TCM Presents: Mad About Musicals!

It's that time of year again when TCM announces it's next free online class. We've had Film Noir, we've had Slapstick, we've had Hitchcock, and now we're getting Musicals! (still waiting for one on Screwball...)

Offered in collaboration with Ball State University and offered on the online platform Canvas, these classes give everyone a chance to major in MOVIE! And the great thing is it's free! And, you only have to spend as much time on it as you have available. The readings and lectures are easy to keep up with and the quizzes are just right - not to hard, not to easy. You can get as involved as you want: message boards, movies, and games all make for a fun learning experience. I know, I've taken them all :)

This years class is going to be a little different in that it is being taught by Vanessa Theme Ament instead of our beloved Richard Edwards. I'm sure she will do a fantastic job though :)

The class runs from June 3rd through July 1st and covers musicals from the 30s to the 70s. You do not need TCM for the course. Many musicals are readily available on dvd and at your local library!

Here is the course syllabus on the sign-up page:

WEEK 1: Introduction / Musicals of the 1920s & 1930s

• The beginnings of sound technology and the first film musicals in the 1920s and 1930s: The Great Ziegfeld, Top Hat, Broadway Melody, and other films
• Important musicals that set the standard for the decade: The Great Depression
• The transition from Broadway to Hollywood
• New stars in musicals, directors, editors, and other creatives that influenced the decade: Ernst Lubitsch, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and others
• Key song numbers that typify the movie musical in the 1930s

WEEK 2: Musicals of the 1940s

• The changing terrain of the 1940s movie musical surrounding WWII: Yankee Doodle Dandy, On the Town, Meet Me in St. Louis, and other films
• Performers who developed during the 1940s, choreographers who direct and musicians who produce: Busby Berkeley, Ester Williams, Red Skelton, Judy Garland and others
• Studios, stars, and stories for wartime America: the transition to nationalism
• Pre-recording, post-sound, and location scenes
• The emerging films of diversity: Cabin in the Sky, Showboat, and other films

  

WEEK 3: Musicals of the 1950s

• The high times of the 1950s and the Blacklist: The Bandwagon, An American in Paris, High Society, and other films
• The development of camera, sound, and exhibition
• Glamour and the expanded role of design
• The broadening of the composer, producer, and editor
• Key figures who expand their scope: Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Elvis Presley, and others

  

WEEK 4: Conclusion / Musicals of the 1960s and 1970s

• The disruption of the studios: independent film influences
• Turbulence in the country and cultural challenges: Tommy, Cabaret and other films
• Changing musical tastes, youth, and historical films: Funny Girl, 1776, My Fair Lady, and other films
• The British Invasion: The Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night
• Directors, stars, and producers who transitioned into the 1960s

Hope to see you all in "class"!! ;)

"The Trolley Song," Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).

"Uncle Buzz" and Mickey and Judy

 

Busby Berkeley is a name well known to Classic Movie fans and especially fans of musicals. The choreographer/director was a trendsetter in the business with his staging concepts in such films as 42nd Street (1933) and Footlight Parade (1933). Berkeley, who had been working at Warner Brothers for six years, was brought to MGM in 1939. His first film there was Babes in Arms.

Babes in Arms was Berkeley's first time working with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, both child actors who had been working since they were toddlers and who already had impressive filmographies. Judy had just finished working on The Wizard of Oz, which would earn her a Juvenile Academy Award, and would arrive to recording sessions before filming of Babes in Arms began still in her costume and makeup as Dorothy Gale (Berkeley choreographed a routine for the Scarecrow that was cut from the final film).

Nobody ever topped Judy and Mickey. I don't know any two kids who could be better than those two were. Judy...called me 'Uncle Buzz' and always wanted me right there when the camera was photographing her. She would not do a scene unless I stood by the camera, and afterward she would ask me how she looked and if she had done all right.

Mickey Rooney remembered Berkeley as:

...a genius. He could be charming, with his flashing eyes and huge, expressive eyebrows and a smile that warmed everyone around him. But he had one small problem: he drank... [and] he had that alcoholic's perfectionism. He was tough on all of us. He was always screaming at Judy, 'Eyes! Eyes! Open them wide! I want to see your eyes!' To him her eyes were her greatest asset. 

