Singin' and Dancing Back in Time.: 8 Films Advance to the second round of The Favorite Musical tournament (20's/30's Era)

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

8 Films Advance to the second round of The Favorite Musical tournament (20's/30's Era)

The polls are closed and we have 8 films moving on to the next round in the 20's/30's era of The Favorite Musical Tournament. And half of those films are Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers vehicles. How about that? Here is a brief recap of which film won and which film is now headed home.

Joan Blondell is all smiles as her film Gold Diggers of 1933 advances to round 2....

1 seed THE JAZZ SINGER defeated 16 seed REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM 15-6
8 seed FLYING DOWN TO RIO defeated 9 seed ROSE MARIE 19-1.
4 seed SHALL WE DANCE defeated 13 seed THE GREAT ZIEGFELD 19-3
5 seed SWING TIME defeated 12 seed SHOW BOAT 13-8
2 seed 42nd STREET defeated 15 seed FOOTLIGHT PARADE 15-6
7 seed GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 defeated 10 seed BABES IN ARMS 15-6
3 seed TOP HAT defeated 14 seed DANCING LADY 22-1 in the most lopsided match of the round
6 seed BROADWAY MELODY of 1929 defeated 11 seed LOVE ME TONIGHT 12-9 in the closest match of the round

Congratulations to those films that advanced to round 2. And thanks to all those that stopped by to vote. Here are the matches scheduled for round 2.

1 THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)

vs

8 FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933)

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4 SHALL WE DANCE (1937)

vs

5 SWING TIME (1936)

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2 42nd STREET (1933)

vs

7 GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933

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3 TOP HAT (1935)

vs

6 BROADWAY MELODY OF 1929

Some extremely tough matches in round 2. I don't know how to choose between Shall We Dance and Swing Time or Gold Diggers of 1933 against 42nd Street. Should make for a very interesting round. Round 2 starts immediately after I finish this post and will run through Saturday night 8 pm est. I think these matches will be much closer than round one. Just a hunch.

6 comments:

Patti August 31, 2011 at 8:14 PM
I knew so few of the films in this bracket that I just decided I would wait until the next round. AFter all, I need to be an educated voter, right? You don't just vote for something without knowing anything about it or its competition.
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Irene PalfyAugust 31, 2011 at 9:40 PM
Love the Joan Blondell pic! (surprise? I don't think so..)
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David LoboscoSeptember 1, 2011 at 5:57 AM
I love this poll! Great work!!!
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DawnSeptember 1, 2011 at 6:59 AM
Oh no, I love them all...
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AnonymousSeptember 1, 2011 at 9:19 AM
Oh, so cruel - how can I choose between Shall We Dance and Swing Time? Not fair they are in a head to head!
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montySeptember 1, 2011 at 3:38 PM
I agree Anonymous. But it's just the way they fell into place. But the way it's looking, it's gonna be a Fred/Ginger film in the final four.
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Bob Fosse

Was a musical theater choreographer and director, screenwriter and film director. He won an eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction. He was nominated for an Academy Award four times, winning for his direction of Cabaret. He was identified with his third wife, Gwen Verdon. She was both the dancer/collaborator who he choreographed much of his work and, together with dancer/choreographer Ann Reinking, a guardian of the Fosse legacy after his death. Fosse is considered to be one the most influential coreographers of the 20th Century.

Esther Williams.

JANE POWELL

After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens. Once there, the studio utilized her vocal, dancing and acting talents, casting her in such musicals as Royal Wedding, with Fred Astaire, A Date with Judy, with friend Elizabeth Taylor and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, with Howard Keel. In the late 1950s, her film career slowed, only to be replaced with a busy theater and television career.Click picture to enter websight.

Jeanette MacDonald

Singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (Love Me Tonight, The Merry Widow) and Nelson Eddy (Naughty Marietta, Rose-Marie, and Maytime). During the 1930s and 1940s she starred in 29 feature films, four nominated for Best Picture Oscars (The Love Parade, One Hour With You, Naughty Marietta and San Francisco), and recorded extensively, earning three gold records. She later appeared in grand opera, concerts, radio, and television. MacDonald was one of most influential sopranos of the 20th century. Click picture to view fan website.

Joan Crawford.

Click picture to view website. Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre. Starting as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway, Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford began a campaign of self-publicity and became nationally known as a flapper by the end of the 1920s. In the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well-received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money and by the end of the 1930s

Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Richard Rodgers (1902 – 1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 – 1960) the songwriting duo, on our musical page. They created many popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age. With Rodgers composing the music and Hammerstein writing the lyrics, five of their shows, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. They won thirty-four Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and two Grammys. Click picture to read movie reviews.

Cab Calloway

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86 .Click picture to view official website.