Evolution Of Musical Films In The 1930's

A musical film is a genre of film that consists of songs as well as dialogue. This type of film became popular in the 1930’s and is around today. Musical films started being created when the technology of sound became advanced enough to put music in a film. Musicals that would normally be performed on a stage in a theater could then be made into a film. Musical films allowed the musicals to improve because of the variety of set and the ability to shoot a scene more than once if someone messed up. In a musical on stage, the actors had one shot to get everything right. Musical films changed the way people watched movies. Musical films started being made in the early 1920’s, but it was not until 1927 when The Jazz Singer was released that musicals became popular. The Jazz Singer was made by Warner Brothers and is considered a “talkie.” A “talkie” refers to the fact that the movie …show more content…
The American people began looking to musicals again instead of the blood, gore, and violent films. Because of this, musical films during the 1940s were typically more upbeat and positive. Actors who were not fighting in the war saw it as their duty to cheer up the American people and lift the spirits of those in the United States. As a genre, musical films were pretty quiet until the late 1940s when Arthur Freed decided to change the way a musical film was created and viewed. Freed released the films Easter Parade, On the Town, Singin’ in the Rain, and The Band Wagon from 1948 until 1953. The most popular of the bunch is Singin’ in the Rain, which is one of the best musicals of all time. The movie contains unforgettable songs that leave the film viewer wanting more. One of the actors from Singin’ in the Rain, Jean Hagen, was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress. Hagen plays Lina Lamont in the movie and provides “a truly hilarious performance” as said by Colin