“We sing because we can’t speak anymore.” – Kristin Chenoweth Since I was little, I remember being enthralled by musicals. The songs from the 1994 Disney film The Lion King have been stuck in my head since I was a toddler. From a pretty young age, I recall singing along to movies like Grease and Hairspray. And, as I grew up, I distinctly remember discovering other classic musicals from Funny Girl and The Blues Brothers to newer ones like Chicago and La La Land. Not long after starting this blog, a particular question came to mind: why do I like musicals so much? Granted, I’m not obsessed with them. But I tend to enjoy watching them more than I do not. Today, I will begin to seek out the answer to my question by exploring my thoughts on several classic movie musicals. The films I will examine today are all adapted from Broadway musicals. So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! West Side Story (1961) Independent film producer Walter Mirisch hired Jerome Robbins, the director and choreographer for the 1957 stage production of “West Side Story,” to adapt the story for the silver screen. Since Robbins had no film experience at that point in his career, Mirisch also hired director Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Sound of Music) to co-direct alongside Robbins. However, Robbins’s inexperience behind the camera led to principal photography ending up being 24 days behind schedule and his dismissal from the project (Wise successfully advocated that Robbins retain his co-directing credit due to his creative contribution to the final product). Ultimately, Wise stayed in close contact with Robbins and took his advice about the film’s editing to heart. Some of the filming took place on location in Manhattan near the San Juan neighborhood, while the rest occurred on sound stages in West Hollywood. Released on October 18, 1961, West Side Story was met with nearly universal critical acclaim and went on to win ten of the eleven Oscars that it was nominated for (the most of any musical film in history). Notably, Rita Moreno became the first Latino-American to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Anita. Furthermore, the movie became the highest-grossing film of the year raking in just over 44 million dollars. I really thought that I would enjoy West Side Story. The music is memorable, the performances are poignant, and the story of star-crossed lovers is timeless. And yet, I found myself ultimately underwhelmed by the end of the runtime. While it has taken some time to figure out what exactly I don’t like about this particular movie musical, I think I’ve nailed it down. I can best compare it to my experience seeing South Pacific, a musical set in the Pacific theater during World War II that (in my humble opinion) completely romanticizes war in order to tell a glamorous story of romance that does not justify its existence. Similarly, West Side Story uses gang violence and racial tensions as the backdrop for a musical about teenage romance. Granted, I think that it treats the subject more seriously (and thus delicately) than South Pacific. Notably the deaths of Riff and Bernardo and Maria’s final scene after Tony’s death wherein she threatens both the Jets and the Sharks to kill them because of their actions causing all of this. But, at the end of the day, I think this story (inspired by Shakespeare’s famous tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”) works better without musical numbers. In other words, isolate the music and it works well without the story, and vice-versa. But, when combined into this film, they just detract from each other. So, is West Side Story a bad movie musical? No, but I don’t think it’s that good. Funny Girl (1968) Originally written as a drama for producer Ray Stark (the son-in-law of Fanny Brice), Broadway actress Mary Martin suggested that the story would work better as a musical upon reading the script. So, Isobel Lennart (the screenwriter) adapted her script for the stage and it became a highly successful Broadway show starring Barbra Streisand (The Way We Were, A Star Is Born). When discussions about adapting the musical into a film started, Stark made it clear that his first and only choice to portray his mother-in-law was Streisand. Despite the protests of Columbia Pictures, who desired Shirley MacLaine (The Apartment, Terms of Endearment), Stark got his way due to Streisand’s and MacLaine’s friendship and their mutual agreement with Stark wanting to cast Streisand. Several directors were considered before Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon) was signed but then left after six months due to “creative differences.” The new director hired was William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives, Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur), who agreed to do the film because he warmed up to the challenge of directing Streisand because of her lack of experience acting in movies. Streisand, on the other hand, was initially skeptical of Wyler due to having never heard of him. Apparently when learning that Wyler won the Oscar for Best Director for Ben-Hur, she replied, “Chariots! How is he with people, like women? Is he any good with actresses?” For the part of Nick Arnstein, Fanny’s