The film, about the kids of vaudeville performers with dreams of staging a production of their own, featured impressive musical numbers. With Berkeley it was always BIG!

Here's a deleted scene with Rooney as President Roosevelt. The footage was removed and destroyed after FDR's death in 1945. Footage was found recently on foreign prints and someone put it on YouTube!

The entire film, which Rooney considered to be his best performance (he was nominated for an Academy Award) was shot in only eleven weeks and was a 'solid smash hit,' making it onto the Top Ten Box Office Hits list of 1939 - and we all know what a year THAT was!

Judy celebrating her 16th birthday on the set, with Rooney and Berkeley.

The film was quickly followed by another great success, Strike Up the Band (1940), with Rooney as a drummer who turns his high school band into modern dance orchestra with dreams of winning a nationwide band contest. Berkeley again directed, and left his unmistakable touch on the film's finale, "Do the La Conga," which he wanted to be "a huge number with about five minutes of Judy singing and every possible camera angle... AND he decided he wanted to do the entire song and dance number in one take." Everyone else in the production was dubious but after five days of rehearsals and careful laying out of every shot, Berkeley got what he wanted. Roger Edens, who wrote the song, remembered the atmosphere that enveloped everyone, saying it was "like the opening [night] of a Broadway show. There was the same great tension, because the number could only be shot once. When the morning came to shoot, the whole studio was down there. Everyone was very tense and keyed up-and the result was a real giving performance. The scene went beautifully, without a hitch. Even now it has an unforgettable something extra about it." You can watch it below.

Berkeley on the set of Strike Up the Band:

 

 

 

Why mess with success? The trio got together again for Babes on Broadway (1941), this time putting on a show for British war orphans to help realize their dreams of Broadway (I sang "Chin Up, Cheerio, Carry On" for our church's USO show a few years back - I was nowhere near as good as Judy though). 

 

Busby Berkeley directs this sort of thing about as well as anybody.

~ Variety

Berkeley was also to direct Girl Crazy (1943), the fourth musical with Rooney and Garland but he was removed from the film at Garland fell ill from overwork. Berkeley, who had been ill himself, wanted a big splashy number, clashing with Edens and causing a situation where only one of them could stay. As both Judy and Mickey could no longer handle his militant dictated, directing was taken over by Norman Taurog. Berkeley's only contribution to the film, the "I Got Rhythm" number, was left in the film. You can watch it (in two parts) below:

 

Source

Mickey and Judy 

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Musicals of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland

A History of the Four Garland/Rooney Musicals and a Guide to the Original Soundtrack Recordings

 

 

This post is part of The Busby Berkeley Blogathon hosted by Hometowns to Hollywood. Be sure to check out all of the other posts on this celebrated director and choreographer!

Deaths of 2016

While there were many deaths in the year 2016, as of the beginning of December there were no major classic movie stars on the list (I define classic as pre-1970) - however, there were a great many television stars. But as is usually the case, December brought with it the death of not one but two beloved stars: Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, and one day later, her mother Debbie Reynolds.

Below are the other stars we lost this year from both film and television:

Jan. 13 - Brian Bedford: Known mostly as the voice of Disney's Robin Hood (1973). Also appeared in Grand Prix (1966).

Feb. 28 - George Kennedy: Started out with lots of guest rolls on television programs as the "bad guy." Notable films include Charade (1963), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), In Harm's Way (1965), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), and Cahill U.S. Marshall (1973).

Mar. 6 - Nancy Reagan (Nancy Davis): Starred in Hellcats of the Navy (1957) alongside Ronald Reagan - and married him.

Mar. 10 - Ken Adam: Production designer who worked on films Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and several James Bond films.

Mar. 24 - Earl Hamner Jr: Writer for The Twilight Zone (1959-64).

Mar. 29 - Patty Duke: Famous for playing twin cousins on The Patty Duke Show (1963-66) and won an Oscar for her portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962). Mother of Sean Astin (The Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings).

Apr. 23 - Madeleine Sherwood: Best remembered for playing Jack Carson's wife in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Also played Mother Superior on The Flying Nun (1967-70).

