musical films

An illustrated overview of 101 Hollywood musicals, describing the composers, writers, performers, directors, and designers of musicals such as "Singin' in the Rain, " "The Wizard of Oz, " "The Nightmare Before Christmas, " and "This is Spinal Tap, " and featuring full-color and black-and-white and full-color photographs, plot synopses, cast and song lists, trivia, and production details.

Examines the lives of ten composers who made significant contributions to the golden age of movie musicals, summarizing key facts about each man's life prior to his movie work, and featuring a series of capsule critiques of the most interesting of each composer's movies and the individual songs within them.

Photographs and text trace the Hollywood and Broadway musical from its roots in vaudeville, through its time on the silver screen, and includes its role today in revivals.

Text and colorful photographs discuss the musical film genre and give analysis and plot summaries of several notable musicals.