Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Mondays: “Thrill of a Romance” (1945)

Posted on by

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.

thrill posterThis week’s musical:
“Thrill of a Romance” (1945)- Musical #502*

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Richard Thorpe

Starring: 
Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Frances Gifford, Henry Travers, Spring Byington, Lauritz Melchior, Tommy Dorsey and his band

Plot:
Pretty swimming teacher Cynthia Glenn (Williams) is swept off her feet by wealthy Robert Delbar (Carelton Young) who charms her in a whirlwind romance. After a short time, Cynthia and Robert are married and head to a resort for their honeymoon.
However, after only being married a few hours, Robert abandons his new bride for a business deal, leaving her alone on her honeymoon. As she mopes about being left alone, World War II hero, Major Thomas Milvaine (Johnson) sweeps in to cheer her up.
All of this happens on a glittering backdrop of Technicolor outdoor scenery, swimming sequences and musical performances from big band leader Tommy Dorsey and opera singer Lauritz Melchior.

Trivia:

Van Johnson and Esther Williams. This is my favorite outfit Esther wears in the film.

Van Johnson and Esther Williams. This is my favorite outfit Esther wears in the film.

-“Thrill of a Romance” is the first of four full-length films Esther Williams and Van Johnson made together. But this wasn’t their first film together. Williams has a brief part in “A Guy Named Joe” (1943) with Johnson. Their other films include “Easy to Wed,” “Duchess of Idaho” and “Easy to Love.”
-A young girl plays the piano and sings and is supposed to be Tommy Dorsey’s daughter in the film.  The girl isn’t Dorsey’s daughter and is actress Helene Stanley playing Susan Dorsey in the film. However, he did have a daughter named Susie in real life.

Notable songs:
-Tommy Dorsey plays one of his famous songs, “Song of India.” Aside from that song, it’s always fun to hear big band music in films, especially since that would have been the “pop standard” of that time period.
-Famous Danish opera singer Lauritz Melchior performs several songs in the film. This is notable since he was influential as an opera singer.

Highlights:
-Young Jerry Scott hiding on the terrace singing “Please Don’t Say No, Say Maybe.”
-Van Johnson lip syncing (though he can sing in real life) as Lauritz Melchior sings “Please Don’t Say No, Say Maybe.”
-Esther Williams swimming with Van Johnson

Esther and Frances Gifford.

Esther and Frances Gifford.

My review:
Not only is “Thrill of a Romance” my favorite Esther Williams film, but it is a perfect example of a mid-1940s MGM musical.
It’s not the type of musical where people break into song because they are so full of emotion they can’t speak. It is more a romantic story with a backdrop of musical performances.

Esther and Van dancing to Tommy D

Esther and Van dancing to Tommy D

The film has a beautiful set, gorgeous costumes, catchy songs and vibrant, young actors.
MGM films always have that something extra special, and while there are a lot of special things about this movie-Esther Williams and swimming sequences stand out.
Louis B. Mayer liked to add class and culture to his films. While some musicals would have contemporary musicians featured, such as Tommy Dorsey in this one, he also featured classical performers in his films. This could vary from pianist Jose Iturbi or opera singer Lauritz Melchior, in the case of this film.
Though this movie may be dismissed as sugar coated, I always find it thoroughly enjoyable.
It will make you want to visit the resort they are staying at–and you will want Williams’s wardrobe. I don’t believe she wears more beautiful clothing in any of her other films.
It’s one of those films that if you are down, it will immediately lift your spirits.

*Though I saw this musical over eight years ago, I discovered I had never put it down on my musical list. Egads!

You can find my Esther Williams tribute here. Williams passed away at the age of 91 on June 6, 2013.

Check back next week for Musical Monday.

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page for the latest updates or follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet.

Musical Mondays: Rose of Washington Square (1939)

Posted on by

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, I’m starting a weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“Rose of Washington Square” (1939)- Musical #462

roseStarring:
Alice Faye, Tyrone Power, Al Jolson, William Frawley, Joyce Compton

Director: 
Gregory Ratoff

Studio:
Twentieth Century Fox

Plot:
Set in the 1920s, Rose (Faye) and Ted (Jolson) dream of becoming singing stars. While Ted’s career takes off, Rose works her way up while singing in speakeasies. Then Rose meets and falls in love with gambling, con-artist Bart (Power). Bart has trouble with the law but somehow keeps his troubles away from her. When Rose is discovered by Ziegfeld and makes it big on Broadway, she and Bart marry but he disappears because of trouble with the law.

Trivia:
The plot of this film strongly resembled Fanny Brice’s relationship with Jules W. Arndt Stein. Faye even sings Brice’s signature song “My Man.”

Alice Faye as Rose falls in love with gambler Tyrone Power who plays Bart.

Alice Faye as Rose falls in love with gambler Tyrone Power who plays Bart.

Brice sued 20th Century Fox for $750,000 and the studio settled with Brice for an undisclosed amount, according to the Biography documentary on Alice Faye.

The publicity made “Rose of Washington Square the biggest musical hit of 1939.

Notable songs:
-Al Jolson sings his signature songs “My Mammy,” “Toot, Toot, Tootsie” and “California, Here I Come”

-Alice Faye sings Fanny Brice’s signature ballad “My Man”

Highlights:
-Louis Prima has an appearance playing the trumpet as Alice Faye sings. Not only is it always great to have a Prima appearance in a film, but Faye later married Phil Harris who performed with Prima in Disney’s “The Jungle Book.”