love interest, men from Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant to Marlon Brando and Gregory Peck. But when Wyler noticed Egyptian actor Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) in the commissary one day, he was stricken with the idea of casting him beside Streisand (a Jewish actress). When the Six-Dar War broke out between Israel and Egypt, executives at Columbia Pictures wanted to replace Sharif, but Wyler and Streisand both threated to quit of that happened. Filming took place between August and December of 1967, with progress being somewhat stricken by Streisand’s perfectionist nature both in the recording studio and on set. There was also a contested feud between Streisand and her co-star, Anne Francis (The Forbidden Planet, The Twilight Zone), although both actresses have downplayed any animosity between them since production ended. Released on September 18, 1968, Funny Girl went on to gross nearly 60 million dollars and was met with critical praise, largely highlighting Streisand’s powerhouse performance as Fanny Brice. The film was also nominated for eight Academy Awards, only winning Best Actress for Streisand (although she ended up tying with Katharine Hepburn who won for her performance in The Lion in Winter). The film’s legacy has endured through its many iconic songs and for being one of the first subversively positive representations of a Jewish woman in film. I was so impressed when I watched this film. Expecting to be underwhelmed overall considering my more modern taste in movies, I did not think I would enjoy Funny Girl much at all. Fortunately, I could not have been more wrong. Within the first five minutes, I fell in love with Streisand as Fanny Brice. Her incessant charm, sharp wit, and engrossing personality make both the character and the actress the tour de force of the movie. My admiration of Streisand as a performer (in more ways than one) made my investment in Brice’s journey from working-class city girl to shining star all the more intense. On top of her ability to stand on her own, Streisand has palpable chemistry with virtually everyone that she shares the screen with (most prominently Sharif as Brice’s second husband, Nick Arnstein). What makes Streisand stand out the most is all of the iconic musical numbers, from “I’m the Greatest Star” and “My Man” to “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” Having heard well-produced covers of these songs in the past, I was rather impressed that the original renditions from Streisand remain stuck in my head every now and again. Her voice and poise on screen are a powerful combination of star power that make Funny Girl one of my favorite old-school musicals. I have thought for some time about whether or not the film’s story could work as a music-less biopic. Maybe it could, but the interpretation of Brice’s rise to stardom that Wyler, Streisand, and everyone else involved in the project delivered is one movie musical for the ages. Fiddler on the Roof (1971) Despite finding success in America as a filmmaker with movies like 1965’s The Cincinnati Kid and 1968, In the Heat of the Night, Norman Jewison moved himself and his family to England at the end of the 1960s due to being disenchanted with the country’s political climate. It was in England that he made one of his most famous films, Fiddler on the Roof, based on the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name. Due to the musical’s popularity in the West, translating it to the silver screen was a challenge. Notably, Jewison’s decision to not cast Zero Mostel (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Producers) in the lead role of Tevye was quite controversial. This was mainly due to the fact that Mostel was the original Broadway actor who played Tevye on stage and made the role famous. These reasons were Jewison’s primary motivation for not casting Mostel, believing that his larger-than-life personality would prevent film audiences from suspending their disbelief. Despite many of the exterior shots being done in the now-defunct nation of Yugoslavia, much of principal photography occurred at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Filming involved about three hundred extras who spoke a variety of foreign languages. Upon release on November 3, 1971, Fiddler on the Roof was met with largely favorable reviews (even though some critics deemed it inferior to the stage production). In addition to grossing over eighty million dollars on a nine-million-dollar budget, the film also won three Oscars out of eight nominations: Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Original Score. Knowing very little about this film prior to watching it, I assumed that Fiddler on the Roof would be a cheesy 1970s musical that lacked any genuine heart or soul. And, while it was cheesy at times (especially since the protagonist and his family are dairy farmers 😊), I was pleasantly surprised by the ability of the cast (in tandem with Jewison’s direction) to invoke some powerful emotional moments. Throughout the never-ending drama related to Tevye’s children seeking out their own paths and his struggle dealing with how much the world around him is changing, I remained rather engrossed in the journey that