Movie musicals

I like those old Watner Brothers musicals from the 1930s in black and white with choreography by Busby Berkely.  Footlight Parade has this great story about impresario James Cagney and his secretary Joan Blondell whom he doesn't notice loves him--until the happy ending, of course. (If you removed the musical numbers from that movie you'd still have a great comedy.) I also like those Fred Astaire musicals:  Ginger Rogers is one actress who could play start women!

When I was young I enjoyed a lot of '60s blockbuster musicals like Mary Poppins and Oliver! and Fiddler on the Roof.  And Bob Fosse's Cabaret is in a class by itself!  There's a great number where a teenage boy at a beer garden starts singing this sweet song "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," and it turns out he's a young Nazi!  Then the crowd starts standing up and singing along with him, except for one old man who doesn't get it. (Or maybe he sees it all too clearly.)

There haven't been so many good musicals in recent years.  Prince's rock musical Purple Rain is worth seeing just to watch Morris Day and his band steal the whole show.  It's funny about Dirty Dancing: I found the first half cheesy and predictable, then the second half was also cheesy and predictable, but I no longer minded!