Musicals to Movies

[Vash01]

Personally I am not fond of musicals made into movies. I prefer musicals in the theater and movies on the screen, even though I have enjoyed many movies that were based on musicals. The successful ones are:

Chicago (I felt id did not deserve the best picture Oscar)

The sound of music (loved it!)

My Fair Lady (loved this too!)

Phantom of the opera (probably not as successful as many others; I liked it a lot better live)

Oliver! (I only vaguely remember the movie, and never saw it live)

South Pacific (IMO this one was better on the silver screen due to the magnificent scenery)

Camelot

Mama Mia! (not that successful, but I liked it- may have been better in a theater)

Beauty and the beast (definitely preferred the live theater to the animated movie)


There is a lot of talk about the about to be released Les Miserable, and it could be really good.

Which ones did I miss? I am sure there are many.

[Alixana]

Evita is another one. I loved it in the theatre but the movie's cinematography was breathtaking.

Grease and Dreamgirls .. loved both the stage and movie musicals

Rent .. not a personal favourite

[Vash01]

I never saw Evita in a theater; I wish I did when I had a chance to. Movies do have the advantage of outdoor cinematography, and huge sets compared to theater.

[Wyliefan]

The Camelot movie was TERRIBLE. They took a whimsical musical fantasy and made it a slow, dragging fiasco of a movie. If ever there were a musical film that needed a remake, that's the one.

Beauty and the Beast was a film before it was a stage musical.

As for other stage musicals that became movies, there's Show Boat, Anything Goes, Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I, Brigadoon, Pal Joey, West Side Story, Damn Yankees, Gypsy, The Pajama Game, Kiss Me Kate, Annie, Man of La Mancha, A Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, Funny Girl, and quite a lot more!

[A.H.Black]

The Camelot movie was TERRIBLE. They took a whimsical musical fantasy and made it a slow, dragging fiasco of a movie. If ever there were a musical film that needed a remake, that's the one.

Beauty and the Beast was a film before it was a stage musical.

As for other stage musicals that became movies, there's Show Boat, Anything Goes, Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I, Brigadoon, Pal Joey, West Side Story, Damn Yankees, Gypsy, The Pajama Game, Kiss Me Kate, Annie, Man of La Mancha, A Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, Funny Girl, and quite a lot more!

That's a good list. I would also add The Music Man.

[Wyliefan]

Oh RATS, I forgot The Music Man! I'm such an idiot!

ETA: And Fiddler on the Roof, too!

[Cachoo]

I liked Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray and Jesus Christ Superstar. Was Hairspray a movie first?

[ballettmaus]

Beauty and the Beast was a film before it was a stage musical.

And isn't even the Broadway musical by Disney, too?

Grease also was a movie before it became a musical, wasn't it?

[Vash01]

I liked the 'King and I' as a movie, but I had seen it live in San Francisco in the 1980s, with Yul Bryner playing the king. Nothing could beat that experience.

[michiruwater]

I liked Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray and Jesus Christ Superstar. Was Hairspray a movie first?

Hairspray was a movie that was turned into a Broadway musical that was turned into a movie musical

I think WSS is probably the pinnacle of the movie musical, but that's just IMHO.

Phantom was the biggest damned disappointment of my entire life and I could write pages about all they ways they screwed that one up when it SHOULD HAVE BEEN AMAZING. Ugh.

I'm so excited about Les Mis I could cry.

I absolutely love Gypsy but mostly because Natalie Wood is so pretty (and the series of scenes showing her transformation into Gypsy Rose Lee via multiple strips that gain in confidence and pizzaz is AMAZING), and Rosalind Russell was PHENOMENAL.

My favorite movie musical of all time is Moulin Rouge!, though, which was never on Broadway.

[Wyliefan]

Hairspray was a movie that was turned into a Broadway musical that was turned into a movie musical

Same goes for The Producers, come to think of it!

Phantom was the biggest damned disappointment of my entire life and I could write pages about all they ways they screwed that one up when it SHOULD HAVE BEEN AMAZING. Ugh.

Hear, hear.

[icecat]

Grease started out on the stage in a tiny theatre in Chicago called The Kingston Mines. The original was quite raunchy with lots of local humor. They sanitized it and rewrote it to have more"universal" appeal. and the rest, as they say, is history!

[taf2002]

Same goes for The Producers, come to think of it!

The movie with Zero Mostel was hysterical. The stage musical was awful.

