American Film Musicals - The Folk Musical
From the 1987 book by Rick Altman, ISBN 0-253-20514-X
Related lists:
American Musical Feature Films
American Film Musicals - The Fairy Tale Musical
American Film Musicals - The Show Musical
American Film Musicals - The Folk Musical
Related lists:
American Musical Feature Films
American Film Musicals - The Fairy Tale Musical
American Film Musicals - The Show Musical
American Film Musicals - The Folk Musical
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- DirectorKing VidorStarsDaniel L. HaynesNina Mae McKinneyWilliam FountaineA sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.
- DirectorMelville W. BrownStarsFreeman F. GosdenCharles J. CorrellSue CarolTypical Amos 'n Andy storyline has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a fancy party. All the regular characters are here (or mentioned), including the famous Mystic Knights of the Sea. The only film appearance of radio's long-running characters.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsJohn BolesVivienne SegalJoe E. BrownAs a wagon train treks west, two men, Lt. Singleton and a Stanton, a scout, are rivals for the attentions of the Colonels's daughter, Virginia. Stanton is held for murder after a fight with a bad guy named Davolo. He escapes jail and joins the train disguised as a minister. Virginia runs off with him and they start a saloon in San Fransisco. Guilt overcomes him and he leaves her, he rejoins the Army, afterward finding she forgives him.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsAl JolsonMadge EvansFrank MorganA New York tramp (Jolson) falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attempt
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsDick PowellRuby KeelerPat O'BrienMusical-romance with Powell as private in Hawaii involved with general's daughter Keeler. Break up to avoid scandal but reunite years later when he produces play at West Point starring her.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsShirley TempleLionel BarrymoreEvelyn VenableIn the post-Civil war south, a darling little girl attempts to restore the peace between her parents and her plantation owner grandfather.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandWesley RugglesStarsBing CrosbyW.C. FieldsJoan BennettCrosby plays a Philadelpia Quaker engaged to a Southern belle. He becomes a social outcast when he refuses to fight a duel. Fields then hires him to perform on his riverboat, promoting him as "Colonel Steel...the notorious Colonel Steel...the singing killer." The plot then follows a predictable course, but there are plenty of scenes featuring W.C. Fields.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsDick PowellRuby KeelerLewis StoneA successful crooner who doesn't want to join the Navy decides to prove to his father, a Navy admiral, that he has what it takes to make it in the fleet.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsStuart ErwinPatsy KellyJack HaleyMarried coaches Slug and Bessie find hillbilly football tosser Amos and the team gets invited to the Yale Bowl.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsJeanette MacDonaldNelson EddyReginald OwenAn incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her fugitive brother.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsClark GableJeanette MacDonaldSpencer TracyA Barbary Coast saloonkeeper and a Nob Hill impresario are rivals for the affections of a beautiful singer, both personally and professionally, in 1906 San Francisco.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsIrene DunneAllan JonesCharles WinningerDespite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsIrene DunneRandolph ScottDorothy LamourPennsylvania, 1859. Railroad tycoon Brennan (Alan Hale) is muscling in on oil-drilling farmers, led by Peter Cortland (Randolph Scott). Cortland must try to save their oil business, while also saving his marriage to Sally (Irene Dunne).
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJeanette MacDonaldNelson EddyWalter PidgeonA bandit disguises himself as an officer in an attempt to woo a saloon singer.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerAlice FayeDon AmecheThe O'Leary brothers--honest Jack and roguish Dion--become powerful figures, and eventually rivals, in Chicago on the eve of its Great Fire.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJudy GarlandGeorge MurphyCharles WinningerIrish colleen Nellie is in love with handsome Jerry Kelly, even though her father objects. Nellie and Jerry soon marry and announce plans to move to New York, which again angers Nellie's father. Still, fear of never seeing his daughter again convinces the old man to also head to the States. In New York, Jerry becomes a policeman, although fighting crime seems to be easier than fighting with his father-in-law. Tragedy strikes when Nellie dies in childbirth. Jerry and the meddling old man continue to live together and have constant battles over how to raise young Nellie, who grows up to look exactly like her mother.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsSonja HenieJohn PayneGlenn MillerAfter Phil Corey's band arrives at the Idaho ski resort, its pianist Ted Scott is smitten with a Norwegian refugee he has sponsored, Karen Benson. Later, soloist Vivian Dawn quits and Karen stages an ice show as a substitute.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliBusby BerkeleyStarsEthel WatersEddie 'Rochester' AndersonLena HorneA compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloDick ForanTwo peanut vendors at a traveling rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that both know nothing about cowboys, horses, or much of anything.