Jewison was taking me on. All three hours of it. Which gets to my second unexpected positive of Fiddler on the Roof. There are SO many movies (lookin’ at you, The Lord of the Rings!) that do not justify their runtimes to the point of making my viewing of it excruciatingly painful. This film, however, is quite the opposite. When it is not dazzling the audience with its thoroughly entertaining musical sequences, it is absorbing you with its story by exploring universal, timeless themes like the uprooting of tradition, anti-Semitism, and the strength of familial bonds. Undoubtedly, I believe that this movie justifies its three-hour runtime in the same vein as some of the great film epics ever made. Similar to West Side Story, I do think that the story of Fiddler on the Roof could be done without music intertwined into to. However, like Funny Girl, I believe that it would suffer without it because of how well the musical numbers not only capture the spirit of the moment as well as transform throughout the story to match its changing, darker tone and more serious story at its core. Grease (1978) John Travolta was on the rise in the late 1970s with a supporting role in Brian de Palma’s Carrie and starring in John Badham’s Saturday Night Fever. Having previously played the character of Doody on a touring stage producing of “Grease,” Travolta had significant influence over producer Robert Stigwood’s decisions regarding adapting the musical to film. Notably, Travolta recommended Randal Kleiser to be the director (despite his lack of experience directing feature films) and Olivia Newton-John for the female lead (despite her minimal acting experience). And while Kleiser changed very little about the story in the original stage production, he changed the setting from Chicago to the suburbs to reflect his high school experience at Radnor High School near Philadelphia. Notably, many of the supporting cast members were television stars from the 1950s like Sid Caesar (Your Show of Shows, Caesar’s Hour) as Coach Calhoun and Eve Arden (Our Miss Brooks) as Principal McGee. Other stars from mid-20th-century Hollywood in supporting roles include Alice Ghostley (Bewitched, Designing Women) as auto-shop teacher Mrs. Murdock, Edd Byrnes (77 Sunset Strip) as Vince Fontaine, and Frankie Avalon (Beach Party) as the Teen Angel. The film was shot in an around the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Notably, the opening beach scene between Danny and Sandy was shot in Malibu and the race between Danny and “Crater-Face” was shot between two bridges peering over the Los Angeles River. When released in the summer of 1978, Grease was met with largely positive reviews but some critics thought it to be mediocre and cheesy. Making over 360 million dollars at the box office, it became the second-highest-grossing film in the U.S. (behind Richard Donner’s Superman), and the highest-grossing film worldwide that year. It was also nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars for Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” but lost to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” from the film Thank God It’s Friday. Unlike the previous three musicals I have written about today, I grew up with Grease. It very well was the first movie musical I ever saw, and I make it a point to revisit it every few years just to remind myself how great it is. Needless to say, the wacky cast of characters front and center here are endlessly charismatic and endearing, from the innocently lovely Sandy and tough yet shallow Danny to the ideal greaser Kenickie and the razor-sharp but vulnerable Rizzo. Furthermore, the teen dramedy (as I’ve said before) is a timeless genre ripe with great themes to explore and stories to tell. Unlike the other musicals I’ve written about today, however, Grease has an identity that is simultaneously unique and overpowering. Its full embrace of the quirky and dated aspects of 1950s youth culture as a source of humor, without ever coming off as distasteful in its parody, continues to be one of my favorite elements of the film. From the greasy production design to the rock n’ rolling musical numbers, Grease stands out as one of the better movie musicals of the 20th century. All that being said, however, I do think that the film’s story could be done well without music. While much of the charm and energy in what we ended up with comes from the singing and dancing, there are clearly several examples of great coming-of-age dramedies that are successful without being musicals. But, akin to Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof, Grease almost certainly needs its music to be as iconic as it is. (The fact that I was humming “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” while writing this blog is a testament to this) So, three of these four movie musicals that are adapted from stage productions (in my humble opinion) rely on their song-and-dance elements in order to be as great as they are. But is it because they are “unoriginal” productions that this is so? What about “original” musicals that are not inspired by their own Broadway shows? TO BE CONTINUED…
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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