Category Archives: Musical Monday

Weekend One-Hundred: Musicals 201-300

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“Umbrellas of Cherbourg”- Candy colored beautiful film. Yes, its all singing in French, but its one of the most beautiful musicals Ive ever seen.

Several of you requested to see my musical list, so for the next four weekends I will post 100 of the musical on the list-in the order I watched and recorded them. This list goes from Ocober 2005  till roughly Ocober 2007.  Enjoy!

201.) Hollywood Hotel (1937)
202.)Sing Your Worries Away (1942)
203.) Stage Struck (196)
204.) Ship Ahoy (1942)
205.) Up in Arms (1944)
206.) Broadway Melody of 1936 (1936)
207.) Joker is Wild (1957)
208.) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
209.) Step Lively (1944)
210.) Sky’s the Limit (1943)
211.) Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
212.) Pal Joey (1957)
213.) Kid from Brooklyn (1946)
214.) The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
215.) Mother Wore Tights (1947)
216.) Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
217.) The Chocolate Soldier (1941)
218.) April Showers (1948)
219.) A Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
220.) San Francisco (1936)
221.) Rose-Marie (1936)
222.) A Song is Born (1948)
223.) Greenwich Village (1944)
224.) Pin Up Girl (1944)
225.) Dames (1934)
226.) Good Times (1967)
227) Balalaika (1939)
228.) Broadway Rhythm (1944)
229.) Girl Happy (1965)
230.) Footlight Parade (1933)
231.) My Gal Sal (1942)
232.) Dancing Lady (1933)
233.) Fashions of 1934 (1934)
234.) Maytime (1937)
235.) Camelot (1967)
236.) The Bamboo Blonde (1946)
237.) The Goldwyn Follies (1938)
238.) Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
239.) Belle of New York (1952)
240.) Star! (1968)
241.) Merry Andrew (1958)
242.) Naughty Marietta (1935)
243.) Damn Yankees! (1958)
234.) Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)
235.) Emperor Waltz (1948)
236.) The Kissing Bandit (1948)
237.) The Merry Widow (1952)

Betty Grable in “Mother Wore Tights”: Heartwarming and nostalgic

238.) The Singing Marine (1937)
239.) Wonder Man (1945)
240.) Get Yourself a College Girl (1964)
241.) Hold On! (1966)
242.) Ready, Willing, and Able (1937)
243.) Walk the Line (2005)
252.) Your Cheatin’ Heart (1964)
253.) Hootenany Hoot (1963)
254.) Five Pennies (1959)
255.) Student Tour (1934)
256.) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms (1938)
257.) Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
258.) That Midnight Kiss (1949)
259.) Swing High, Swing Low (1937)
260.) Lady Be Good (1941)
261.) Music in My Heart (1940)
262.) The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
263.) It Happened In Brooklyn (1947)
264.) We’re Not Dressing (1934)
265.) Flirtation Walk (1934)
266.) Broadway Hostess (1935)
267.) Old Man Rhythm (1935)
268.) Let’s Make Music (1941)
269.) Born to Sing (1942)
270.) Two Guys From Texas (1948)
271.) Al Jolson Story (1946)
272.) Bitter Sweet (1940)
273.) Down Argentine Way (1940)
274.) My Blue Heaven (1950)
275.) Deep in My Heart (1954)
276.) Joy of Living (1938)
277.) Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)
278.) Bikini Beach (1964)
279.) Meet Miss Bobby Socks (1944)
280.) Three Little Words (1950)
281.) Inspector General (1949)
282.) Eve Knew Her Apples (1945)
283.) Broadway Gondalier (1935)
284.) Colleen (1936)
285.) Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
286.) Young Girls of Rochfort (1968)
287.)Little Miss Broadway (1938)
288.) Beach Party (1963)
290.) Let’s Fall in Love (1933)
291.) How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
292.) Sweethearts (1938)
293.) Wonder Bar (1934)
294.) Three For the Show (1955)
295.) Jive Junction (1943)
296.) Clambake (1967)
297.) Summer Holiday (1948)
298.) Muscle Beach Party (1964)
299.) Billie (1965)
300.) Let’s Do It Again (1953)

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Weekend One-Hundred: Musical list 101-200

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"Blues in the Night"-Love Prisiclla Lane but this movie was a tad boring and furstarting because of her no good husband.

Several of you requested to see my musical list, so for the next few weekends I will post 100 of the musical on the list-in the order I watched and recorded them. This list goes from July of 2004 till roughly August or September of 2005.  Enjoy!

