While growing up back in the mid-1900s, I always looked forward to seeing movie musicals, especially those big, splashy ones from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. When enthusiasm for screen musicals began to wane in the sixties, it made me very sad. Fewer musicals being made meant less movie-going pleasure for me. Now, with the success of Moulin Rouge  and Chicago, I'm hoping for a re-birth of my favorite film genre.

And, indeed, things are looking up for fans like me. There's talk of remaking Guys and Dolls as well as Damn Yankees, and an original musical called Romance and Cigarettes, starring James Gandolfini, Kate Winslett, and Susan Sarandon, is in the works. Also, Kevin Kline has signed on to play Cole Porter in a film featuring that composer's terrific songs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Looking back on the Hollywood musical, I remember how much fun it was to watch Judy Garland sing and dance in flicks like Meet Me in St. Louis, Easter Parade, and In the Good Old Summertime. I also recall, with great pleasure, the dynamic dancing of Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh, The Pirate and Singin' in the Rain, the greatest  musical of all time. Garland and Kelly were my favorites, and their best musical films came from MGM -- all products of what was called the Arthur Freed unit at that studio.       

In The Golden Age of Movie Musicals and Me (University of Oklahoma Press, 1994), the late, great songwriter/musical director Saul Chaplin described Freed's special producer's touch. "Arthur's films were slick, stylish, and "now"-looking. His films were the most innovative," Chaplin explained. "You were given the widest latitude to be creative, without his interference."

According to Chaplin, movie mogul Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, gradually built up a "mind-boggling roster of performing talent" including Garland and Kelly (naturally) as well as stars like Frank Sinatra, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Betty Garrett, Red Skelton, Bob Fosse, and Marge and Gower Champion. Not surprisingly, the same level of talent prevailed in MGM's departments of choreography, direction, and costume and set design. The result? An incredible group of musical films representing the best of the fifties. 

While living in San Diego a few years ago, I was fortunate to meet Chaplin and his lovely wife Betty. As active members of the San Diego Cinema Society, my husband and I worked with Andy Friedenberg, the group's director, to develop a special program saluting the Hollywood Musical. Chaplin agreed to be on a panel with Miles Kreuger, founder of the Institute of the American Musical. In my book Confessions of a Movie Addict (Hats Off Books), I described how he charmed the audience with his intelligence, wit and candor.

One of the great contributors to movie musicals, Chaplin served as songwriter, vocal arranger, pianist, musical director or producer for over sixty films. He won Academy Awards for An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and West Side Story. Among his published songs is one of my favorites, "You Wonderful You," from Summer Stock (co-starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, of course). Chaplin thought Gene Kelly was the hardest working musical star -- and that Judy Garland and Al Jolsen were the most talented.

We may never see the likes of Kelly, Garland, Freed, and Chaplin again, but there are talented performers and directors working in films today with the potential to bring back a bit of that old musical magic -- albeit with a modern twist. Baz Luhrmann and Rob Marshall proved they have what it takes to helm movie musicals with their dazzling work on Moulin Rouge and Chicago, respectively. Many current stars can sing and/or dance up a storm. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Oscar-winner for her dynamic Chicago performance, isn't the only one. Antonio Banderas is wowing Broadway audiences in the revival of Nine; Hugh Jackman will be appearing soon in a Broadway musical called The Boy from Oz; and Melanie Griffith plans on making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart sometime this year -- to cite only three examples. 

As the world's most avid fan of the musical genre (you can look it up), I'm eagerly awaiting the next wave of Hollywood musicals. Bring it on!