Quote:
“The film is a melodrama in the high Sirk style (Leander is a cabaret singer in 1840s London who takes the rap when her lover passes a bad check and gets deported to the penal compound that was then Australia), but with a great deal of music, performed by Leander in the wrenchingly emotional style that has made her as much of an icon to German gays as Garland is to the US community.”Read More »
Musical
-
Douglas Sirk – Zu neuen Ufern AKA To New Shores (1937)
1931-1940Douglas SirkDramaGermanyMusicalThird Reich Cinema -
Fred Zinnemann – Oklahoma! (1955)
1951-1960Fred ZinnemannMusicalRomanceSinging CowboysUSAPlot Synopsis
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1943 Broadway music’s 1943 Broadway musical was considered revolutionary for a multitude of reasons, not least of which were the play’s intricate integration of song and storyline, and the simplicity and austerity of its production design. The 1955 film version of Oklahoma! retains the songs (except for Lonely Room and It’s a Scandal!, which are usually cut from most stage presentations anyway) and the story, but the simplicity is sacrificed to the spectacle of Technicolor, Todd-AO, and Stereophonic Sound. The story can be boiled down to a single sentence: a girl must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social. In her movie debut, 19-year-old Shirley Jones plays Laurie, an Oklahoma farm gal who is courted by boisterous cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) and by menacing, obsessive farm hand Jud Frye (Rod Steiger). Fearing that Jud will do something terrible to Curley, Laurie accepts Jud’s invitation to the box social. But it’s Curley who rescues Laurie from Jud’s unwanted advances, and in so doing wins her hand. On the eve of their wedding, Laurie and Curley are menaced by the drunken Jud.Read More » -
Joshua Logan – Paint Your Wagon (1969)
1961-1970Joshua LoganMusicalSinging CowboysUSAWesternSummary:
“Ben and Pardner shared everything…even their wife!”Marvin and Eastwood star as California prospectors during the Gold Rush of 1849-50. Eastwood is the calm, restrained one; Marvin is noisy and rambunctious. Marvin buys a wife, Seberg, from a local Mormon. Then, to make sure the lonely local miners will leave his new bride alone, he hijacks a wagonload of prostitutes and takes them to the prospectors in the mining town he has founded, No Name City, setting them up for business at a saloon. While Marvin is away, Eastwood and Seberg fall for each other; but when Marvin returns and discovers the affair, Seberg declares that she’d like them both as husbands.
Read More » -
Stanley A. Long – Bread [+Extras] (1971)
1971-1980MusicalRock n' Roll MusicalsStanley A. LongUnited KingdomFive hippies pitch their tent in the grounds of a young aristocrat’s estate. He befriends the group and accepts their offer to paint his house while he is away. To make money the group use the grounds to stage a pop festival.
Read More » -
Ivan Pyryev – Svinarka i pastukh AKA They Met in Moscow (1941)
1941-1950Ivan PyryevMusicalRomanceUSSRMusical comedy. Herding pigs girl Glasha of the Russian countryside and the shepherd Musaib of Dagestani aul came to Moscow at the agricultural exhibition, meet there and fall in love at first sight. They will leave for a long time, and partial to Glasha fellow villager does not want to so just give the girl a distant opponent.Read More »
-
Ashutosh Gowariker – Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India AKA Land Tax (2001)
Drama2001-2010Ashutosh GowarikerIndiaMusicalSynopsis:
Considered to be a modern classic of Indian cinema, LAGAAN is a musical drama which tells the story of a central Indian farming village in 1893. The village waits for the monsoons to come and rain on its crops, but the ground remains dry and infertile. Meanwhile, British ruler Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne) demands lagaan–or double normal taxes–from the villagers. When it becomes clear that they can’t pay, Russell challenges the villagers to a game of cricket, a game they know nothing about. Teaching the villagers about the game falls on the shoulders of farmer Bhuvan (Aamir Khan). As they begin to learn, the villagers are inspired to go up against Russell, with tax negotiation as the stakes for the game. Full of choreographed musical numbers and climaxing in a pulse-pounding cricket match, LAGAAN is a fun, heartwarming British/Indian production that should have no difficulties translating across other national borders.Read More » -
William Dieterle – Eine Stunde Glück AKA One Hour of Happiness (1931)
Germany1931-1940MusicalRomanceWeimar Republic cinemaWilliam DieterleDescription
The two happy fitters Eddy and Tommy are doing overtime to ensure the great travel-exhibition of the department store they work in is ready for display. Outside, they see a poor newspaper seller, who looks longingly at the beautiful things in the display window. So they simply decide to smuggle the unfortunate inside and compete to win her favor by giving her gifts from the shelves of the department store. In their frenzy of happiness, they don’t notice that the girl is taking the fun little game for the truth. When she realizes that she has to give back the alleged gifts, she runs away.
Read More » -
Roy Del Ruth – Broadway Rhythm (1944)
1941-1950ComedyMusicalRoy Del RuthUSAPlot:
Broadway producer Jonnie Demming is ready to out-razzle and out-dazzle ’em all with a new production that has everything – except the actress Jonnie knows is perfect for the lead. Future U.S. Senator George Murphy portrays Demming in a backstager drawn from the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May and co-starring Ginny Simms as the actress in Demming’s sights. But the film’s real story lies in its supporting acts: Tommy Dorsey leads the Big Band brass, Lena Horne sings an exotic Brazilian Boogie, Hazel Scott scorches the 88, the contortionist Ross Sisters defy human anatomy and Nancy Walker and Ben Blue add their clowning glory. Lots of romp and rhythm mark marvelous time in Broadway Rhythm! From Warner Brothers!Read More »
-
David Miller – The Opposite Sex (1956)
USA1951-1960ComedyDavid MillerMusical

Kay Hilliard, a former nightclub singer, married ten years and mother of a young daughter, is informed that her husband Steve is having an affair with chorus girl Crystal, so she goes to Reno for a divorce. After that, Steve marries Crystal, but Crystal isn’t true. When Kay hears about this, she starts fighting to win her ex-husband back.Read More »







