Musical Films
Musical films have been providing entertainment to audiences since the 1930’s when the Busby Berkeley films became very popular. When Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers started singing and dancing in movies such as Top Hat and Swing Time, the first stars of movie musicals had been found. In 1939 The Wizard of Oz brought fans of all ages to movie … Keep Reading → theaters. Many people were surprised in 1942 when movie tough guy James Cagney starred in the musical film, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Most people didn’t realize that Cagney had started out as a singer and dancer. Cagney won an Academy Award for his performance. One of classics of the Genre, Singin in the Rain came out in 1952, but it was the decade of the 1960’s that was perhaps the greatest time for musical films. West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and My Fair Lady, were not only all time great musicals, but the diversity of the subject matter shows the shows how flexible the musical form can be.