May 1 - Madeleine LeBeau: French actress and last surviving cast member of Casablanca (1942) - Yvonne.

May 19 - Alan Young: Remembered most as Wilbur from Mr. Ed (1961-66) and the voice of Disney's Scrooge McDuck. Also appeared alongside Rod Taylor in The Time Machine (1960).

June 12 - Janet Waldo: Voice of Judy Jetson. Also had a role in Waterloo Bridge (1940) and appeared in several episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1953-66).

June 14 - Ann Morgan Guilbert: Boloved as Millie Helper from The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66).

July 24 - Marni Nixon:  Vocals dubber for Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956) and An Affair to Remember (1957), for Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964). Also had a small part as Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music (1965).

July 30 - Gloria DeHaven: Known for The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) and Summer Holiday (1948). Also, FALSELY listed as a young Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show) all over the internet with this photo.

Aug. - Jack Riley: Regular on The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78).

Aug. 28 - Gene Wilder: Beloved character in many Mel Brooks films and as Willie Wonka (1971).

Sept. 5 - Hugh O'Brian: Known for The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955-61). Also appeared in Come Fly with Me (1963), Ten Little Indians (1965) and The Shootist (1976).

Sept. 17 - Charmian Carr: Beloved as Liesl in The Sound of Music (1965). Look for my review of her book, Forever Liesl: A Memoir of "The Sound of Music" in the upcoming month.

Oct. 11 - Patricia Barry: Guest star on many television programs. Appeared in Send Me No Flowers (1964).

Nov. 11 - Robert Vaughn: Best remembered as the suave Napoleon Solo in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68) and his roles in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Bullitt (1968).

Nov. 16 - Joan Carroll: Child actress best remembered as Judy Garland's sister Agnes in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and as Patsy in The Bells of St. Marys (1945).

Dec. 18 - Zsa Zsa Gabor: Sister of Eva Gabor (Green Acres) Appeared in Moulin Rouge (1952) and had many television appearances.

Dec. 27 - Carrie Fisher: Princess Leia from the Star Wars films.

Dec. 28 - Debbie Reynolds: Got her start at the age of 19 in Singing in the Rain (1952) and never stopped.

Dec. 31 - William Christopher: Beloved as Father Mulcahy from the groundbreaking M*A*S*H (1972-83).

May they rest in peace.

Ten Movies on an Island: Musicals

As promised, here is my first list of my top ten in each movie genre: musicals, westerns, dramas, comedies (screwball/romantic & regular comedies), comedy-drama, horror/ghost/sci-fi, suspense/mystery, biographical, and Disney.

This list will focus on musicals. First of all, what is a musical? According to the definition on Wikipedia, a musical is:

... a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing.

Throughout Hollywood History, the musical has evolved. A musical from the 1930s is not going to be the same as a musical from the 1950s. Over the decades, there have been Operetta's, Horse Operas (that's a Western that's also a musical), the Busby Berkley musicals, biopics about musicians and showmen, Historical costume epics, fantasies, musicals adapted from Broadway productions, rock & roll musicals, beach party musicals... the list goes on.

Now I'm not a huge musicals person (surprising since I love music, sing, and play both the piano and the ukulele).  But I've never been a huge fan of the musicals that typically come to mind when someone says the word "musicals,"  so you will not be finding such classics as Singing in the Rain and Oklahoma! on here.

In picking my films, I did decide on a certain criteria, aside from merely liking it. It had to be a movie that I enjoyed the songs as much as the storyline (aka I actually know most if not all of the songs by heart) and if I looked for it at the library I would find it in the musicals section. So with those two things in mind, here is my list:

1. The Great Ziegfeld (1936) - William Powell

2. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Judy Garland

3. Ziegfeld Girl (1941) - Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr

4. Girl Crazy (1943) - Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney

5. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn

6. White Christmas (1954) - Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye & Vera-Ellen

7. Daddy Long Legs (1955) - Fred Astaire & Leslie Caron

8. My Fair Lady (1964) - Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison

9. The Sound of Music (1965) - Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer

10. Funny Girl (1968) - Barbra Streisand & Omar Shariff

Here is the list I consulted when choosing my Top Ten Musicals. What are your favorites?

