Mostly Sunny - Hi 66 Lo 48 for Northern KY, USA
Song of the week: Riders on the Storm, The Doors
Ramble:
I once dated a guy that thought he was the reincarnation of Jim Morrison, but of course he couldn't be the reincarnation of Jim Morrison, because he was born before Jim Morrison died... I never said he was real smart....
In any event I chose this song for two simple reasons. 1) Michael loves this song and 2) It has been raining for nearly 2 weeks... Saturday was the first day in ages that we had beautiful skies and perfect temperatures... because of the perfect weather... I worked in the yard gardened...one of my favorite things to do... however, I am now paying for it... everything is achy and it even hurts to type... so this week's entry is going to be easy and will require little thought on my part...
I haven't done this in a long time so, I thought I would present another list of favorite movies... This time I'm going with musicals... yah yah.... shat up.... all right all ready.... Sheesh! Look... musicals make me happy.... and quite frankly, if you are opposed to musicals... I strongly urge you to take a look at some of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe collaborations... Often, the musical will tackle difficult subjects... prejudice, neglect, abuse.... you know the stuff of real life...or at least an episode of Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown.... I know there are times that breaking into a song and a perfectly synchronized dance routine would really add that special punch to my point....
So... in no particular order....
1. The King and I, 1956. Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr... Ahhhh... Yul.... I've always had a serious crush on him. I think I've mentioned it before, but I saw him perform on stage as the King of Siam. He was brilliant.. he had one lung and had cancer again... in fact he died shortly after I saw him. He danced in red and let me tell you, he was simply wonderful.
Favorite songs- all of them... Getting to Know You, Hello Young Lovers, Shall I Tell You What I Think of You.
2. The Sound of Music, 1965. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Nannies, Nazis and Nuns.... Favorite moment... Christopher Plummer on stage singing Edelweiss... which is symbolic of a free Austria. In his eyes and in his voice you see and hear the utter sadness as he realizes the home he loves so much has disappeared.
3. Oklahoma, 1955. Shirley Jones, Gordon MacRae, Gloria Grahame, Eddie Albert, and Rod Steiger. Love and jealousy... in O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma, OK-L-A-H-O-M-A!
Favorite songs- The Farmer and the Cowman, I Cain't Say No, O' What a Beautiful Mornin'.
4. Carousel, 1956. Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae again. This is a tough one... Gordon plays a carnie... Rob... I know carnies scare you... just bare with me... ok.. where was I? Oh yes... Shirley plays the young naive girl that falls for the bad boy... They end up getting married... he becomes a deadbeat living off her wages, he beats his young wife, they make an appearance on Jerry Springer, she gets pregnant and suddenly he wants to become a better person....
Favorite songs- If I Loved You and Soliloquy.
5. South Pacific, 1958. Rosanno Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, and John Kerr. WWII and prejudice... it ain't easy being green....
Favorite songs- Bloody Mary, Carefully Taught, There is Nothing Like a Dame, Bali Ha'i--- the only reason I list this as a favorite is because of Peter Boyle's character in Honeymoon in Vegas... hysterical.... 
6. West Side Story, 1961. Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno. 2 gangs in New York City... instead of wielding guns... they have songs and dancing.... When your a Jet....
Favorite songs - One Hand One Heart, Gee- Officer Krupke, and Somewhere.
7. Singin' In the Rain, 1952. Gene Kelley, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse. To watch Gene Kelley dance is always magic for me. Like, Yul... I've always had a crush on Gene Kelley... favortie scene is the dream/dance sequence.... Broadway Melody Ballet.... the energy and grace... and of course Cyd Charisse.... I of course can't forget Donald O'Connor- incredible dancer-Make 'Em Laugh....
8. The Wizard of Oz, 1939. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, and of course Margaret Hamilton. This movie is a classic... There is so much about this movie I love... ever see the guy in the sequence as our heroes travel down the yellow brick road that gets hung on the set? Is it true or is it an urban legend? Hmmm??? I don't know... but either way, once it is pointed out to you- it's creepy... Ever watch the movie while listening to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon?
