Tag Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday: Ring-A-Ding Rhythm (1962)

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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.

rhing a dingThis week’s musical:
Ring-A-Ding Rhythm (UK Title: It’s Trad, Dad) (1962) – Musical #699

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Richard Lester

Starring:
Helen Shapiro, Craig Douglas, Felix Felton
Themselves: Chubby Checker, Gene Vincent, The Brook Brothers, Gene McDaniels, John Leyton, Del Shannon, Gary U.S. Bonds, The Paris Sisters, The Dukes of Dixieland, Chris Barber’s Jazz Band, Ottilie Patterson, Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band, Terry Lightfoot and His New Orleans Jazz Band, Bob Wallis and His Storyville Jazzmen, Temperance Seven, Sounds Incorporated, David Jacobs, Pete Murray, Alan Freeman, Felix Felton

Plot:
The mayor (Felton) hates the jazz that the teens in town are listening to, and tries to ban the jukebox in the local coffee shop. Helen and Craig (themselves) plan a jazz festival to bring the adults around to that style of music. The pair travel around to different studios and night clubs to persuade disc jockeys and musicians to perform.

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Musical Monday: The Eddy Duchin Story (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.

eddy duchinThis week’s musical:
The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) – Musical #697

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
George Sidney

Starring:
Tyrone Power, Kim Novak, Victoria Thompson, James Whitmore, Rex Thompson, Mickey Maga, Frieda Inescort, Shepperd Strudwick, Gloria Holden, Larry Keating, John Mylong
Themselves: Xavier Cugat

Plot:
Starting in 1927 until his 1951 death, the film follows pianist and bandleader Eddy Duchin (Power). It shows his rise in fame and marriage to his wife, Marjorie Oelrichs (Novak). When a tragedy occurs in his family, Eddy grieves alone and is separated from his son Peter (Maga, Thompson) for many years. He works to rebuild their relationship.

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Musical Monday: The Five Pennies (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.

five penniesThis week’s musical:
The Five Pennies (1959) – Musical #254

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Melville Shavelson

Starring:
Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, Harry Guardino, Bob Crosby, Bobby Troup, Tuesday Weld, Susan Gordon, Ray Anthony, Shelly Mane, Ray Daley, Blanche Sweet (uncredited)
Themselves: Louis Armstrong

Plot:
A biographical film on cornet player Loring “Red” Nichols (Kaye). It shows Nichols rise to fame as he creates the successful Five Pennies band, which specializes in playing Dixieland jazz. But at the top, Nichols abruptly retires due to a family emergency.

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Musical Monday: So This Is Love (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.

so this is love 2This week’s musical:
So This is Love (1953) – Musical #325

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Gordon Douglas

Starring:
Kathryn Grayson, Merv Griffin, Joan Weldon, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp, Ann Doran, Jeff Donnell, Douglas Dick, Mabel Albertson, Fortunio Bonanova, Marie Windsor, Tristram Coffin (uncredited), Barbara Pepper (uncredited), Moroni Olsen (uncredited)
Themselves: Francois and Giselle Szony

Plot:
Musical biographical film of opera singer and actress, Grace Moore (Grayson). The film follows Moore’s struggles in her early career, loss and regain of voice, and her rise to fame.

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Musical Monday: Road to Utopia (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.

road to utopiaThis week’s musical:
Road to Utopia (1946) – Musical #148

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Hal Walker

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Hillary Brooke, Douglass Dumbrille, Jack LaRue, Robert Barrat
Himself: Robert Benchley

Plot:
Vaudeville performers Duke (Crosby) and Chester (Hope) escape the law by traveling to the Klondike during the gold rush. They are mistaken for two cut-throat murderers with a valuable map, which singer Sal (Lamour) and Kate (Brooke) try to get from the men.

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Musical Monday: The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (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.

This week’s musical:
The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966) – Musical #694

christmas that almost wasnt2

Studio:
Childhood Productions Inc.