Tomorrow, my top ten Westerns!

The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing.. Especially if You're Vera-Ellen!

My all time favorite dance out of every movie that has been made - including the countless ones I haven't even seen yet - is and always will be The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing from the classic holiday film White Christmas (1954).

 



White Christmas is a holiday favorite in my house. My family has watched it every year at Christmas time for as long as I can remember. Vera-Ellen instantly became my idol and I wished I could look like her, dance like her, and sing like her (I discovered that unfortunately it's not Vera-Ellen doing the singing... sigh). For several years Judy was my favorite name (I was also a big Judy Garland fan).

 

I'm going to presume that everyone has seen this not-to-be-missed film and get right to the point: Vera-Ellen's dancing. Let's take each routine individually:

 

Her first "dance," Sisters, Sisters, also where Phil and Bob first lay eyes on the Hanes Sisters (who incidentally have brown and DEEP blue eyes), isn't much of a dance. However, it's a great song and she and Betty (Rosemary Clooney) have awesome dresses (one day I WILL have a replica made):

 

 

The next dance is  The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing, also known as the song where Phil and Judy get "carried away." It has a lot of great things going for it. Amazing dress - check! Partner with two left feet and matching gray shoes - check! Amazing song - check! Great dancing area - check!  

 

I was always trying to twirl and get my skirt to land this way. It never worked :(

 

Pole dancing. The CLASSY way.

 

I love the part on top of the boat!!!

 

What is this, The best two out of three?

 

I could go crazy and basically put up the whole dance in gifs but

hopefully you'll just watch the video. On repeat.

 

After that, the foursome are off to Vermont (it must be wonderful this time of year, all that underwear) where they put on a huge show to bring business to the inn (owned by the fella's former general). The first number we see is Mandy. It's a truly colossal number with an unforgettable entrance, background girls wearing strips of red sequins held together with fabric you can't see (courtesy of Edith Head), men in green suits and red gloves, and Judy in a fabulous outfit with a detachable skirt.

 

(Sorry the video zooms in and out a little weird a couple times. It was the only one on YouTube)

 

It is in this number you really see Vera-Ellen's talent. Just watching some of those moves makes me wince and think, how is that possible? My favorite parts: "Mandy, what a gal!" and Judy's wink to the camera ;) Not to mention Phil doing this:

 

Haha I never noticed Bing :)

 

In Choreography, we get to see Judy do some amazing tapping while dressed in hot pink. Growing up we watch the old recorded VHS (complete with old commercials!) on the square TV and it was just blurry enough that when Judy's feet come down and she starts tapping, we couldn't see her foot moving - that's how small and controlled her tap was! So when we FINALLY got it on DVD we could at last see it! Also, it was this song that made us dislike Judy's dancing partner. How dare he try to steal her from Phil!!

 

Judy's entrance is at 1:38.

 

Out of all the performances, Abraham is the only one that isn't shown in it's final form. Mandy and Choreography are full dress rehearsals and the other two numbers we see, Gee, I Wish I was Back in the Army, and White Christmas, are shown in the actual show. I wonder how it would have looked and if the filmmakers thought about showing it as a "finished" version. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. Judy's yellow dress and heels as well as her bouncy hair match perfectly the energetic rhythm of the song.

 

 

 

If you've seen Holiday Inn (1942) - on DVD - then you will recognize the tune, although this is a sped up version without lyrics. In Holiday Inn it was a blackface routine and the lyrics are all about Abraham freeing the slaves. Understandably, it is cut out when shown on television nowadays. It's been a good many years since I've seen it (I wasn't much on Astaire in that film) and I've seen it only once so I didn't even remember it. I just remember thinking I liked the White Christmas version MUCH better.

 

When White Christmas showed in select theaters a couple Christmas's ago, my whole family went. It was amazing how much detail we could see!

 

      

 

   

 

 

 

This post is part of the Gotta Dance! Blogathon, a celebration of dance in film hosted by Classic Reel Girl for National Tap Dance Day. Be sure to read all of the other toe-tapping posts!!