- DirectorNorman TaurogBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandGil StrattonA philandering young playboy is sent to college somewhere in the American West, and organizes a show, together with his sweetheart, to save the college from closure due to falling enrollments.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsAlice FayeJohn PayneJack OakieIn turn-of-the-century San Francisco, an ambitious vaudevillian takes his quartet from a honky tonk to the big time, while spurning the love of his troupe's star singer for a selfish heiress.
- DirectorFrank RyanStarsDeanna DurbinRobert PaigeAkim TamiroffA senator's daughter (who can't help singing) follows her boyfriend West in the days of the California gold rush.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyBarry FitzgeraldFrank McHughWhen young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsMonty WoolleyJune HaverDick HaymesA tunefull account of the life of Ernest R. Ball, composer of many popular Irish songs, including the title's.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyIngrid BergmanHenry TraversAt a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsJeanne CrainDana AndrewsDick HaymesEach member of the Frake clan has his/her own reason for attending the annual Iowa State Fair.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJeanne CrainCornel WildeLinda DarnellIn 1876 Philadelphia, two sisters vie for the affections of a Frenchman who's come to town to prepare the French pavilion for the Centennial exposition.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsJudy GarlandRay BolgerJohn HodiakOn a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) meets a cheery crew of young women travelling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJeanne CrainGlenn LanganLynn BariA woman reminisces about her teenage years in the 1920s, when she fell in love with her teacher.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJune AllysonPeter LawfordPatricia MarshallGolden Globe winner June Allyson and Peter Lawford star in this enjoyable musical about a football hero who falls in love with his French tutor.
- DirectorRichard WhorfStarsFrank SinatraKathryn GraysonPeter LawfordSoldier Danny Miller returns home to Brooklyn after war. Aiming for singing success, he helps friends chasing dreams.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsGene KellyMarie McDonaldCharles WinningerLeo Gogarty marries Margaud Morgan after a whirlwind romance just before shipping out to war. Upon his return, he is surprised to discover that his bride is not what she led him to believe, but also that she expects a quick divorce. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gogarty must find their place with or without each other in a society still adjusting to peace.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonEdmund GouldingJohn M. StahlStarsBetty GrableDick HaymesAnne RevereIn the late 1800s, Miss Pilgrim, a young typist, becomes the first female employee at a Boston shipping office. Although the men object to her at first, she soon charms them all, especially the handsome young head of the company. Their romance gets sidetracked when she becomes involved in the women's suffrage movement.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsEsther WilliamsLauritz MelchiorJimmy DuranteExpected to follow his opera star father into the business, but discontent with his life, a young man pursues a career in popular music and romances the aquatic ballet dancer he met during his time in the service.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsDennis MorganJanis PaigeDon DeForeBiff Grimes has spent the last ten years regretting that he hadn't married Virginia Brush, the girl of his dreams. Virginia ran off and married his best friend - breaking his heart. Virginia's best friend, Amy, consoles Biff.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsMickey RooneyGloria DeHavenWalter HustonDannville, Connecticut at the turn of the century. Young Richard Miller lives in a middle-class neighborhood with his family. He is in love with the girl next door Muriel, but her father isn't too happy with their puppy love, since Richard always shares his revolutionary ideas with her.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJudy GarlandVan JohnsonS.Z. SakallIn turn-of-the century America, Andrew and Veronica are co-workers in a music shop who dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyFrank SinatraBetty GarrettThree sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsFrank SinatraEsther WilliamsGene KellyTwo turn-of-the-century baseball players, who work in vaudeville during the off-season, run into trouble with their team's new female owner and a gambler who doesn't want them to win the pennant.