Director:
Rossano Brazzi

Starring:
Paul Tripp, Lydia Brazzi, Mischa Auer, Rossano Brazzi, Sonny Fox, Alberto Rabagliati, John Karlsen, David Tripp (uncredited), John Spencer Howell Jr. (uncredited)

Plot:
When child hating Phineas T. Prune (Brazzi) buys the North Pole he threatens to evict Santa Claus (Rabagliati) unless he stops giving toys to children. Refusing to stop bringing joy to children, Santa seeks the help of lawyer Sam Whipple (Tripp) to help him figure out what to do. Sam helps Santa get a job in a department store meeting children.

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Musical Monday: West Side Story (2021)

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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.

wss4This week’s musical:
West Side Story (2021) – Musical #693

Studio:
20th Century Studio

Director:
Steven Spielberg

Starring:
Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, David Alvarez, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Brian d’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Rita Moreno, Ezra Menas

The Sharks: David Avilés Morales, Sebastian Serra, Ricardo A. Zayas, Carlos E. Gonzalez, Ricky Ubeda, Andrei Chagas, Adriel Flete, Jacob Guzman, Kelvin Delgado, Carlos Sánchez Falú, Julius Anthony Rubio, Yurel Echezarreta, David Guzman

The Jets: Sean Harrison Jones, Jess LeProtto, Patrick Higgins, Kyle Allen, John Michael Fiumara, Kevin Csolak, Kyle Coffman, Daniel Patrick Russell, Ben Cook, Harrison Coll, Garrett Hawe, Myles Erlick, Julian Elia

Plot:
Set in the west side of New York City, an American gang, the Jets, and a Puerto Rican gang, The Sharks, are trying to claim the streets while their neighborhood is being demolished around them. An American, Tony (Elgort), falls in love with a Puerto Rican, Maria (Zegler), who is also the sister of the Sharks’ gang leader, Bernardo (Alvarez).

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Musical Monday: Oliver! (1968)

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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.

OliverThis week’s musical:
Oliver! (1968) – Musical #690

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Carol Reed

Starring:
Mark Lester, Oliver Reed, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Harry Secombe, Jack Wild, Hugh Griffith, Joseph O’Conor, Peggy Mount, Leonard Rossiter, Hylda Baker, Sheila White

Plot:
A musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s novel “Oliver Twist.” Oliver (Lester) is an orphan in a work house and is sold to a mortician as an apprentice. Oliver runs away and meets up with thief Fagan (Moody) and his group of child thieves, including the Artful Dodger (Wild).

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Musical Monday: G.I. Jane (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 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

GI JaneThis week’s musical:
G.I. Jane (1951) – Musical #689

Studio:
Murray Productions

Director:
Reginald Le Borg

Starring:
Jean Porter, Tom Neal, Iris Adrian, Jimmie Dodd, Jeanne Mahoney, Jimmy Lloyd, Phil Arnold, Michael Whalen, Bobby Watson, Richard Monahan, Jean Coleman, Amie Bates, Jeri Strong, Olive Krushat

Plot:
While making a WAC recruitment film, TV producer Tim Rawlings (Neal) is receives notice that he is drafted into the U.S. Army. While in the Army, Rawlings wants to bring WACs to the base so the men can have women around. But the WACs that come are led by no-nonsense Lt. Adrian (Adrian) who keep the WACs apart, even as Rawlings falls in love with Jan Smith (Porter).

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Musical Monday: G.I. Blues (1960)

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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:
G.I. Blues (1960) – Musical #347

GI Blues

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse, Robert Ivers, James Douglas, Letícia Román, Sigrid Maier, Arch Johnson, Edison Stroll (uncredited)

Plot:
Tulsa McLean (Presley) is in the Army and dreams of opening up a nightclub in Oklahoma with his buddies (Ivers, Douglas), but all they need is money. When the outfit is transferred to Germany, a bet is made that a romantic sergeant nicknamed Dynamite (Stroll) can romance nightclub dancer Lili (Prowse), someone who other military personnel have failed with. When Dynamite is transferred, Tulsa reluctantly takes the job because he needs the money. However, Tulsa has a guilty conscience and also falls in love with Lili.

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