Only one year after the presentation of the first Academy Awards on May 16, 1929, two musicals joined the select group of five films nominated for Best Picture. One, The Broadway Melody, won the award, and since then, 37 additional musicals have received Best Picture nominations. Of those, nine have won the award. This book covers all 39 Hollywood musicals nominated for Best Picture. It explains why each film was nominated and why the winners won, points out the influences that guided the productions, and discusses these films' influences on succeeding films. Plot descriptions are provided, along with facts about the acting, direction, choreography, and orchestration; complete cast and production credits; and comments from critics.

A dictionary of short entries on American musicals and their practitioners, including performers, composers, lyricists, producers, and choreographers

The musical has been called "the most popular form of entertainment in the world." This work examines the subjects, themes, and contemporary relevance of Hollywood musicals through their long popularity, placing each show in historical and political context and analyzing it in detail. A chapter is devoted to how Golddiggers of 1933 (1933) and Stand Up and Cheer (1934) deal with the economic crises of the Depressions. Another addresses race issues by examining the prevalence of blackface minstrelsy in the 1930s and 1940s, looking at productions like Swing Time (1936) and Dixie (1943). Rock and roll culture, which started in the 1950s and threatened America with teenage sex and rebellion, is addressed through such hits as Girl Crazy (1943), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), and Grease (1978). The work also explores dance as a signifier of character, the geography of musicals (such as New York or "the South"), fantasy settings, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and the musical biopic (mentioning biographies of such figures as Ziegfeld, Cohan, Rogers and Hart, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern). A later chapter discusses intertextuality in such shows as Singin' in the Rain (1952), which refers to many earlier musicals; Kiss Me Kate (1953) which refers to Taming of the Shrew; and All That Jazz (1970) which refers to the life and work of Bob Fosse. The work concludes with an examination of the continuing popularity of the musical with such hits as Moulin Rouge (2001) and Chicago (2002). Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Documents the cultural revolution behind the making of 1967's five Best Picture-nominated films, including Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, Doctor Doolittle, In the Heat of the Night, and Bonnie and Clyde, in an account that discusses how the movies reflected period beliefs about race, violence, and identity. 40,000 first printing.

Do you know which televised awards show gives a prize for "Favourite Smile"? Or which Oscar host announced that he was going to raffle off a car during the ceremony? Do you know who won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress of the 20th Century? In Reel Winners, Richard Crouse, Reel to Real movie critic and CBC Radio’s "titan of trivia," gives you the lowdown on movie awards, from eight decades of Hollywood self-congratulation to international awards to the toasts from the fringe (like The Skinnies, which celebrate actors and their skin conditions). Reel Winners is the definitive guide to the inside scoop on movie awards.

THE STORY: This is the poignant story of Mrs. Watts, an aging widow living with her son and daughter-in-law in a three-room flat in Houston, Texas. Fearing that her presence may be an imposition on others, and chafing under the watchful eye of her

A Brief History of Comic Book Movies traces the meteoric rise of the hybrid art form of the comic book film. These films trace their origins back to the early 1940s, when the first Batman and Superman serials were made. The serials, and later television shows in the 1950s and 60s, were for the most part designed for children. But today, with the continuing rise of Comic-Con, they seem to be more a part of the mainstream than ever, appealing to adults as well as younger fans. This book examines comic book movies from the past and present, exploring how these films shaped American culture from the post-World War II era to the present day, and how they adapted to the changing tastes and mores of succeeding generations.

As Hollywood entered the sound era, it was rightly determined that the same public fascinated by the novelty of the talkie would be dazzled by the spectacle of a song and dance film. In 1929 and 1930, film musicals became the industry's most lucrative genre--until the greedy studios almost killed the genre by glutting the market with too many films that looked and sounded like clones of each other. From the classy movies such as Sunnyside Up and Hallelujah! to failures such as The Lottery Bride and Howdy Broadway, this filmography details 171 early Hollywood musicals. Arranged by subgenre (backstagers, operettas, college films, and stage-derived musical comedies), the entries include studio, release date, cast and credits, running time, a complete song list, any recordings spawned by the film, Academy Award nominations and winners, and availability on video or laserdisc. These data are followed by a plot synopsis, including analysis of the film's place in the genre's history. Includes over 90 photographs.

One of the inspirations for the smash hit Broadway musical Come From Away, Channel of Peace is an unforgettable memoir of the extraordinary kindness afforded to passengers whose flights were re-routed to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001. When Kevin Tuerff and his partner boarded their flight from France to New York City on September 11, 2001, they had no idea that a few hours later the world — and their lives — would change forever. After U.S. airspace closed following the terrorist attacks, Kevin, who had been experiencing doubts about organized religion, found himself in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, with thousands of other refugees or “come from aways.” Channel of Peace is a beautiful account of how the people of Gander rallied with boundless acts of generosity and compassion for the “plane people,” renewing Kevin’s spirituality and inspiring him to organize an annual and growing “giving back” day. His unforgettable and uplifting story, along with others, has reached thousands of people when it was incorporated into the Broadway musical Come From Away.

1970- issued in 2 vols.: v. 1, General reference, social sciences, history, economics, business; v. 2, Fine arts, humanities, science and engineering.