101.) Night and Day (1946)
102.) Shall We Dance (1937)
103.) Best Foot Forward (1943)
104.) Meet the People (1944)
105.) Date with Judy (1948)
106.) Roberta (1935)
107.) Fiesta (1947)
108.) Easy to Love (1954)
109.) Skirts Ahoy (1952)
110.) Jupiter’s Darling (1955)
111.) High Society (1956)
112.)Broadway Melody of 1929 (1929)
113.) Music For Millions (1944)
114.) Panama Hattie (1942)
115.) Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter (1968)
116.) It’s a Date (1940)
117.) Neptune’s Daughter (1949)
118.) On Moonlight Bay (1951)
119.) Holiday in Mexico (1946)
120.) Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
121.) The Gay Divorcee (1934)
123.) Going to Hollywood (1933)
124.) Born To Dance (1936)
125.) Happy Go Lovely (1951)
126.) Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
127.) Perils of Pauline (1947)
128.) Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
129.) April in Paris (1952)
130.) Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
131.) Shine on Harvest Moon (1944)

"Shine on Harvest Moon"-Great Warner Brothers film. Dennis Morgan is dreamy and Ann Sheridan is beautiful

132.) Three Smart Girls (1936)
133.) Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
134.) Something in the Wind (1947)
135.) It Started With Eve (1941)
136.) First Love (1939)
137.) Can’t Help Singing (1944)
138.) Stage Door Canteen (1943)
139.) Hollywood Canteen (1944)
140.) Rosalie (1937)
141.) The Story of Irene and Vernon Castle (1939)
142.) Sunny (1930)
143.)Cinderella (1957)
144.) Cinderella (1964)
145.) Cinderella (1997)
146.) Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
147.) Road to Morocco (1942)
148.) Road to Utopia (1946)
149.)Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
150.) It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)
151.) Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
152.) Looking for Love (1964)
153.) Down to Earth (1947)
154.) French Line (1954)
155.) Follow the Fleet (1936)
156.) Road to Singapore (1940)
157.) Road to Bali (1952)
158.) Bundle of Joy (1956)
159.) Rich, Young, and Pretty (1951)
160.) Flower Drum Song (1962)
161.) Vogues of 1938 (1937)
162.) Moon Over Miami (1941)
163.) Springtime in the Rockies (1942)
164.) Gypsy (1962)
165.) Girl Crazy (1943)
166.) ‘Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
167.) I Love Melvin (1953)
168.) Bye, Bye Birdie (1963)
169.) Second Chorus (1940)
170.) Farmer Takes a Wife (1953)
171.) Tea For Two (1950)
172.) Honolulu (1939)
173.) DuBarry Was a Lady (1943)
174.) By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
175.) The Opposite Sex (1956)
176.) I Dood It (1943)
177.) The Stork Club (1945)
178.) Too Many Girls (1940)
179.) Pigskin Parade (1936)
180.) I’ll See You in My Dreams (1951)
181.) Tonight and Every Night (1945)
182.) Presenting Lilly Mars (1943)
183.) Yolanda and The Thief (1945)
184.) Lucky Me (1954)
185.) Court Jester (1955)
186.) Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry (1937)
187.) Listen Darling (1938)
188.) Thousands Cheer (1943)
189.) Give a Girl a Break (193)
190.) Reckless (1935)
191.) Blues in the Night (1941)
192.) Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938)
193.) Pennies from Heaven (1936)
194.)Damsel in Distress (1937)
195.) Sweet Adeline (1934)
196.) Desert Song (1953)
197.) Four Jacks and a Jill (1942)
198.) Going Places (1938)
199.) Here Comes the Groom (1951)
200.) Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949)

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Weekend One Hundred: Musical list 1 through 100

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Several of you requested to see my musical list, so for the next four weekends I will post 100 of the musical on the list-in the order I watched and recorded them. Also remember, 30 or 40 are ones I had already seen before I started the list. This list goes from September or October of 2003 to July of 2004. Enjoy!

I wasn’t all that impressed with “Carousel,” very dramatic and depressing.