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyBusby BerkeleyStarsBetty HuttonHoward KeelLouis CalhernThe story of the great sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who rose to fame while dealing with her love/professional rival, Frank Butler.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsBing CrosbyColeen GrayCharles BickfordA horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJudy GarlandGene KellyEddie BrackenA small-town farmer, down on her luck, finds her homestead invaded by a theatrical troupe invited to stay by her ne'er-do-well sister.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsJane PowellRicardo MontalbanLouis CalhernThe Robinson girls vacation at a Catskills resort where older sister Patti pursues Demi Armendez despite parental disapproval. Patti's singing and dancing lead to a happy ending with Armendez.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsKathryn GraysonAva GardnerHoward KeelThe daughter of a riverboat captain falls in love with a charming gambler, but their fairy tale romance is threatened after his luck turns sour.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsFred AstaireVera-EllenMarjorie MainPlayboy Charlie Hill meets beautiful Angela Bonfils, a mission house worker in the Bowery. He genuinely falls in love, so, dedicated to winning her over, Charlie cleans up his act and even gets a job as a driver to impress her.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsDan DaileyDiana LynnChet AllenIn 1904, Doc Tilbee, medicine show huckster and champion tall-tale teller, gives a ride to a young boy escaped from an orphanage, where bad conditions (the result of political graft) are being investigated by new appointee Zerelda Wing, who doesn't know that her fiancée is one of the politicians responsible. Tad wants to stay with his new friend Doc, who is attracted to Zerelda, to the discomfiture of his old flame Clara...all amid nostalgic musical numbers.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsDoris DayHoward KeelAllyn Ann McLerieThe story of Calamity Jane, her saloon, and her romance with Wild Bill Hickok.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsBetty GrableDale RobertsonThelma RitterA romantic triangle develops on Erie Canal boats in 1850.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsHarry BelafonteDorothy DandridgePearl BaileyContemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsRosemary ClooneyJack CarsonGuy MitchellA man visits a frontier town seeking to avenge his brother's murder.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsJane PowellHoward KeelJeff RichardsWhen a backwoodsman in 1850s Oregon brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsMarlon BrandoJean SimmonsFrank SinatraIn New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDan DaileyCyd CharisseThree soldiers meet ten years after their last meeting in New York, and find out that they have little in common now.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiWilfred JacksonHamilton LuskeStarsBarbara LuddyLarry RobertsPeggy LeeThe romantic tale of a sheltered uptown Cocker Spaniel dog and a streetwise downtown Mutt.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGordon MacRaeGloria GrahameGene NelsonIn Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGordon MacRaeShirley JonesCameron MitchellFifteen years after his death, a carousel barker is granted permission to return to Earth for one day to make amends to his widow and their daughter.
- DirectorRobert D. WebbStarsRichard EganDebra PagetElvis PresleyAt the end of the Civil War, a Confederate team is ordered to rob a Union payroll train but the war ends leaving these men with their Union loot, until the Feds come looking for it.
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsBob HopeVera MilesPaul DouglasBiopic of the political career of Jimmy Walker, flamboyant and somewhat corrupt Mayor of New York City from 1926-1932.not Music or Musical on IMDb
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsJane PowellCliff RobertsonKeith AndesDodie dreams of marrying a millionaire so that she can live 'the life'. Buzz, her boyfriend, however is not rich as he is a salesman for a housing development. He proposes and Dodie accepts. Dodie next meets Pete, who she thinks is rich, but she soon finds out that he is just a boat mechanic. They have fun on their date and Pete proposes and Dodie accepts. Then Dodie meets Neil Patterson who is rich. They go to Mexico on his yacht and have fun on their date. Neil proposes and Dodie accepts. Now she has to choose.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsElvis PresleyCarolyn JonesWalter MatthauA troubled youth's singing sets New Orleans rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it seems he will shake off his past and head for the top. But will a mobster and his man-trap moll snare him in a life of crime?
