Only one year after the presentation of the first Academy Awards on May 16, 1929, two musicals - The Broadway Melody and The Hollywood Revue - joined the select group of five films nominated for Best Picture of the 1929-1930 season. The Broadway Melody won the award for Best Picture, 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, including song-and-dance fests like 42nd Street and Top Hat; original film musicals like The Wizard of Oz; film versions of stage musicals like The Music Man and Fiddler on the Roof; and the all-animated Beauty and the Beast. It explains why each film was nominated and why the winners won, points out the influences (mostly from the stage) that guided the productions, and discusses these films' influences on succeeding films. Detailed plot descriptions are provided, along with interesting facts about the acting, direction, choreography, and orchestration; complete cast and production credits; and comments from critics.