1.) West Side Story (1961)
2.) South Pacific (1958)
3.) Blue Hawaii (1961)
4.) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
5.) Singing in the Rain (1952)
6.) Sound of Music (1965)
7.) Annie (1982)
8.) American in Paris (1951)
9.) Summer Stock (1950)
10.) For Me and My Gal (1942)
11.) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
12.) Wizard of Oz (1939)
13.) The King and I (1956)
14.) Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
15.) Music Man (1962)
16.) Chicago (2001)
17.) The Pirate (1948)
18.) Anchors Away (1945)
19.) Kiss Me Kate (1953)
20.) Gigi (1958)
21.) White Christmas (1954)
22.) Holiday Inn (1942)
23.) Billy Rose’s Jumbo (1962)
24.) Duchess of Idaho (1951)
25.) In the Good Ole Summertime (1949)
26.) Young at Heart (1954)
27.) Grease (1978)
28.) Babes in Arms (1939)
29.) Show Boat (1951)
30.) 42nd Street (1933)
31.) Easter Parade (1948)
32.) Funny Face (1957)
33.) Cover Girl (1944)
34.) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
35.) Romance on the High Seas (1948)
36.) My Dream is Yours (1949)
37.) It’s a Great Feeling (1949)
38.) Paint Your Wagon (1969)
39.) Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
40.) Victor/Victoria (1982)
41.) Babes in Toyland (1961)
42.) Mary Poppins (1964)
43.) Harvey Girls (1946)
44.) Summer Magic (1963)

I really enjoyed “Annie Get Your Gun.” It was my favorite for awhile.

45.) Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
46.) Hans Christian Anderson (1952)
47.) The Singing Nun (1966)
48.) You’ll Never Get Rich (1941)
49.) Calamity Jane (1953)
50.) Silk Stockings (1957)
51.) Gentlemen Marry Brunets (1955)
52.)There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954)
53.) Brigadoon (1954)
54.) My Fair Lady (1964)
55.) Royal Wedding (1951)
56.) The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
57.) On the Town (1949)
58.) Fiddler on the Roof
59.) Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
60.) Luxury Liner (1948)
61.) Bathing Beauty (1954)
62.) Seven Sweethearts (1942)
63.) Hit the Deck (1955)
64.) Three Daring Daughters (1948)
65.) Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
66.) You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
67.) Oklahoma! (1955)
68.) Texas Carnival (1951)
69.) Words and Music (1948)
70.) Good News (1947)
71.) Two Weeks With Love (1950)
72.) Bells are Ringing (1960)
73.) Barkleys on Broadway (1949)
74.) Bandwagon (1953)
75.) Pagan Love Song (1950)
76.) Small Town Girl (1953)
77.) Athena (1954)
78.) Show Boat (1936)
79.)Dangerous When Wet (1953)
80.) Les Girls (1957)
81.) Easy to Wed (1946)
82.) This Time For Keeps (1947)
83.) Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
84.) A Chorus Line (1985)
85.) Two Sisters From Boston (1946)
86.) Toast of New Orleans (1950)
87.) Carousel (1956)
88.) The Pajama Game (1957)
89.) The Red Shoes (1948)
90.)The Glass Slipper (1955)
91.) The Glenn Miller Story (1953)
92.) Young Man With a Horn (1950)
93.) Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
94.) Flying Down To Rio (1933)
95.) Swing Time (1936)
96.) The Girl Most Likely (1957)
97.) Carefree (1938)
98.) Varsity Show (1937)
99.) Top Hat (1935)
100.) State Fair (1945)

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Celebrating 8 years, 400 musicals

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Betty Grable and Hermes Pan doing the “Kindergarten Conga” in “Moon Over Miami” (1941)

It all began in Coach Chamness’ World History class in the fall of 2003 during my 9th grade year.

The previous spring, I saw “West Side Story” for the first time and was hyperventallatingly obsessed with the movie. From that I went on a musical binge watching every musical that was on television.

While I wasn’t listening in class, I began a list of every musical I had ever seen.  It began with ones like “Blue Hawaii“, “Singin’ In the Rain,” “The Sound of Music” and continued.  After that, every time I saw a musical, I wrote it down on my folded up, worn piece of spiral notebook paper that I kept in a drawer in our den.

I’m not sure what made me decide to make the list. I think it was because I was seeing so many musicals I wanted to remember all the ones I’ve seen. I saw several thanks to TCM Musical Month in October 2003 which opened doors to “The Broadway Melody” (1929) and  “Footlight Parade.”

Jane Powell singing in “Nancy Goes to Rio”-remake of the Deanna Durbin movie “It’s a Date”

Looking through my musical list is almost like reading a memoir of my life, because I remember nearly what I was doing during every movie: Happily, blissfully watching the Jane Powell movie “Three Daring Daughters” on a beautiful spring day while my dad painted the house. Crying and being sad while watching “Chorus Line” after having my first break-up with a boyfriend.  Sneaking cookies and sitting by the Christmas tree while watching “The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady.”