Another musical to movie was Promises, Promises which became The Apartment. I saw that on Broadway a few years ago with Kristen Chenowith & Sean Hayes.

I saw Phantom as a stage musical & then as a movie. I thought the movie was slightly better but didn't enjoy either of them. Andrew Lloyd Webber writes good music but his book leaves a lot to be desired.

[paskatefan]

Loved the Broadway musical cast recording of Camelot ever since I was a kid, hated the movie version (Vanessa Redgrave can't sing)! Give me Julie Andrews (Richard Burton & Robert Goulet) any day! The Broadway cast recording is still my all time favorite Broadway musical. We did eventually get to see the revival on Broadway, but I wish I had had the opportunity to see it as a kid on Broadway. Love this musical so much that we've seen it many times locally - high school school shows and local professional theater.

I really liked the movie version of The Producers (the original with Zero Mostel), but I did enjoy the musical very much.

Were Gigi and 1776 Broadway musicals before they were made into movies? Love them both in movie form!

[TalentedButHumble]

Another musical to movie was Promises, Promises which became The Apartment.

Not sure if you mistyped, but The Apt. was a 1960 movie and Promises was a late 60s musical based on it.

Also, paskatefan, 1776 was a stage musical first. Gigi (movie came first-didn't it later come to Bway?) is by Lerner and Loewe, has sometimes been compared to their MFL.

[Karina1974]

^^^No, Gigi was not a movie first; the play first premiered in 1951, starring Audrey Hepburn; the movie wasn't made until 1958.

[A.H.Black]

I've always thought Gigi was one of the best. There are so many that could/should have been wonderful but weren't because of casting decisions - necessary or not. For example -

Brigadoon - should have been an all time classic but they chose Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse because of their dancing instead of concentrating on singing. (I had an album featuring Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones when I was young and loved it) I love Gene Kelly, but I wanted a singer in this roll.

My Fair Lady - I don't think it has been listed so far. Most people know the story that Audrey Hepburn was cast because Julie Andrews was under contract to make Mary Poppins and that the studio couldn't/wouldn't wait for her. As much as I love Audrey Hepburn, I still think this was one of the most monumental mistakes in film history.

[Wyliefan]

^^^No, Gigi was not a movie first; the play first premiered in 1951, starring Audrey Hepburn; the movie wasn't made until 1958.

That's true. However, it was a non-musical play at first. The music wasn't written until the movie was made.

One of the most interesting cases of play/musical/movie: There was a play called Parfumerie, which was developed into a non-musical film called The Shop around the Corner, and then a musical film called In the Good Old Summertime. Then it became a musical play called She Loves Me. And finally, it was used as the basis for the movie You've Got Mail. One of those inexhaustible sources of material!

(I don't think She Loves Me was ever made into a film. Pity -- it's delightful.)

As for Brigadoon, I can't EVER regret that casting, particularly because Gene Kelly is the love of my life. It may be very different from the stage version, and it's unfortunate that they cut some good songs, but "The Heather on the Hill" and "Almost Like Being in Love" are magnificent pieces of work. However, it's a great shame that they were forced to film on a soundstage instead of on location. The sets are the worst part of the whole thing.

[Vash01]

I've always thought Gigi was one of the best. There are so many that could/should have been wonderful but weren't because of casting decisions - necessary or not. For example -

Brigadoon - should have been an all time classic but they chose Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse because of their dancing instead of concentrating on singing. (I had an album featuring Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones when I was young and loved it) I love Gene Kelly, but I wanted a singer in this roll.

My Fair Lady - I don't think it has been listed so far. Most people know the story that Audrey Hepburn was cast because Julie Andrews was under contract to make Mary Poppins and that the studio couldn't/wouldn't wait for her. As much as I love Audrey Hepburn, I still think this was one of the most monumental mistakes in film history.

It is listed in the original post.

I don't see the casting of Audrey Hepburn as "the most monumental mistakes in film history". Audrey was lovely and she portrayed Eliza very well. The knock on her was that she did not sing her songs. To me, it's not a big deal. I don't feel that an actor must be able to sing. For some others it may be a big deal. In the movie 'Ray', Jamie Foxx did not sing his songs either (though he can sing), but nobody seemed to mind that. IMO in the case of MFL it was seen more as a rejection of Julie than as acceptance of Audrey in that role.

[Vash01]

Has 'Can Can' been mentioned yet? I saw the movie but have only a vague memory of it. I think it was a musical before it was made into a movie.