ANDREWS. Sweet victory
The revivalof the once-defunct movie musical has thrilled film buffs who have fond memories of the best singing and dancing productions of yore. Recently, we joined other buffs in recalling the revived film format’s early triumphs, which had made up a big part of our childhood “education” in the winsome wonders of the film medium:
On many movie musical buffs’ list of top golden recollections is “On the Town,” a musical about sailors on shore leave in the Big Apple, with a stellar cast led by iconic crooner Frank Sinatra, who turned out to be an exceptional hoofer and tap-dancer as well!
“Annie Get Your Gun” also gets special mention for its music and lyrics, by no less than the Irving Berlin. Of course, “The Wizard of Oz,” a pioneering production that’s still periodically being reissued to this day, remains a special favorite due to the winning lead performance turned in by the young Judy Garland as Dorothy.
Other ’50s standouts include “My Blue Heaven,” “Summer Stock” and “Three Little Words.” Similarly exceptional are the rollicking “The Band Wagon” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” especially its musical numbers that feature the very luscious and young Marilyn Monroe!
The year 1955 saw the release of another major musical, “The King and I,” starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner—with the additional “localized” footnote that a Fil-Am child performer, Patrick Adiarte, was tapped to play the plum cameo role of the king’s first son and heir.
Other new musicals screened during that bumper period were “High Society,” “The Eddy Duchin Story” and “Carousel.”
Before the decade ended, musical buffs were treated to the film version of “Porgy and Bess,” one of the most memorable features of which was a hot-to-trot, crackerjack number performed by Sammy Davis Jr.
In the ’60s, the early standouts included “The Music Man,” “State Fair” and “Gypsy,” which was made unforgettable by the gutsy portrayal by Rosalind Russell of the domineering mother of Natalie Wood’s stripper character.
Intense rivalry
Talk about musical star wars, 1964 was marked by the intense rivalry for film awards between “My Fair Lady” starring Audrey Hepburn, and “Mary Poppins” with Julie Andrews in the title role.
What made the competition unusually intense was the fact that Andrews had sung the female lead role in the original theatrical staging of “My Fair Lady,” but was not cast in the hit musical’s film version, because its producers felt they needed Hepburn’s box-office clout at the box office.
Well, after the golden dust had settled, the winner turned out to be Andrews, because she won the Oscar for her performance in “Mary Poppins,” while Hepburn’s “My Fair Lady” portrayal wasn’t even cited as a finalist (although her leading man, Rex Harrison, won the Oscar that year for his performance in their joint musical starrer)!