The Evolution of Musicals
by Kayelyn Means
Introduction:
With the evolution of talking motion pictures, the musical film genre emerged from its roots: stage musicals and operettas, revues, cabaret, musical comedy, music halls and vaudeville. They were the last of the major film genres, because they were dependent on sound captured on film. Musicals are often described as Broadway on film, although many other forms of musicals have been made (e.g., rock 'n' roll movies and disco/dance films). Recently, animated films with musical soundtracks have emerged as one of the major musical forms, and many of them have won Best Original Song Oscars.
The Evolution of Musicals:
According to www.imdb.com , with the coming of the ‘talkies’, the film musical genre naturally emerged with the first full-length, revolutionary 'talkie' (with speech and song) that premiered in New York City at the Warner Theatre on October 6, 1927. It was a "musical" of sorts - Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer. Contrary to popular belief, this film was not the first sound feature film, since it was mostly silent. In reality, the landmark part-talkie singing film was an old-fashioned melodrama about Jewish-bred 'jazz singer' Jakie Rabinowitz/Jake Robin (charismatic Broadway mega-star Al Jolson). It featured seven songs, and a few lines of screen dialogue. After Jolson had sung his first song, "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face", he delivered a portentous, spellbinding line that was ad-libbed and left in the film, before singing his next song. His naturally-spoken words were the first ever heard in a full-length movie.
The other major film studios realized the expensive and challenging ramifications of the sound revolution that was dawning, and that ‘talkie’ films would be the wave of the future.Most of the studios started to convert from silent to sound film production - an incredible capital investment. Thousands of existing theaters had to be rewired for sound. By the end of the decade, over 40% of the country's movie theatres had sound systems installed. By 1930, the silent movie had practically disappeared, and by the mid-1930s, film industry studios had become sound-film factories.
Most early musicals were coarsely made, mostly due to technical limitations and lack of experience, and were often just adaptations or photographed versions of recent stage hits. Many Hollywood actors/actresses lacked good voices and stage experience, and their marketability decreased. Broadway stars were called in to become musical film stars in the film musical revues (series of musical numbers strung together) before the emergence of musical plays.
The first genuine musical, fully integrating singing and dancing into a 'backstage musical' plot was also MGM's first full-length musical, The Broadway Melody, released in 1929. It was proudly advertised as "All Talking - All Singing - All Dancing", and the popular film brought in a profit of over $1.6 million. It was the first musical film - and the first sound film as well - to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film inspired three more Broadway melody films in the following decade, and many more to follow throughout the century.
The Boom in Musicals:
The 1930s were considered the beginning of the "Golden Age of the Musical" with a greater variety of musical vehicles and stars. Musical arrangers, song-writers, conductors, and dance instructors hurried to the West Coast to be part of the onslaught of 'talking' musicals. In particular, backstage musicals became the rage during the Great Depression, encouraging the production of other imitators with similar characters: a struggling stage producer, wise-cracking chorus girls practicing and on the lookout for rich husband prospects, and the opening night opportunity for stardom for an inexperienced chorus girl filling in for the leading lady.
Musicals experienced a significant boom during the late 1920s and early 1930s, many of them with Broadway stars lured westward to Hollywood. In the late 1930s and into the 1940s, musicals really came into full their own with an increased demand for escapist entertainment during World War II and bigger budgets for the musical genre. The 1940s inaugurated the prime of elaborate MGM musicals in Technicolor. Color was also being introduced into the major productions. MGM's most popular fantasy musical was the artistic, classic Technicolor masterpiece The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939. Even Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the first full-length animated feature, was also the first animated musical - with the title character occasionally singing within the film.
With the evolution of talking motion pictures, the musical film genre emerged from its roots: stage musicals and operettas, revues, cabaret, musical comedy, music halls and vaudeville. They were the last of the major film genres, because they were dependent on sound captured on film. Musicals are often described as Broadway on film, although many other forms of musicals have been made (e.g., rock 'n' roll movies and disco/dance films). Recently, animated films with musical soundtracks have emerged as one of the major musical forms, and many of them have won Best Original Song Oscars.
