The Rough Guide to Film Musicals's "The Canon: 50 Essential Film Musicals"
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- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldCharles RugglesA Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJudy GarlandFred AstairePeter LawfordA nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMadonnaJonathan PryceAntonio BanderasThe hit musical based on the life of Eva Perón (Evita Duarte), a B-picture Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Domingo Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsWarner BaxterBebe DanielsGeorge BrentWhen the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsAudrey HepburnFred AstaireKay ThompsonAn impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.
- 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.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDaniel L. HaynesNina Mae McKinneyWilliam FountaineA sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsBing CrosbyGrace KellyFrank SinatraWith socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.
- 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).
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsKathryn GraysonHoward KeelAnn MillerAn ex-husband and wife team star in a musical version of 'The Taming of the Shrew'; off-stage, the production is troublesome with ex-lovers' quarrels and two gangsters looking for some money owed to them.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldLupino LaneThe queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldEdward Everett HortonWhen a small kingdom's main taxpayer leaves for Paris, its king dispatches a dashing count to win back her allegiance.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGordon MacRaeGloria GrahameGene NelsonIn Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.
- DirectorGeorge AbbottStanley DonenStarsDoris DayJohn RaittCarol HaneyAn Iowa pajama factory worker falls in love with an affable superintendent who had been hired by the factory's boss to help oppose the workers' demand for a pay raise.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdward Everett HortonA ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.
- 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.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFred AstaireCyd CharisseJanis PaigeA Russian government official is sent to Paris to bring back her comrades; she soon gets a taste of Paris life and falls in love with an American movie producer.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsRossano BrazziMitzi GaynorJohn KerrOn a South Pacific island during World War II, love blooms between a young nurse and a secretive Frenchman who's being courted for a dangerous military mission.
- 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.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsFred AstaireLucille BremerFrank MorganJohnny Riggs, a con man on the lam, finds himself in a Latin-American country named Patria. There, he overhears a convent-bred rich girl praying to her guardian angel for help in managing her tangled business affairs. Riggs decides to materialize as the girl's "angel", gains her unquestioning confidence, and helps himself to the deluded girl's millions. Just as he and his partner are about to flee Patria with their booty, Riggs realizes he has fallen in love with the girl and returns the money with a note that is part confession and part love letter. But the larcenous duo's escape from Patria turns out to be more difficult than they anticipated.