(Random note, but I find it amusing how this graphic color-coordinated itself. I didn't try to arrange the movies so they would have white posters all in a block and colorful ones in another block! So funny.)
1. Guys and Dolls (1955)
Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that he can't get social reformer Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) to go on a date with him. This movie made me fall in love with the stories and writing style of Damon Runyon, which the musical is based on. Personally (and that means in person), I adore the odd patter the characters speak.
2. An American in Paris (1951)
An ex-GI painter (Gene Kelly) falls in love with a girl (Leslie Caron), not knowing she's engaged to his night club singer friend (Georges Guetary). The whole movie is an excuse to sing and dance to Gershwin tunes, which is one of the best reasons for making a musical I've ever heard.
3. White Christmas (1954)
A team of showbiz stars (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) try to rescue a retired general (Dean Jagger) from bankruptcy by staging a show at his ski lodge. Why yes, this heads up my list of favorite Christmas movies too.
4. The Greatest Showman (2017)
P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) gathers up the misfits of the world and gives them jobs, friendship, and a purpose. And that includes his protégé Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), who falls in love with a trapeze artist (Zendaya). The message of everyone deserving friendship and love and a place to belong, no matter what they look like, really resonates with me.
5. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
A talented young singer (Emmy Rossum) is mentored and stalked and abducted and generally haunted by a disfigured man (Gerard Butler) who lives under the Paris Opera House. Thank goodness for her childhood friend Raoul (Patrick Wilson), who stands by her and helps her however he can, and eventually falls in love with her as well. This production is overwhelmingly lavish and opulent and everything it ought to be. I'm particularly taken with Patrick Wilson's portrayal of Raoul as a brave and manly young fellow who protects and defends and is generally awesome. And his voice is like butterscotch. I wish Wilson made more musicals.
6. State Fair (1945)
A family spends a week at the Iowa state fair, where the daughter (Jeanne Crain) falls in love with a newspaper man (Dana Andrews), the son falls in love with an entertainer, and the parents take home prizes for their mincemeat and hog. There's a 1960s remake that stars Bobby Darin in the Dana Andrews role, but aside from dearest Bobby, that version lacks the charm of this one.
7. Hello, Dolly! (1969)
A fairy-godmother-like matchmaker (Barbra Streisand) finds love matches for two store clerks (Michael Crawford, Danny Lockin), two milliners (Marianne McAndrew, E. J. Peaker), an irascible businessman (Walter Matthau) and his niece (Joyce Ames)... and herself. I have a penchant for fairy godmothers, and Dolly Levi has been an inspiration to me since I was in single digits.
8. West Side Story (1961)
A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1960s NYC, with rival street gangs taking the place of rival families. So heartbreaking and beautiful, with some of the coolest dancing ever -- I much prefer it to Romeo and Juliet. The soundtrack was one of the first CDs I ever bought, and I know all the words to every song.
9. Brigadoon (1954)
Two hunters (Gene Kelly and Van Johnson) stumble on an enchanted Scottish village that only exists one day out of every hundred years, whereupon one of them falls in love with a local girl (Cyd Charisse). I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
10. Oklahoma! (1999)
A cowboy (Hugh Jackman) tries to win the heart of a girl who claims she hates him. Yes, you read that correctly: Hugh Jackman. This is the London stage version, not the famous Hollywood one, and I prefer it because, well, Hugh Jackman!
This post is one of my contributions to We Love Musicals Week. I hope you've been enjoying the fun so far!
Loved the Hugh Jackman last line.. and you are right! I saw him in The Greatest Showman and was spellbound.. he really needs to do more musicals and soon...
ReplyDeleteGill, yes! Hugh Jackman is such a wonderful showman, and I love that he can sing and dance as well as act. He's really good in Les Miserables, too, but we need him in more musicals! I wish they would have filmed his Broadway run in The Music Man and released it to DVD like this Oklahoma!.
DeleteI have a Finnish friend over here who has a soft spot for him... he really needs to do another song and dance tour.
DeleteGill, he's doing a show in NYC right now, and was in talks to bring it to London, but I think that's been nixed for right now.
DeleteHow fun!! Your choices are so you. :-D It will come as no surprise that we don't overlap on a single musical in our top 10 lists. Hee!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying all the posts so far!
DKoren
DKoren, lol! Nope, really not a surprise. I mean, I know you haven't even seen at least one of these. You should quick type up your top ten and contribute it to the party!
DeleteYeah, I've seen all but Greatest Showman of those. :-D State Fair, Brigadoon, American in Paris, and Oklahoma would make my 10-20 list!
DeleteDKoren, I figured State Fair would be somewhere in there for you :-D
DeleteThis is a great list. I love both versions of West Side Story, but the dancing in the 1961 version is second to none, especially in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI love Oklahoma! And the Hugh Jackman version is second to none. I actually try and watch it every summer : )
Ivy Miranda, I still haven't seen the new West Side Story ::blushes::, but I do want to see the new one eventually!
DeleteIS there any single character in film history who is cooler than George Chakiris's Bernardo? I think not.
Lovely to find someone who also likes Jackman's Oklahoma!. What a perfect choice for a summer favorite.
I really need to see Guy's and Dolls and Hello Dolly, I've heard so much about them and they look so good!!
ReplyDeleteI must say that Patrick Wilson isn't my favorite Raoul, but he does have a lovely voice! Have you perchance heard the duet he did with Barbara Streisand of Loving You? It's really good! And did you know he was in a filmed version of Brigadoon????
Grace, uh uh uh uh... Patrick Wilson did Brigadoon???? And it was filmed?!?!?!?!?! I had no idea! I am off to see what I can find about that right this minute. Thank you!!!
DeleteYou are very welcome! I do believe it's included in the Broadway HD subscription if you have that!
DeleteI was totally not expecting Guys and Dolls to be your top! Nor An American in Paris to be number 2! I was not a fan of West Side Story when I first watched it but I think if I gave it another chance I'd have a ton of fun...
ReplyDeleteChloe, now I am curious what you thought WOULD be my tops?
DeleteWest Side Story is amazing. Heartbreaking, but amazing. I haven't seen the new version yet, but the original is superb.
So many greats on your list! Guys and Dolls is newer to me in terms of really getting into the music and story. Now I'll never eat cheesecake without thinking of Nathan and Sky ;) Lovely to see Hello, Dolly on your list. A few years ago I visited the filming location in Garrison, NY that stood in for Yonkers. It's so beautiful and peaceful by the river. Vandergelder's store still stands and even has the "V" etched in glass on the doors. Such a delight to see!
ReplyDeleteClassic Movie Muse, oh yes, cheesecake and Danish and strudel all make me quote Guys and Dolls :-D
DeleteHow cool you got to visit a filming location for Hello, Dolly! -- I'm a bit envious!