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsSidney PoitierDorothy DandridgeSammy Davis Jr.A woman whose past is scorned by nearly everyone around her meets a man who'd love her regardlessly- if only everyone else would allow them to.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsNancy KwanJames ShigetaBenson FongA young woman arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown from Hong Kong with the intention of marrying a rakish nightclub owner, unaware he is involved with one of his singers.
- DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyStella StevensJeremy SlateWhen he finds out his boss is retiring to Arizona, a sailor has to find a way to buy the Westwind, a boat that he and his father built. He is also caught between two women: insensitive club singer Robin and sweet Laurel.
- DirectorMorton DaCostaStarsRobert PrestonShirley JonesBuddy HackettTraveling con artist Harold Hill targets the naïve residents of a small town in 1910s Iowa by posing as a boys' band leader to raise money before he can skip town.
- DirectorJosé FerrerStarsPat BooneBobby DarinPamela TiffinA brother and sister find romance and good clean fun at the state fair in Dallas.
- DirectorJohn RichStarsElvis PresleyBarbara StanwyckJoan FreemanAfter a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsDebbie ReynoldsHarve PresnellEd BegleyA poor, uneducated mountain girl leaves her cabin in search of respect, a wealthy husband, and a better life in this fictionalized biopic of Margaret "Molly" Brown, who survived the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsFred AstairePetula ClarkTommy SteeleAn Irish immigrant and his daughter move into a town in the American South with a magical piece of gold that will change people's lives, including a struggling farmer and African American citizens threatened by a bigoted politician.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsArlo GuthriePatricia QuinnJames BroderickA cinematic adaption of Arlo Guthrie's classic story-song.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsElvis PresleyMary Tyler MooreBarbara McNairAs an incognito nun tries to help a doctor clean up an inner-city ghetto, the pair grow closer with time.
- DirectorGene KellyStarsBarbra StreisandWalter MatthauMichael CrawfordMatchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a partner for "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder, convincing his niece, his niece's intended, and his two clerks to travel to New York City along the way.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsLee MarvinClint EastwoodJean SebergTwo unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.
- DirectorMichael WadleighStarsJoan BaezRichie HavensRoger DaltreyOscar-winning musical chronicle that brilliantly captures the three-day rock concert and celebration of peace and love that became a capstone for the Sixties.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKeith CarradineKaren BlackRonee BlakleyOver the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated people prepare for a political convention.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsJohn TravoltaKaren Lynn GorneyBarry MillerAnxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJohn TravoltaOlivia Newton-JohnStockard ChanningGood girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydCab CallowayJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.
- DirectorRichard FleischerSidney J. FurieStarsLaurence OlivierNeil DiamondLucie ArnazThe son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of being a popular singer.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsSteve MartinBernadette PetersJessica HarperDuring the Great Depression, a sheet-music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
- DirectorPatricia BirchStarsMichelle PfeifferMaxwell CaulfieldLorna LuftA British student at a 1960s American high school must prove himself to the leader of a girls' gang whose members can only date greasers.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsJennifer BealsMichael NouriLilia SkalaAn 18-year-old female amateur dancer who performs nightly at a dancing bar, and works as a welder during the day, dreams of joining the Pittsburgh ballet school.
- DirectorCharlie AhearnStarsLee QuiñonesLady PinkFab 5 FreddySouth Bronx graffiti artist Zoro is commissioned to paint a backdrop for a hip-hop concert.
- DirectorBarbra StreisandStarsBarbra StreisandAmy IrvingMandy PatinkinA Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.