Subgenre Sampler
Classics > Musical: 224 Films to Buy & Rent
- Merry Widow, The (1934)
- Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
Feat. Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald
- Out of cold–blooded patriotism to his homeland Marshovia, gadabout Maurice Chevalier attempts to seduce millionairess Jeanette MacDonald into…
- 42nd Street (1933)
- Dir. Lloyd Bacon
Feat. Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent
- The definitive backstage musical, centered around a chorus girl's shot at stardom when the leading lady twists her ankle. Busby Berkeley wrote the…
- Footlight Parade (1933)
- Dir. Lloyd Bacon, Busby Berkeley
Feat. James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler…
- James Cagney stars as an indefatigable Broadway producer, working show–biz miracles to keep his company afloat through the Depression.
Most…
- Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
- Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon…
- Busby Berkeley brings his snappy camerawork and choreography magic to the production numbers of this pre–'Hays code' musical, in which Dick…
- Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933)
- Dir. Lewis Milestone
Feat. Al Jolson, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan…
- Freewheeling musical comedy set (and made) during the Great Depression, with Al Jolson playing a hobo in New York who falls in love with the mayor's…
- Blonde Venus (1932)
- Dir. Josef von Sternberg
Feat. Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Herbert Marshall…
- Director Josef von Sternberg reunites with muse Marlene Dietrich in this sweeping melodrama about a German chanteuse turned struggling housewife who…
- Love Me Tonight (1932)
- Dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Feat. Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Myrna Loy…
- Charismatic tailor Maurice Chevalier makes beautiful music with princess Jeanette MacDonald in this splendiferous romance, one of the great musicals…
- Madam Satan (1930)
- Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
Feat. Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Roland Young
- A genuine oddity (and second talkie) from Cecil B. DeMille, this typically extravagant pre–Code musical comedy stars Kay Johnson as a jealous…
- Broadway Melody of 1929 (1929)
- Dir. Harry Beaumont
Feat. Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love…
- "100% All Talking! 100% All Singing! 100% All Dancing!" – this creaky MGM tale of two sisters bringing their act to Broadway was tremendously…
- Cocoanuts, The (1929)
- Dir. Robert Florey, Joseph Santley
Feat. Groucho Marx, Zeppo Marx, Chico Marx…
- The first feature–length Marx Brothers is probably one for completists only, with much of the film's running time devoted to mediocre musical…