The Evolution of Musicals:
According to www.imdb.com , with the coming of the ‘talkies’, the film musical genre naturally emerged with the first full-length, revolutionary 'talkie' (with speech and song) that premiered in New York City at the Warner Theatre on October 6, 1927. It was a "musical" of sorts - Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer. Contrary to popular belief, this film was not the first sound feature film, since it was mostly silent. In reality, the landmark part-talkie singing film was an old-fashioned melodrama about Jewish-bred 'jazz singer' Jakie Rabinowitz/Jake Robin (charismatic Broadway mega-star Al Jolson). It featured seven songs, and a few lines of screen dialogue. After Jolson had sung his first song, "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face", he delivered a portentous, spellbinding line that was ad-libbed and left in the film, before singing his next song. His naturally-spoken words were the first ever heard in a full-length movie.
The other major film studios realized the expensive and challenging ramifications of the sound revolution that was dawning, and that ‘talkie’ films would be the wave of the future.Most of the studios started to convert from silent to sound film production - an incredible capital investment. Thousands of existing theaters had to be rewired for sound. By the end of the decade, over 40% of the country's movie theatres had sound systems installed. By 1930, the silent movie had practically disappeared, and by the mid-1930s, film industry studios had become sound-film factories.
Most early musicals were coarsely made, mostly due to technical limitations and lack of experience, and were often just adaptations or photographed versions of recent stage hits. Many Hollywood actors/actresses lacked good voices and stage experience, and their marketability decreased. Broadway stars were called in to become musical film stars in the film musical revues (series of musical numbers strung together) before the emergence of musical plays.
The first genuine musical, fully integrating singing and dancing into a 'backstage musical' plot was also MGM's first full-length musical, The Broadway Melody, released in 1929. It was proudly advertised as "All Talking - All Singing - All Dancing", and the popular film brought in a profit of over $1.6 million. It was the first musical film - and the first sound film as well - to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film inspired three more Broadway melody films in the following decade, and many more to follow throughout the century.
The Boom in Musicals:
The 1930s were considered the beginning of the "Golden Age of the Musical" with a greater variety of musical vehicles and stars. Musical arrangers, song-writers, conductors, and dance instructors hurried to the West Coast to be part of the onslaught of 'talking' musicals. In particular, backstage musicals became the rage during the Great Depression, encouraging the production of other imitators with similar characters: a struggling stage producer, wise-cracking chorus girls practicing and on the lookout for rich husband prospects, and the opening night opportunity for stardom for an inexperienced chorus girl filling in for the leading lady.
Musicals experienced a significant boom during the late 1920s and early 1930s, many of them with Broadway stars lured westward to Hollywood. In the late 1930s and into the 1940s, musicals really came into full their own with an increased demand for escapist entertainment during World War II and bigger budgets for the musical genre. The 1940s inaugurated the prime of elaborate MGM musicals in Technicolor. Color was also being introduced into the major productions. MGM's most popular fantasy musical was the artistic, classic Technicolor masterpiece The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939. Even Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the first full-length animated feature, was also the first animated musical - with the title character occasionally singing within the film.
The Demise of the Cinematic Musical:
In the 1950s and early 60s, when the studio system started its demise and the public again grew tired of a long succession of musicals, the expensive-to-produce, on-screen musicals were among the first genre to be discarded. Television was making its major appearance and grabbing the film-attending public. And many of the biggest musical stars, such as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, were approaching their retirement years and the industry was rapidly losing its star.
During the age of television and its ‘song-and-dance’ variety shows, the Hollywood studios began adapting with their changing audience. Most musicals were lifted directly from established Broadway hits and adapted into film versions for the big screen. Classic Broadway hits such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls and the King and I began dominating the film industry once more.
The Musical in the Late 60s and 70s- Flops and Failures:
The adaptation of stage material for the screen remained the predominant trend in Hollywood with extravagant, lavish productions that attempted to duplicate the successes of the 60s with films such as Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Man of La Mancha (1972). However, by the end of the 1960s and early 70s, musicals were virtually extinct and had significantly diminished in popularity. By the 1980s, major musicals, whether adaptations or original productions, seemed to have disappeared or fared poorly at the box-office and were regarded as insipid and overblown. A number of disappointing flops and disastrous films brought an end to the large-scale film musical.