-When Alice Faye sings “Rose of Washington Square” specialty dancers Igor and Tanya perform a dizzying dance. Also dancers sing and dance as they smoke a cigarette, toss the cigarette and another appears in their hand.

"Rose of Washington Square" cigarette dancing

“Rose of Washington Square” cigarette dancing

My review:
Alice Faye once said, “My voice was deeper than the plot” of many of her movies and this applies to “Rose of Washington Square.”

I love Alice Faye and will watch her in anything, but my favorite part was getting to see her perform with Louis Prima. Though Jolson was in black face, it was interesting to see him perform several of the songs that made him famous.

The movie was released during Hollywood’s best year, has a stellar cast and well-known songs, but it lacks something. Aside from the Brice vs. 20th Century Fox publicity, it is a run of the mill singer-trying-to-make-it-big musical.

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com

Weekend One-Hundred: Musicals 301-400

Posted on by

Betty Grable and June Haver in “The Dolly Sisters”

Several of you requested to see my musical list, this is the last of the musicals on the list-in the order I watched and recorded them.  This list goes from October 2007 to March 2010. Enjoy!

301.) Strike Up the Band (1940)
302.) You Can’t Run Away From It (1956)
303.) Follow the Boys (1963)
304.) Shipmates Forever (1935)
305.) Sweeny Todd (2007)
306.) Pot O’ Gold (1941)
307.) On the Avenue (1937)
308.) That Night in Rio (1941)
309.) My Wild Irish Rose (1947)
310.) The Gang’s All Here (1943)
311.) Road to Hong Kong (1962)
312.) The Pleasure Seekers (1964)
313.) Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)
314.) The Fabulous Dorsey’s (1947)
315.) Torch Song (1953)
316.) Blue Skies (1946)
317.) The Merry Widow (1934)
318.) Pajama Party (1964)
319.) Kid Nightingale (1939)
320.) My Sister Eileen (1955)
321.) Smilin’ Through (1941)
322.) Las Vegas Nights (1941)
323.) Reveille with Beverly (1943)
324.) Winter A-Go-Go (1965)
325.) So This is Love (1953)
326.) That’s Right, You’re Wrong (1939)
327.) Excuse My Dust (1951)
328.) Across the Universe (2007)
329.) Robin and His Seven Hoods (1964)
330.) Jam Session (1944)
331.) The Benny Goodman Story (1954)
332.) The Gene Krupa Story (1959)
333.) The Dolly Sisters (1945)
334.) Guys and Dolls (1954)
335.) Syncopation (1942)
336.) West Point Story (1950)
337.) Fun in Acapulco (1963)

“Li’l Abner”: One of the worst musicals I’ve ever seen

338.) Roustabout (1964)
339.) Stage Mother (1933)
340.) Viva Las Vegas (1964)
341.) The Great Caruso (1951)
342.) The Jazz Singer (1927)
343.) Interrupted Melody (1955)
344.) The Great Waltz (1938)
345.) A Song to Remember (1945)
346.) One Night of Love (1934)
347.) G.I. Blues (1960)
348.) George White’s Scandals (1945)
349.) Rose Marie (1954)
350.) An Alligator Named Daisy (1955)
351.) Li’l Abner (1958)
352.) A Star is Born (1954)
353.) Around the World (1943)
354.) Let Freedom Ring (1939)
355.) Chasing Rainbows (1930)
356.) Vagabond Lovers (1929)
357.) When Boys Meet Girls (1965)
358.) The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)
359.) The Gay Desperado (1936)
360.) Juke Box Rhythm (1959)
361.) Crooner (1932)
362.) Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
363.) Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
364.) The Big City (1948)
365.) Marianne (1929)
366.) Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
367.) Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)
368.) One Hour with You (1932)
369.) I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
370.) Artists and Models (1937)
371.) Grounds for Marriage (1951)
372.) I Married an Angel (1942)
373.) Slightly French (1947)
374.) New Moon (1940)
375.) Playmates (1941)
376.) You’ll Find Out (1940)
377.) Music in Manhattan (1944)
378.) Carolina Blues (1944)
379.) Cabin in the Sky (1943)
380.) Mad About Music (1938)
381.) Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)
382.) About Face (1952)
383.) Going Wild (1930)
384.) Rock, Rock, Rock (1956)
385. Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1931)
386.) Hot Heiress (1931)
387.) Daughter of Rosie O’Grady (1950)
388.) Sally (1929)
389.) Hearts Divided (1936)
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)
399.) Scrooge (1970)
400.) Coney Island (1943)

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page and Radio Waves Over Hollywood Facebook page.

Weekend One-Hundred: Musicals 201-300

Posted on by

“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)

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page and Radio Waves Over Hollywood Facebook page.

Weekend One-Hundred: Musical list 101-200

Posted on by

"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)

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page and Radio Waves Over Hollywood Facebook page.

Weekend One Hundred: Musical list 1 through 100

Posted on by

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)

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page and Radio Waves Over Hollywood Facebook page.

Celebrating 8 years, 400 musicals

Posted on by

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!

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page or follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet

The anniversary of my magnificent obsession

Posted on by

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.

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page for the latest updates or follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet.