A nice variety of musicals on TCM this month, including a few famous flops alongside some beloved classics. Click away for MacDonald and Eddy, Joan Crawford, Doris Day, Gene Kelly, Irene Dunne, Mario Lanza, and more!
Monday May 4
8:00am / Happy Go Lovely (1951)
Chorus girl Vera-Ellen turns musical star when she’s romantically linked with a millionaire (David Niven)… only problem is, she’s never actually met him.
Friday May 8
6:15am / Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1956)
Get your mind out of the gutter, Dean Martin’s just playing a hotel manager in Rome who happens to have a lot of rooms to look after, ok? Surely he gets no other use out of them. Surely.
8:15am / The Seven Hills of Rome (1957)
Mario Lanza plays a TV star trying to get away from it all Rome, a city of course well known for its quiet, pastoral scenery and people.
Saturday May 9
12:45am Show Boat (1936)
It’s Show Boat! This version features Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Paul Robeson, and Hattie McDaniel.
Wednesday May 13
6:45am / I Married an Angel (1942) [my review]
A playboy proclaims the only woman he could ever marry would have to be an angel… but when his prayer is literally answered, he realizes that that scenario comes with a few issues. MacDonald and Eddy.
8:15am / Sing Your Way Home (1945)
Wartime RKO musical, whose cast Leonard Maltin describes as having only a “modicum of singing talent.” Yowch. Anyone seen it and care to counter?
11:00am / Ding Dong Williams (1946)
A jazz star who can’t read music tries to complete a film score, with the help of two arrangers.
Saturday May 16
12:45am / Invitation to the Dance (1956)
Ambitious, three-part ballet film starring and directed by Gene Kelly. Last part features animated dance partners, courtesy Hanna-Barbera.
Sunday May 17
8:00am / Seven Sweethearts (1942)
Seven sisters must marry in chronological order per their father’s wishes; Kathryn Grayson plays the oldest.
Wednesday May 20
1:45pm / The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)
An ice skating team made up of Jimmy Stewart and Lew Ayres breaks up when they both fall for Joan Crawford. Includes a big Ice Follies centerpiece.
Thursday May 21
Today is Doris Day… Day, including easily available flicks like: Romance on the High Seas, My Dream Is Yours, Tea for Two, and I’ll See You in My Dreams. Also:
2:45pm / On Moonlight Bay (1951)
Tomboy Doris falls for her neighbor, Godron Macrae, in this wholesome musical set in the 1910s.
6:15pm / By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
Annnd the sequel, in which Doris’s sweetie has now returned from WWI and is readjusting to civilian life.
Thursday May 28
7:15am / Street Girl (1929)
Early musical featuring a rough-and-tumble girl (Betty Compson) who becomes manager of a jazz band. Featuring music from the Cocoanut Grove orchestra.
Friday May 29
11:45am / The Singing Marine (1937)
Shy Marine Dick Powell becomes a bit big in his britches after winning a talent competition.