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From: greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley)
Newsgroups: net.movies,net.theater
Subject: Re: Musicals: Stage to screen
Message-ID: <383@olivee.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Jun-85 20:54:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: olivee.383
Posted: Fri Jun  7 20:54:31 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Jun-85 08:21:50 EDT
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Xref: watmath net.movies:6594 net.theater:61

> 
> I'd be interested in hearing opinions on this from both the Hollywood and
> Broadway sides of the issue.  As you may have guessed, I'm firmly in the
> latter camp.  Where do you guys stand?
> 
> 					-- Mark A.
> 					...{uw-beaver|fluke}!ssc-vax!adolph

I can't honestly come up with a single example of a film based on a
musical which I could say I enjoyed more than even an average performance
of the stage show.  There have been those which I thought weren't bad
as films ("Oklahoma", "My Fair Lady", "The King and I", I even like the
sugary film of "The Sound of Music"), but in no case did they come close
to creating the excitement and continuity of their respective staged
shows.  I was particularly disappointed in the film of "A Little
Night Music" at how much of the spice and depth of the characters was
lost in translation (not to mention some of the better songs which
also disappeared).  

I did, however, enjoy the videotaped "live" performance of "Sweeny
Todd" and wonder if maybe it wouldn't be so terrible to use actual
stage performances as a basis for more musical films.

One problem that recurs constantly is the paranoia the move moguls have
about using known "movie names" in the film casts - often regardless of
suitability to the part.  I have no doubt that Julie Andrews would have
been a better choice than Audrey Hepburn for "My Fair Lady" (Jack Warner
thought Andrews too much of an unknown at the time) and found Elizabeth
Taylor ludicrous casting in "A Little Night Music" - why not either Glynis
Johns or Jean Simmons, both of whom had major successes on stage with it?
The question is hardly worth asking;  someone who had control over the
bucks decided that Elizabeth Taylor would attract large scale audiences
and make the film a general success rather than merely a cult favorite
(as it was, it was a general flop that didn't even attract a cult
following).

Another problem for me is the frequent recourse to dubbing voices
for the songs when the "stars" chosen to be in the film can't sing
them.  I'm not suggesting that they force the stars to croak the
songs out anyway (as happened, disastrously, with Vanessa Redgrave
in "Camelot") but that they at least cast the roles with people who
can, in fact, perform the entire role which includes the songs.

	- Greg Paley