Tag Archives: 1950s musicals

Musical Monday: Oklahoma! (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.

oklahomaThis week’s musical:
Oklahoma (1955) – Musical #67

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Fred Zinnemann

Starring:
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood, Eddie Albert, James Whitmore, Rod Steiger, Barbara Lawrence, Jay C. Flippen, Roy Barcroft, James Mitchell, Bambi Linn, Marc Platt, Russell Simpson (uncredited)

Plot:
The story is set in the early 1900s before Oklahoma became a state. Curly (MacRae) is a happy-go-lucky rancher who is in love with Laurey (Jones), who returns the feelings but refuses to show it. Jud (Steiger) is the farmhand on Laurey and her Aunt Eller’s (Greenwood) farm, and he also lusts after Laurey. To make Curly jealous, Laurey agrees to attend a party at the Skidmore Ranch with Judy, but quickly realizes it’s a dangerous mistake. In a secondary romantic plot, Will Parker (Nelson) returns to town from a rodeo, prepared to marry his girlfriend Ado Annie (Graham). However, Ado Annie has recently filled out and is enjoying the attentions of various men, including a peddler, Ali Hackim (Albert). In addition to all of this, there is tension between farmers — who want land for farming — and ranchers — who take issue with fences closing off the land.

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Musical Monday: The Vagabond King (1956)

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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.

vagabound kingThis week’s musical:
The Vagabond King (1956) – Musical #773

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Michael Curtiz

Starring:
Kathryn Grayson, Oreste Kirkop (billed as Oreste), Rita Moreno, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Walter Hampden, Leslie Nielsen, William Prince, Jack Lord, Tom Duggan, Lucie Lancaster
Narrator: Vincent Price

Plot:
Set in 15th century France, King Louis XI (Hampden) is at risk of being overthrown by the Duke of Burgundy. When King Louis meets poet, criminal, François Villon (Oreste), he appoints him as his provost to help in the fight against the Duke of Burgundy. In the process, Villon falls in love with King Louis’s niece, Catherine (Grayson).

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Musical Monday: April in Paris (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.

april in parisThis week’s musical:
April in Paris (1952) – Musical #129

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
Doris Day, Ray Bolger, Claude Dauphin, Eve Miller, George Givot, Paul Harvey, Herbert Farjeon, Wilson Millar, Raymond Largay, John Alvin

Plot:
S. “Sam” Winthrop Putnam (Bolger) is a by-the-book State Department diplomat. He plays by the rules and doesn’t believe in mistakes. However, even Sam isn’t above making an error. His mistake? Inviting chorus girl Ethel “Dynamite” Jackson (Day) to a Paris arts festival instead of actress Ethel Barrymore. Sam visits Ethel in New York City to break the bad news, as her friends are throwing her a bon voyage party as she leaves for France. As Sam tries to undo his mistake, his superior, Secretary Robert Sherman (Harvey), think that maybe having a chorus girl at the arts festival isn’t a bad idea after all, and could be great public relations.

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Musical Monday: April Love (1957)

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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:
April Love (1957) – Musical #767

april love

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Henry Levin

Starring:
Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, Dolores Michaels, Arthur O’Connell, Matt Crowley, Jeanette Nolan, Bradford Jackson, Robert Adler (uncredited)

Plot:
When Nick Conover (Boone) has a brush with the law in Chicago, he is sent to Kentucky to stay with his aunt and uncle (Nolan, O’Connell) on their farm in Kentucky for the summer. Nick befriends their neighbors, Liz (Jones) and Fran (Michaels) Templeton, and becomes interested in harness horse racing.

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Musical Monday: Juke Box Rhythm (1959)

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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.

juke box rhythmThis week’s musical:
Juke Box Rhythm (1959) – Musical #360

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Arthur Dreifuss

Starring:
Jo Marrow, Jack Jones, Frieda Inescort, Brian Donlevy, Marjorie Reynods, Hans Conried, Karin Booth, Fritz Feld, Edgar Barrier, Robert Banas (uncredited)
As themselves: George Jessel, Earl Grant Trio, The Nitwits, Johnny Otis, The Treniers, Wally Stewart

Plot:
Princess Ann (Morrrow) travels from Europe to buy her coronation wardrobe in New York City. Her proper aunt, Countess Margaret (Inescort), disapproves of the trip and rock and roll music. When Ann sneaks out to listen to rock music in the hotel, she briefly dances with Riff Manton (Jones) and they are photographed. Riff’s dad, George Manton (Donlevy), is trying to put on a show, but with no funds. Riff’s father and mother (Reynolds) are having marital issues and Riff is worried is dad will go to another wealthy woman (Booth) for money. As a way to bring them together, Riff woos Princess Ann with hopes that he can make money for his parents.

