Forgotten "post Golden age" movie musicals

[jpbran]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 5:17pm

I recently got Bugsy Malone--gangster musical from 1976 with only kids in the cast-- from Netflix. (Domestically unavailable on DVD otherwise.) Amusing, but I scanned through most of it; was much more entertaining when I was 10.

Then, I saw some of Earth Girls Are Easy last night on Encore (campy Julie Brown musical from the late 80s.) Pretty fun. Pete's Dragon is another one that springs to mind...

What are some other barely-remembered movie musicals from the 70s and 80s? "I forgot that one" or "I didn't realize that was a musical." That kinda thing...

[jpbran]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 5:18pm

Speaking of 80s musicals (though this one's not exactly forgotten)-- Dolly's Whorehouse/Texas is a surprise to me. That came out well after musicals were "dead" and managed to gross $70m in 1982 dollars. That's a HUGE hit. And more than a lot of recent musicals have made, even in post-2000 dollars!

[roquat]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 5:46pm

I'm a GREAT fan of EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY; it isn't often you run across such well-executed silliness...on the opposite end of the spectrum is the flawed-but-magnificent PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters), whose virtues I have explicated on other threads.

[jpbran]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 6:33pm

That's a good/flawed one. And I'd agree that it is kinda forgotten now (by most I mean).

There are also Xanadu and Newsies, but obviously Xanadu is not forgotten anymore (with a second life Broadway show) and Newsies has a growing cult following (and I guess it's actually 90s).

[puppetman2]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 7:08pm

One that I really enjoy is "Slipper and the Rose" a musical Cinderella

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 7:30pm

Bedknobs & Broomsticks

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 8:51pm

"Shock Treatment" the quasi-sequel to "Rocky Horror"

[Mrs Mangel]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 8:56pm

I'm going with "Starstruck", Gillian Armstrong's early '80's Australian pop musical. Still loads of fun.

Updated On: 3/29/08 at 08:56 PM

[roquat]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 10:00pm

I'd forgotten "Starstruck"--a musical that bridges the best of both worlds. It has a contemporary sensibility, but its spirit is of the Mickey-and-Judy "let's put on a show" variety...

[jpbran]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 10:21pm

Ah, Shock Treatment. Just made me remember The Forbidden Zone (Richard/Danny Elfman's black & white sci-fi musical).

[glimpseofstocking]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 10:27pm

Ohh, yes. Definitely Bedknobs & Broomsticks. It was one of my favorite films as a kid. Great movie.