[Opening Salvo For Mad About Musicals Course]

23 hours ago, bnosila said:

I'd have to say, anything with Danny Kaye.  I have loved his work since I first saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on TCM when I was in high school 25+ years ago.  I also love Hello Dolly.  It was a favorite of my grandmother, and always brings back memories of her singing along with the cast.

Yes! One of my favorites of his is "The Court Jester" - what a cast, what performances! Absolutely hilarious.

[Opening Salvo For Mad About Musicals Course]

The two musicals that I can always watch, no matter what my mood is, are The Band Wagon and Summer Stock. Both are "hey kids, let's put on a show" movies, which is appealing. I love both the skewering of pretentiousness in The Band Wagon and the simplicity of the barn musical in the second, and how each winds up with a blockbuster musical that would never fit onto a real Broadway stage. The variety of the singing and dancing styles in The Band Wagon makes it a pleasure and watching a more mature Judy Garland in Summer Stock, where she gets to do some broad comedy while paired with Gene Kelly as a love interest, is always a revelation. She has some spectacular numbers in that movie, and I love listening to her as well as see her dance. Both of these two movies always make me happy.