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Musical Monday: Let’s Dance (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 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Let’s Dance (1950) – Musical #456

let's dance

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Norman Z. McLeod

Starring:
Betty Hutton, Fred Astaire, Roland Young, Ruth Warrick, Lucille Watson, Gregory Moffett, Barton MacLane, Shepperd Strudwick, Melville Cooper, Harold Huber, George Zucco, Peggy Badley, Nana Bryant (uncredited), James Burke (uncredited), Bess Flowers (uncredited),

Plot:
During World War II, Kitty McNeil (Hutton) and Donald Elwood (Astaire) were a musical act that performed in USO shows. Donald was in love with Kitty, but she had already married a serviceman, so the two split up the act. The film fast-forwards to 1950 and we learn that Kitty’s husband was killed in the war, and she lives with his stuffy family in Boston. Kitty doesn’t like how his family wants her to raise her son, Richie (Moffett), and would like to leave. But her grandmother-in-law, Serena (Watson), won’t allow her to take her son with her and insists that they raise him. Kitty and her son run away to New York City so she can find work, and she reconnects with Donald. Donald and his nightclub coworkers help Kitty and Richie build a new life.

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Musical Monday: Deep in My Heart (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 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Deep in My Heart (1954) – Musical #275

deep in my heart

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Stanley Donen

Starring:
José Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Henreid, Tamara Toumanova, Paul Stewart, Isobel Elsom, David Burns, Jim Backus, Douglas Fowley, John Alvin (uncredited), Gertrude Astor (uncredited), Barrie Chase (uncredited), Julie Newmar (uncredited), Russ Tamblyn (uncredited), Dee Turnell (uncredited)
Specialty performances: Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Jane Powell, Rosemary Clooney, Vic Damone, Ann Miller, William Olvis, Cyd Charisse, James Mitchell, Howard Keel, Tony Martin, Joan Weldon

Plot:
Musical biography of operetta composer Sigmund Romberg (Ferrer).

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Musical Monday: Tom Thumb (1958)

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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.

tom thumbThis week’s musical:
Tom Thumb (1958) – Musical #762

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
George Pal

Starring:
Russ Tamblyn, Peters Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Alan Young, June Thornburn, Bernard Miles, Jessie Matthews, Ian Wallace

Plot:
After a woodsman (Miles) stops cutting down a tree when he’s halted by the Forest Queen (Thornburn), the woodsman and his wife (Matthews) are granted three wishes. The couple accidentally squanders their wishes and realize they could have wished for what they always wanted—a child. Sadly, they think how they would love a child no matter how small. That night, their child Tom Thumb (Tamblyn) arrives thanks to the Forrest Queen. The couple is exuberant. Tom has several adventures, including dancing with his toys that come to life and being conned by two thieves (Sellers, Thomas) who want him to rob the treasury.

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Musical Monday: Cole Porter’s Aladdin (1958)

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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.

AladdinThis week’s musical:
Cole Porter’s Aladdin (1958) – Musical #761

Studio:
CBS

Director:
Ralph Nelson

Starring:
Sal Mineo, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dennis King, Basil Rathbone, Howard Morris, Una Merkel, Cyril Ritchard, George Hall, Geoffrey Holder, Alec Clarke, Akim Tamiroff

Plot:
The story of Aladdin (Mineo), who finds a lamp with a Genie (Holder). As Aladdin tries to keep the lamp away from a sorcerer (Ritchard), he falls in love with Princess Ming Chou (Alberghetti), daughter of the Emperor (Rathbone).

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Musical Monday: Remains to Be Seen (1953)

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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:
Remains to Be Seen (1953) – Musical #754

remains2

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Don Weis

Starring:
Van Johnson, June Allyson, Angela Lansbury, Louis Calhern, John Beal, Barry Kelley, Sammy White, Kathryn Card, Paul Harvey, Helene Millard, Charles Lane, Peter Chong, Frank Nelson, Howard Freeman, Dabbs Greer (uncredited), Emmitt Smith (uncredited), Stuart Holmes (uncredited)
Herself: Dorothy Dandridge

Plot:
Waldo Williams (Johnson) is the manager of a luxury apartment complex (who also dabbles in drumming). Williams discovers Travis Revercombe (Holmes) dead in his apartment. While the body was announced as natural causes, a knife is found in his chest by the funeral home. It’s determined that the body was stabbed after he was dead. Revercombe’s lawyer Benjamin Goodman (Calhern) has asked the deceased’s niece, nightclub singer Jody Revere (Allyson), to meet with him. Jody isn’t upset that her uncle is dead, but Waldo Williams is a great fan. Jody is the heir to Revercombe’s fortune, and if she refuses it, it goes to his favorite charity, led by Valeska Chauvel (Lansbury).

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