Take a Chance was based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, though only one of the original songs, Eadie Was a Lady, has been retained. The thinnish plot involves the misadventures of a pair of pickpockets, played on Broadway by Jack Haley and Sid Silvers and on film by James Dunn and Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards.
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Musical
Absolute Beginners (1986) Julien Temple, Patsy Kensit, Eddie O’Connell, David Bowie, Drama, Fantasy, Musical
A musical adaptation of Colin MacInnes’ novel about life in late 1950s London. Nineteen-year-old photographer Colin is hopelessly in love with model Crepe Suzette, but her relationships are strictly connected with her progress in the fashion world. So Colin gets involved with a pop promoter and tries to crack the big time. Meanwhile, racial tension is brewing in Colin’s Notting Hill housing estate…
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Look for the Silver Lining (1949) David Butler, June Haver, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Drama, Musical, Romance
This musical biopic chronicles the vaudeville-to-Broadway story of 1920s’ star Marilyn Miller (June Haver). From her start on the boards in Findlay, Ohio, Marilyn sings and dances her way to Broadway stardom, frequently in company with her mentor, dancer Jack Donahue (Ray Bolger).
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Frühlingssinfonie / Spring Symphony (1983) Peter Schamoni, Nastassja Kinski, Herbert Grönemeyer, Rolf Hoppe, Biography, Music
‘Spring Symphony” is a story of love, hate and artistic ambitions. Nastassja Kinski and Herbert Gronemeyer star as Clara Wieck and Robert Schumann, star-crossed classical musicians of the nineteenth century trying to overcome the stifling objections of Wieck’s father.
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Mr. Music (1950) Richard Haydn, Bing Crosby, Nancy Olson, Charles Coburn, Comedy, Musical, Romance
Paul Merrick, a writer of hit musicals, prefers to lie in the sun or play golf. He does so until he goes broke and asks to borrow a large sum of money, against future earnings, from his producer, Alex Conway.
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Pagliacci (1948) Mario Costa, Tito Gobbi, Gina Lollobrigida, Onelia Fineschi, Drama, Musical
The fiery performance, conducted by Giuseppe Morelli with the Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, knocks all recent digital efforts into a cocked hat. A few cinematic liberties seem permissible to me and this is surely one of the best films of an opera.
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The Real Buddy Holly Story (1985) Richard Spence, Sonny Curtis, Paul McCartney, Larry Holley, Documentary, Music
The complete video biography of rock’n’roll legend Buddy Holly, produced and hosted by Paul McCartney. This entertaining and enlightening show is the most definitive biography of Buddy Holly ever assembled, featuring interviews with members of The Crickets and many of Buddy Holly’s family and friends who knew him best. Includes rare performances and Paul McCartney performs several of Buddy Holly’s songs.
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Three for the Show (1955) H.C. Potter, Betty Grable, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Musical
This musical reworking of TOO MANY HUSBANDS (1940), features Grable as a top singer and dancer who’s been widowed by WW II. She marries her late husband’s songwriting partner, Gower Champion, but the new marriage is thrown for a loop when Lemmon, her first husband, turns up very much alive and eager to see Grable.
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Pennies from Heaven (1936) Norman Z. McLeod, Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, Edith Fellows, Comedy, Drama, Musical
Larry Poole, in prison on a false charge, promise an inmate that when he gets out he will look up and help out a family. The family turns out to be a young girl, Patsy Smith, and her elderly grandfather who need lots of help.
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Wiener Blut / Viennese Spirit (1942) Willi Forst, Willy Fritsch, Maria Holst, Hans Moser, Comedy, Music
Willy Forst of course is famous for looking back on the ‘old Vienna’ in a mixture of nostalgia and gentle irony in his films, but “Wiener Blut” may be the one which most highlights the question of what makes the ‘true’ Viennese style. We get a first answer right at the beginning, when Forst himself masqueraded as a medieval alchemist mixes the ingredients for the brew of this film, which are ‘humour’, ‘frivolity’, ‘heart’, ‘history’ and most of all, ‘music’. And the film gets this mixture right.
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Les chansons d’amour / Love Songs (2007) Christophe Honoré, Ludivine Sagnier, Louis Garrel, Clotilde Hesme, Drama, Musical, Romance
Julie’s boyfriend Ismaël lives with her; rather than worry about the time he spends with his colleague Alice, Julie invites Alice to join them. The three walk the streets of Paris, party, read, and sleep together. Sometimes it’s lighthearted, sometimes there are jealousies.
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Bright Lights / Adventures In Africa (1930) Michael Curtiz, Dorothy Mackaill, Frank Fay, Noah Beery, Musical, Drama
The lovely young star of a Broadway show is giving an interview to several newspaper writers and tells them about her wild life, parts of which involved “hula dancing” in Africa and an involvement with a dangerous Portuguese smuggler. Unbeknownst to her, the smuggler has showed up at the theater on that very night.
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Raaz (2002) Vikram Bhatt, Dino Morea, Bipasha Basu, Malini Sharma, Drama, Horror, Musical
Sanjana and Aditya retreat to Ooty to give a last chance to their crumbling marriage. But the break turns into a nightmare when Sanjana starts hearing screams. A spirit is haunting Sanjana, while Aditya is hiding a secret that could steer him from life to death.
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Träumerei (1944) Harald Braun, Hilde Krahl, Mathias Wieman, Friedrich Kayßler, Drama, Musical
Clara Wieck meets the talented Robert Schumann in her father’s Leipzig music school. And entirely against her father’s wishes, who thinks only of her future artistic career, she falls in love with Robert. The final break comes after a successful tour as a pianist at the side of Franz Liszt.
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The West Point Story (1950) Roy Del Ruth, James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day, Comedy, Music
Broadway director Bix Bixby, down on his luck (thanks to gambling), is reluctantly persuaded to go to West Point military academy (with Eve, his gorgeous assistant and on-and-off love) to help the students put on a show. Ulterior motive: to recruit student star Tom Fletcher for Harry Eberhart’s new production (Eberhart just happens to be Tom’s uncle). Then, Bixby finds that he himself must live as a cadet. Of course, sundered hearts come into the story also…
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