One of my favourite movies (on YouTube, unfortunately never shown on TCM even here) is the earliest film version of The Desert Song , starring John Boles and Carlotta King, with Myrna Loy, Marie Wells, Johnny Arthur and Louise Fazenda. It has dancing, singing and melodramatic acting, combined with wonderful Orientalist backdrops. I also really like the version of Show Boat with Paul Robeson. Anyone else like old Hollywood musical movies from the 20s-40s?

edited 12th Aug '12 4:31:48 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Anyone? I can't be the only one.

Most of my musical favourites come about a decade later, but I am a fan of the Fred and Ginger musicals that were around in the 30s. I haven't really seen anything else.

@Fiwen: I like Calamity Jane from 1953 too. I've found that actor/actress pairs were really common in the 1930s.

edited 13th Aug '12 5:38:07 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Well Wizard of Oz counts. I really like Top Hat as well.

@femaledavinci: Nice handle :) Why were pairs so common in that period? Do you have a theory?

Another Astaire and Rogers fan here. Wizard of Oz, of course. The Shop Around the Corner. Holiday Inn.

Two makes better than one? Well I just know that Fred Astaire would dance with his sister so I guess he wanted to have a dancing partner to fill the place.

It's been a long time since I was into the 30s/40s oldies, but I had the impression that the "repeat pairing" thing started with Nelson Eddy and Jeannette Mc Donald.

IIRC both that and the Astaire/Rogers teamup came from a situation where the male star was considered a big gun in his field (singing for Eddy and dancing for Astaire) and the emphasis on duets (whether singing or dancing) meant that they needed a female lead who could keep up.

Ginger Rogers said it best.

I did everything Fred did, backwards and in high heels.

Tam: Allowing for the caveat that I'm not sure she could have pulled off some of Astaire's solo numbers, I agree with Rogers. She was a very talented and dedicated person who literally danced her feet bloody for at least one of their dance numbers, and got rather little credit for it at the time, because as I said, the men in these partnerships were seen, rightly or wrongly, as the main attraction.

Do. say, Danny Kaye films belong in this category? I'm not sure they count as musicals, but they do often have frequent musical numbers. I only ask because, y'know, I love Danny Kaye movies...