue, The Nicholas Brothers, Dorothy Dandridge

Plot:
A down on their luck band lands a Christmas Eve gig in Sun Valley, Idaho, after they hook up with temper mental singer Vivian Dawn (Bari). To help with publicity for the band, their publicist Nifty Allen (Berle) set up for pianist Ted Scott (Payne) to adopt a European war orphan. While Ted and bandleader Phil Corey (Miller) have prepared for a baby orphan, their adoptee is fully grown Norwegian Karen (Henie). When the band leaves for Sun Valley, Karen sneaks along, threatening a budding romance between Ted and Vivian.

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Musical Monday: Silver Skates (1943)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

Belita7This week’s musical:
“Silver Skates” (1943)– Musical #518

Studio:
Monogram Pictures

Director:
Leslie Goodwins

Starring:
Belita, Kenny Baker, Patricia Morison, Joyce Compton, Frank Fraylen, Irene Dare, Danny Shaw
Specialty performances: Skating team Frick and Frack-Werner Groebli and Hans Mauch, Eugene Turner, Ted Fio Rito Orchestra

Plot:
Claire Thomas (Morison) owns an ice show that is financially on the rocks. The only thing keeping the show afloat is ice skater Belita (as herself). However, Belita is leaving the show to get married. Show member Eddie (Fraylen) starts a rumor that Belita is in love with the show’s singer Danny (Baker) so she will stay. However, Danny is engaged to Claire. Along the way, Claire meets a war orphan, Katrina (Dare), who joins the skating show and Claire would like to adopt. The only issue is, she needs to be married to adopt Katrina.

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Musical Monday: Call Out the Marines (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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

marines3This week’s musical:
“Call Out the Marines –Musical #538

Studio:
RKO

Director:
William Hamilton, Frank Ryan

Starring:
Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Binnie Barnes, Paul Kelly, Corinna Mura, Marie Windsor (uncredited)
Themselves: The King’s Men, Six Hits and a Miss

Plot:
Two ex-Marines are reunited at the racetrack where one is sanitation worker and the other a manservant to a grouchy old man. The two decide to rejoin in the Marines and spend a great deal of time at the Shore Leave Club and fight over hostess Vi (Binnie Barnes). Little do they know that Vi and the club’s owner (Paul Kelly) are working against the United States government.

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Musical Monday: Lemon Drop Kid (1951)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“The Lemon Drop Kid” –Musical #515

Poster - Lemon Drop Kid, The (1951)_02

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Sidney Lanfield, Frank Tashlin (uncredited)

Starring:
Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, Lloyd Nolan, Jane Darwell, Andrea King, Fred Clark, William Frawley

Plot:
Swindler Sidney Milburn (Hope), known as the Lemon Drop Kid, gives a notorious gangster a bad tip on a horse in Florida, ending in a $10,000 debt. The Kid has to come up with the money by Christmas Eve, or else. So he sets back to New York City to ask his friends and girlfriend Brainy (Maxwell) for money. The Kid’s elderly friend Nellie (Jane Darwell) can’t get into an elderly woman’s home. The Kid and his mob set up an old lady’s home in an old gambling parlor and starts a street corner donation Santa Claus racket with his mobster friends to with a guise that they are funding an elderly woman’s home–he really plans to use the money for his debts.

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