The Great Movie Musicals

Beginning with The Jazz Singer in 1927 and ending with Sweeney Todd in 2007, this comprehensive critical history examines the greatest movie musicals of all time. Organized alphabetically, 168 films are analyzed on the basis of importance, entertainment value and musical presentation. Included are Broadway adaptations (West Side Story), screen originals (The Wizard of Oz), all-star revues (The King of Jazz), musical biopics (The Glenn Miller Story), “dance pictures (Fame) and animated features (Aladdin).
Each entry contains full cast and production credits, a list of awards, background information, and a synopsis incorporating the musical numbers in order of appearance. Appendices itemize the “greatest musical” selections of the American Film Institute and Entertainment Weekly magazine.

A retired music professor from Central Florida Community College in Ocala, Florida, Don Tyler has written over two dozen choral compositions and arrangements. In addition, he has authored several books about music. He lives in Ocoee, Florida.

Don Tyler
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 423
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4384-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5631-4
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction      1

THE MOVIE MUSICALS      5

Appendix 1: Greatest Movie Musicals by Decade      341

Appendix 2: Greatest Movie Musicals by Year      342

Appendix 3: AFI’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals      344

Appendix 4: Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time      344

Notes      345

Bibliography, Filmography and Videography      377

Index      385

“the choice of titles is excellent…recommended”—ARBA; “represents a significant portion of the canon of great movie musicals…a welcome addition…this is by far the best work available…this book is clearly a labour of love”—Reference Reviews.