The list started with about 50 musicals that I had already seen and today I have hit 400 musicals.  It’s a little crazy, I’ll admit. I sit and think back to all the musicals and it doesn’t feel like I’ve seen that many-and looking through the list I can’t remember what some of them are. I think I have literally seen all (or most) of the MGM musicals.

The first 10 musicals on my list were:
1.) West Side Story (1961)
2.) South Pacific (1958)
3.) Blue Hawaii (1961)
4.) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
5.) Singing in the Rain (1952)
6.) Sound of Music (1965)
7.) Annie (1982)
8.) American in Paris (1951)
9.) Summer Stock (1950)
10.) For Me and My Gal (1942)

The last 10 on my list are:
390.) Time Square Lady (1935)
391.) Swing Fever (1943)
392.) Orchestra Wives (1942)
393.) Song of the Islands (1942)
394.) That Lady in Ermine (1948)
395.) She’s Working Her Way Through College (1952)
396.) Sunnyside Up (1929)
397.) Say One for Me (1959)
398.) Band Waggon (1940) (An English film)
399.) Scrooge (1970)
400.) Coney Island (1943)

It’s funny to look at those two lists: the first 10 are mostly classic musicals that theater students and film fans have seen. The second list is a random list of musicals, unknown to many and have no correlation with each other at all.

I’ve seen alot of wonderful musicals, and I’ve seen a lot of terrible ones.  My least favorites have been “Kiss Me Kate” (1954), “Kismet” (1955), “Yolanda And The Thief” (1945) and “Down to Earth” (1947)- just to name a few. Some of my favorites have been “Romance on the High Seas” (1948),  “Rose Marie” (1936), “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964) and “Music for Millions” (1943).

The list will continue to grow with mostly Fox musicals like Alice Faye and Betty Grable. With 400 musicals under my belt, there is still alot to go!

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The anniversary of my magnificent obsession

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Jets trying to scare the sharks. Photo from LIFE

Today is the anniversary of an event that occurred eight years ago.

It was a Saturday, at the end of my 8th grade spring break.  I had just gotten over being sick and had watched many other great films for the first time while I was couch ridden including “Peyton Place” (1957) and “Singin’ In the Rain” (1952).  But none of them were compared to this film.

On March 8, 2003, my dad thought I should be introduced to “West Side Story” (1961) because of my newly developed interest in classic musicals.   He now shakes his head and says he created a monster.

Who knew snapping fingers, mambos, dancing on roof tops and signal whistles in NYC would be so Earth shattering for a 14-year-old?

I sat there in one of our family’s old corduroy, gold rocking arm chairs, skeptical on what this movie would be like. But after the movie was over, I floated upstairs to my room feeling a change inside me and knowing my movie interests would never be the same.

Maria spotting Tony for the first time

It wasn’t just one scene in “West Side Story” that affected me:  it was the whole movie:
-The beauty of everything blurring around Tony and Maria when they first see each other.
-The emotion that fills Tony’s face as he sings “Maria.”
-The mix of reds and orange hues in the movie set that fit the movie so well.
-The last heart-wrenching 30 minutes of the movie that never fails to make me tear up.

Prior to “West Side Story” I was already well into my old movie interest starting the previous summer when I became fascinated with Audrey Hepburn and then Doris Day.

I’m not sure if I would have appreciated “West Side Story” as much as I did if I hadn’t already had a good classic movie cushion to fall back on.

But “West Side Story” wasn’t just a passing interest, it became a lifestyle.

I perfected my whistling so I could do the signal at the beginning of the movie. I learned how to snap so I could snap like the Sharks and the Jets. I a tried my hardest to learn the mambo and dances from “The Dance at the Gym”-which didn’t work out too well. I printed over 100 photos from the internet and plastered my closet doors with them.

Much to my family’s frustration I also listened to the soundtrack-every night in the shower. It quickly got old for everyone but me.

It is safe to say that I was hyperventilatingly, unhealthily obsessed with “West Side Story.”

I try to play it “Cool” now

I still love the movie, but it is safe to say I’m not longer obsessed. This crazy obsession lasted through my freshman year of high school. It tapered off when I found other great movies like “So Proudly We Hail” (1942), “Since You Went Away” (1944) and “Sunset Boulevard” (1951).

I can still listen to the soundtrack and know exactly what is going on during the song, and I still cry at the end of the movie.

Though my “West Side Story” obsession may have irritated my family, caused friends to roll their eyes and was a bit unnatural, I don’t see it as a bad thing.

“West Side Story” opened me even more to musicals and classic movies; searching for another movie that could beat it. It’s still one of my favorite movies and I bless the day I discovered it.

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