There's definitely something extra lighthearted from the musicals of this era. The quality alone that they contain song and dance, as opposed to being a heavy drama, was an obvious way of distracting audiences from the misery. Another thing I've noticed over the years is small jokes, whether they be a sly double entendre or use of the era's slang. They give a sense that the characters are regular people just like their audiences, but the stories they live through are larger than life. Like in many romantic comedies of the era, I expect to see more love triangles, whether they be romantic or more on the professional side like Ziegfeld, Billings, and Held. I also expect to see a lot more scenes where a leading lady sings a solo and that be the sole focus of the scene. I think that if this had been made a few years earlier, Held would've been wearing something more revealing, and the conversation between her and her maid would've had more crafty quips.
DAILY DOSE OF DELIGHT #1 (From The Great Ziegfeld)
in MAD ABOUT MUSICALS: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS
Posted
There's definitely something extra lighthearted from the musicals of this era. The quality alone that they contain song and dance, as opposed to being a heavy drama, was an obvious way of distracting audiences from the misery. Another thing I've noticed over the years is small jokes, whether they be a sly double entendre or use of the era's slang. They give a sense that the characters are regular people just like their audiences, but the stories they live through are larger than life. Like in many romantic comedies of the era, I expect to see more love triangles, whether they be romantic or more on the professional side like Ziegfeld, Billings, and Held. I also expect to see a lot more scenes where a leading lady sings a solo and that be the sole focus of the scene. I think that if this had been made a few years earlier, Held would've been wearing something more revealing, and the conversation between her and her maid would've had more crafty quips.