9. My Fair Lady, 1964. Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, and Stanley Holloway. Julie Andrews played Eliza on stage and of course I adore her, but is there anyone more graceful more beautiful than Audrey Hepburn?
Favorite songs- On the Street Where You Live, I Could Have Danced All Night, I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Get Me to the Church on Time
10. Brigadoon, 1954. How can you go wrong with Gene Kelley, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse playing in Scotland--- err uh... a studio made up to be Scotland? Ya can't! 
11. An American in Paris, 1951. My guy Gene Kelley and the ungrateful French twit, Leslie Caron.... I have to say if I were forced to pick between this and Singin' In the Rain... I'd take An American in Paris... Who can resist a Gershwin tune? Not this girl!
Favorite part of the movie- Fantasy Dance Sequence set to Gershwin's American in Paris.
12. Cabaret, 1972. Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York. The legendary Bob Fosse directed this musical. Highly stylized... the crisp cool destinctive lines... a girl trying to make a living and live a life all the while the Nazis are taking power....
Favorite songs- Money, money, Cabaret, Tomorrow Belongs to Me.
13. Fiddler on the Roof, 1971. Topol, Set in pre revolutionary Russia... Tevye struggles with daily life and the changes that occur in his homeland. I absolutely love all the music in this movie... Topol brings such life to the character of Tevye...
Favorite songs- Tradition, Matchmaker, Sunrise Sunset, Sabbath Prayer, Anatevka...
14. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, 1954. Howard Keel and Jane Powell. This is just a campy fun movie... it involves kidnapping... and avalanches... and springtime... I love Howard Keel's voice.... Riff from West Side Story plays one of the brothers in this one... and Cat Woman from the 60's television show Batman is in this and for the life of me, I can't think of her name....not Eartha Kitt... the other one...
Favorite songs- Bless Yore Beautiful Hide, The Barn Dance, June Bride
15. The Music Man, 1962. Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, and little Ronnie "da Vinci Code" Howard. What can be more heartwarming that a naive young girl falling in love with a bad boy (con man)? Didn't we cover this already with Carousel? Ahh... yes... Carousel didn't have a marching band or a barbershop quartet... The Music Man does.... see the difference?
Favorite songs- Gary Indiana, Goodnight My Someone, The Wells Fargo Wagon, Marian the Librarian
16. Guys and Dolls, 1955. Marlin Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Stubby Kaye. Gambling and God....
Favorite songs- Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat, Adelaide (was this song in the Broadway production?), Luck Be a Lady, Oldest Established.
I truly love all these movies.... They are all timeless, yet reflect the time period they all were made...
There are a bunch of others that I love. A few of them are: 42nd Street, Camelot, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Star is Born (1954- Judy Garland), Showboat, and Oliver.
Chicago and Moulin Rouge haven't been around long enough for me to decide...
Never liked State Fair....
Blogs and Links to Check Out This Week:
IMDB
related - My picks for Chick Flicks.
My picks for sophomoric humor and classified as I'm Not a 15 Year Old Boy.
Have a great week everyone!
3 comments:
Nice movie selection. Ah, brings back the memories. "Music Man" was good huh? Oh that Wells-Fargo wagon comin down the street!
This is a fun musicals list -- my all-time favorite movie is SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS -- I got to meet most of the cast once at a special screening! The Catwoman you're trying to think of is Julie Newmar. :) My 2nd and 3rd favorite movies are THE SOUND OF MUSIC and MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. The other films on your list are favorites, too, except for CABARET. The two-disc editions of SEVEN BRIDES and OKLAHOMA! are fun because each movie was filmed twice -- you can see small differences if you watch both versions.
Best wishes, Laura
Laura,
Funny you should mention that Cabaret is not one of your favorites. I completely understand where you are coming from. As far as musicals are concerned it is dark and ugly... and I almost did not list it... but I loved Joel Grey.
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