Roadshow! The Decline of the Movie Musical
from 1964 to around 1978 the majority of film musicals were presented in a “roadshow” format with overture, intermission and exit music. This format had only been used for big budget epics (i.e. Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, How the West Was Won, Spartacus, etc,) and in the early days of the talkies with the “all star” musical revues. Success of the musical roadshow format varied and audience response could lead to the film being drastically re-edited. With the successes of non roadshow musicals like Cabaret and Grease, the format was abandoned by the end of the decade,
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- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsAudrey HepburnRex HarrisonStanley HollowayIn 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsRichard HarrisVanessa RedgraveFranco NeroThe story of the marriage of England's King Arthur to Guinevere. The plot of illegitimate Mordred to gain the throne and Guinevere's growing attachment to Sir Lancelot, threaten to topple Arthur and destroy his "round table" of knights.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsJulie AndrewsJames FoxMary Tyler MooreIn New York City during the Roaring Twenties, would-be flapper Millie Dillmount's self-appointed mission to marry her boss is complicated by white slavers and true love.
- DirectorNorman TokarStarsFred MacMurrayTommy SteeleGreer GarsonClever yet hapless new butler John Lawless manages a Philadelphia household for quirky and joyful millionaire Anthony Drexel Biddle, his unflappable wife, Cordelia, and their spitfire daughter, Cordy.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsRex HarrisonSamantha EggarAnthony NewleyAfter the animal communicating veterinarian goes too far for his clientele, he and his friends escape their hometown to the sea in search of the Great Pink Sea Snail.
- DirectorDavid SwiftStarsRobert MorseMichele LeeRudy ValleeArmed with the titular manual, an ambitious window washer seeks to climb the corporate ladder.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsTommy SteeleJulia FosterCyril RitchardArthur Kipps, an orphan apprenticed to a tyrannical owner of a mercantile, has a sudden abrupt change of life when his wealthy grandfather dies and leaves him a pile of money.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsRichard CrennaMichael CraigA musical biography of Gertrude Lawrence, who led a hustling and bustling life on the stage.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsFred AstairePetula ClarkTommy SteeleAn Irish immigrant and his daughter move into a town in the American South with a magical piece of gold that will change people's lives, including a struggling farmer and African American citizens threatened by a bigoted politician.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBarbra StreisandOmar SharifKay MedfordThe life of Fanny Brice, famed comedienne and entertainer of the early 1900s. We see her rise to fame as a Ziegfeld girl, subsequent career, and her personal life, particularly her relationship with Nick Arnstein.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsShirley MacLaineJohn McMartinRicardo MontalbanTaxi dancer Charity continues to have faith despite endless disappointments at its hands, and hope that she will finally meet the man to romance her away from her sleazy life. Maybe, just maybe, handsome Oscar will be the one to do it.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMark LesterRon MoodyShani WallisAfter being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsDick Van DykeSally Ann HowesLionel JeffriesA down-on-his-luck inventor turns a broken-down Grand Prix car into a fancy vehicle for his children, and then they go off on a magical fantasy adventure to save their grandfather in a far-off land.
- DirectorMichael O'HerlihyStarsWalter BrennanBuddy EbsenLesley Ann WarrenThe eleven members of the Bower family move to Dakota Territory.
- DirectorGene KellyStarsBarbra StreisandWalter MatthauMichael CrawfordMatchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a partner for "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder, convincing his niece, his niece's intended, and his two clerks to travel to New York City along the way.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsPeter O'ToolePetula ClarkMichael RedgraveA shy, withdrawn English schoolteacher falls for a flashy showgirl.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsLee MarvinClint EastwoodJean SebergTwo unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsWendy AllnuttColin FarrellMalcolm McFeeThe working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the three boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsFlorence HendersonToralv MaurstadChristina SchollinBased on the life of Norway's greatest composer Edvard Grieg, and filmed in Norway where he lived. The soundtrack is all Edvard Grieg's music with added lyrics.
- DirectorAnthony NewleyRichard WilliamsStarsAnthony NewleyJoan CollinsAlexander NewleyHeironymus Merkin (Anthony Newley) screens an autobiographical movie of his life, growth, and moral decay.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsBarbra StreisandYves MontandBob NewhartA troubled young woman who visits a psychotherapist to help her quit smoking undergoes hypnosis and finds herself reliving a tragic Victorian romance from a past life.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJulie AndrewsRock HudsonJeremy KempSet during World War I, this movie is a cute spin on the Mata Hari legend.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsTopolNorma CraneLeonard FreyIn pre-revolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant with traditional values contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.
- DirectorRobert StevensonWard KimballStarsAngela LansburyDavid TomlinsonRoddy McDowallAn apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsTwiggyChristopher GableMax AdrianWhen the leading lady of a low-budget musical revue sprains her ankle, the assistant stage manager is forced to understudy and perform in her place, becoming a star and finding love in the process.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsHorst BuchholzMary CostaNigel PatrickComposer Johann Strauss becomes the "Waltz-King" and woos a baron's mistress in 19th-century Austria.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsPeter O'TooleSophia LorenJames CocoThe funny story of mad but kind and chivalrous elderly nobleman Don Quixote who, aided by his squire Sancho Panza, fights windmills that are seen as dragons to save prostitute Dulcinea who is seen as a noblewoman.
- DirectorPeter H. HuntStarsWilliam DanielsHoward Da SilvaKen HowardA musical retelling of the American Revolution's political struggle in the Continental Congress to declare independence.
- DirectorDon TaylorStarsJohnny WhitakerCeleste HolmWarren OatesTom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn investigate a suspicious graveyard murder and more in this musical version of Mark Twain's novel.
- DirectorCharles JarrottStarsPeter FinchLiv UllmannSally KellermanWhile escaping war-torn China, a group of Europeans crash in the Himalayas, where they are rescued and taken to the mysterious Valley of the Blue Moon, Shangri-La.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsJeff EastPaul WinfieldHarvey KormanIn 1840s Missouri, young Huckleberry Finn, wanting to escape his violent drunkard father, joins Black runaway slave Jim on a quest for freedom down the Mississippi River on a raft.
- DirectorGene SaksStarsLucille BallRobert PrestonBea ArthurFollowing the death of his father, an orphan is sent to live with his free-spirited aunt.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsBarbra StreisandJames CaanOmar SharifStory of singer Fanny Brice's stormy relationship with showman Billy Rose.
- DirectorMichael TuchnerStarsAnthony NewleyDavid HemmingsDavid WarnerA kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsBurt ReynoldsCybill ShepherdMadeline KahnFour socialite old friends unexpectedly clash, and switch partners during a party and attempt to make each other jealous.
- DirectorFrank PiersonStarsBarbra StreisandKris KristoffersonGary BuseyA has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress.
- DirectorDon ChaffeyDon BluthStarsSean MarshallHelen ReddyJim DaleAn orphan boy and his magical dragon come to town with his abusive adoptive parents in pursuit.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLiza MinnelliRobert De NiroLionel StanderAn egotistical saxophonist and a young lounge singer meet on VJ Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long, uphill climb.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsDiana RossMichael JacksonNipsey RussellAn adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsSherrie HewsonJohn TurnerRosalind AyresA musical retelling of the classic tale of Cinderella. In the tiny kingdom of Euphrania, the King and his court are anxious to get Prince Edward wed. But Edward wants to marry for love.