Director: Rouben Mamoulian Year: 1932 Run-time: 1 hr 44 min Source: DVD Notable For : Love Me Tonight is the first musical on the list. Set in Paris, it matches the French entertainer Maurice Chevalier, with his husky, deeply accented voice, with the American soprano Jeanette MacDonald. The vocal styles are very different, but the chemistry between the leads is genuine. It's first and foremost a light comedy, with the music (all classic Rodgers and Hart tunes) all serving the comedy, with many of the lyrics replaced. When the characters aren't singing, they're walking and acting to a background rhythm. It's nowhere near to the bombastic musicals of the 60's, or the elaborate choreography of Busby Berkeley, but something else entirely. Verdict : This is a classic - my wife and I were laughing most of the time. In addition to being a great musical, it might be the first great comedy of the sound era - the jokes aren't physical like in...
https://mubi.com/lists/kenjis-canon-the-big-1000