Turner Classic Movies: Must-See Musicals: 50 Show-Stopping Movies We Can’t Forget

For fans of movie musicals, this book is going to be a great gift. It examines the genre in a surprisingly comprehensive manner while taking a look at fifty of the best musicals the movie industry created. It begins with 1929’s The Broadway Melody, the first true musical with singing and dancing central to the story, not ancillary as in earlier movies such as The Jazz Singer, where singing was a device to show off sound. Each chosen movie has a wonderful write-up by author Richard Barrios with a rather complete overview of the film as well as some extras focusing on interesting rumors (was that a hanging corpse near the Tin Man’s cottage?) or early choices for roles (imagine Frank Sinatra or Marlon Brando singing to Doris Day in Pajama Game instead of John Raitt!) or an examination of a particular song, and other such things, all accompanied by many interesting photographs. The films chosen cover nearly 90 years and include the very best the industry had to offer, from Top Hat to Singin’ in the Rain, from An American in Paris to . This is a delight for anyone who loves musicals.