Modern Day Musicals: The 80s and After
The 1980s brought films such as Victor/Victoria (1982), Amadeus (1984) and Little Shop of Horrors (1986) that attempted to pave a way for musicals to make a come back. Many directors began using many inexperienced, non-signing big-name Hollywood stars in their films in an attempt to revive the musical. Consequently, the only one successful live-action musical in the 90s was the musical drama Evita, which debuted in 1996 and starred the famous music artist Madonna.
The New Millennium:
It would take the new millennium to bring more well-received musicals, but the first few struggled to find audiences. The eye-catching and dazzling film Moulin Rouge (2001) was the first live-action musical to be nominated for Best Picture since All that Jazz (1979). The debut feature and ‘razzle-dazzle’ film Chicago (2002) proved that, once again, adaptations of modern stage musicals or inventive fantasy musicals were possible.
However, the trend could be short-lived, due to the total box office failures of stage-to-screen adaptations of such acclaimed and popular Tony-winning musicals as The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Rent (2005), and the Producers (2005). It wasn’t until the debut of Dreamgirls (2006) that live-action musicals once again received audience support and esteemed recognition. It acquired eight nominations but came away with only two wins: Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson), and Best Sound Mixing, even though it won at the Golden Globes awards as the Best Musical or Comedy. Musical films such as Hairspray (2007) and Sweeney Todd (2007), though winning no awards, began setting box-office records and following the trend of popularity. After a long rollercoaster of popularity, it seems musical films may make a come back after all.
In the 1950s and early 60s, when the studio system started its demise and the public again grew tired of a long succession of musicals, the expensive-to-produce, on-screen musicals were among the first genre to be discarded. Television was making its major appearance and grabbing the film-attending public. And many of the biggest musical stars, such as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, were approaching their retirement years and the industry was rapidly losing its star.
During the age of television and its ‘song-and-dance’ variety shows, the Hollywood studios began adapting with their changing audience. Most musicals were lifted directly from established Broadway hits and adapted into film versions for the big screen. Classic Broadway hits such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls and the King and I began dominating the film industry once more.
The Musical in the Late 60s and 70s- Flops and Failures:
The adaptation of stage material for the screen remained the predominant trend in Hollywood with extravagant, lavish productions that attempted to duplicate the successes of the 60s with films such as Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Man of La Mancha (1972). However, by the end of the 1960s and early 70s, musicals were virtually extinct and had significantly diminished in popularity. By the 1980s, major musicals, whether adaptations or original productions, seemed to have disappeared or fared poorly at the box-office and were regarded as insipid and overblown. A number of disappointing flops and disastrous films brought an end to the large-scale film musical.
Modern Day Musicals: The 80s and After
The 1980s brought films such as Victor/Victoria (1982), Amadeus (1984) and Little Shop of Horrors (1986) that attempted to pave a way for musicals to make a come back. Many directors began using many inexperienced, non-signing big-name Hollywood stars in their films in an attempt to revive the musical. Consequently, the only one successful live-action musical in the 90s was the musical drama Evita, which debuted in 1996 and starred the famous music artist Madonna.
The New Millennium:
It would take the new millennium to bring more well-received musicals, but the first few struggled to find audiences. The eye-catching and dazzling film Moulin Rouge (2001) was the first live-action musical to be nominated for Best Picture since All that Jazz (1979). The debut feature and ‘razzle-dazzle’ film Chicago (2002) proved that, once again, adaptations of modern stage musicals or inventive fantasy musicals were possible.
However, the trend could be short-lived, due to the total box office failures of stage-to-screen adaptations of such acclaimed and popular Tony-winning musicals as The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Rent (2005), and the Producers (2005). It wasn’t until the debut of Dreamgirls (2006) that live-action musicals once again received audience support and esteemed recognition. It acquired eight nominations but came away with only two wins: Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson), and Best Sound Mixing, even though it won at the Golden Globes awards as the Best Musical or Comedy. Musical films such as Hairspray (2007) and Sweeney Todd (2007), though winning no awards, began setting box-office records and following the trend of popularity. After a long rollercoaster of popularity, it seems musical films may make a come back after all.
