Movies That Became Broadway Musicals

                                                            Part 1

There have been many of Broadway Musicals that were made into movies. While researching those I had this thought: what about flipping the coin? Have there been a lot of movies that were made into Broadway Musicals? Actually, yes. Comparatively speaking not that many, but here are those that made the trip.

    Perhaps the most famous movie that went to Broadway is Singin’ In The Rain (1952). And it is a wonderful film! Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds singing and dancing up a storm in the musical story of movies leaving their silent beginning and becoming talkies. Jean Hagen is on board as Lina, a star in silents whose grating, high pitched voice dooms her career in talkies. Ms. Hagen won the only Oscar for this film.  Good for her, but everyone else deserved one, including the movie itself. The film was made into a Broadway musical, still performed across America. And directors have struggled with that scene with Gene Kelly singing and dancing through a rain storm. With mixed success.

The next two examples of the film to play genre are Disney vehicles. Beauty and the Beast (1994) and The Lion King (1997) were born as animated films. Never mind that, both became excellent musical plays. The first is very faithful to the film and the music is stellar. The fairy tale story of the prince cursed by a witch to live his life as an ugly beast is well suited for the stage.  The second would seem to be difficult to stage, but the artists at Disney made stage-worthy animals. These are manipulated by actors and are really the stars of the show. The stage animals are just jaw dropping!

Hairspray (1988) is a fun story about a chubby Baltimore girl (Tracy) who wants to be a star on a TV dance show. The teen-age dance show is sponsored by Ultra Clutch Hair Spray. Really!  The music is outstanding and the story is semi-serious, as the star is invested in integration and winds up in jail for her trouble. The film traveled to Broadway in 2002, then was remade as a movie in 2007. Several actors have had a grand time playing Tracy’s mother Edna. John Travolta, Divine, and Harvey Feirstein are some of the actors who played Edna. The part has always been cast as a man in drag since the original production. 

Sunset Boulevard (1950) is a splendid movie that seems to be perfectly positioned as a Broadway play. Directed by the famous Billy Wilder, the original film has Gloria Swanson chewing the scenery as washed up actress Norma Desmond and William Holden as her would-be biographer. And it has legendary director Erich Von Stroheim as Max, Norma’s servile husband. The music in the original film is orchestral and quite good. But Andrew Lloyd Weber’s soaring score for the play is outstanding. The cast album is a big winner.

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere, probably for a price. The first three are fine for all audiences. The last two are for grown-ups. 

                                                                   Teri Garr

                                                                        Part 2

Teri Garr had the unique experience of playing a major role in two similar movies less than a year apart. One featured a man dressing as a woman to land a part. And one that involved a man taking on the job of stay-at-home Dad while his wife becomes the breadwinner. In one she assists the man. In the other she is finally impressed by the job the man is doing.

In Tootisie (1982) she is Sandy Lester, who tries out for a part in the soap opera Southwest General. She doesn’t get the part. Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is an actor who is so difficult nobody will hire him. He hears about the available role in the soap and decides to dress like a woman and try for it. He is so convincing as Dorothy Michaels they hire him. He also convinces everyone else, but Sandy catches him out when she finds him in her dressing room to try on some of her clothes. She doesn’t give him up, though. Various romances develop with Michael falling for actress Julie (Jessica Lange) who doesn’t realize he’s a man. And Les (Charles Durning) falls for Dorothy, thinking she is in fact a woman. This film was wildly successful, and was nominated for 10 Oscars. Teri Garr was nominated, but so was Jessica Lange, and Lange won the statue. The picture was nominated for Best, but lost to Gandhi. 

Then in 1983 came Mr. Mom. It featured Michael Keaton in his first starring role. He portrays Jack Butler, engineer and father of three. He is laid off from his job at Ford, and his wife Caroline (Teri Garr) uses her education and experience to land a good job at an advertising agency. She succeeds and impresses the clients of the agency, especially when she brings a needed feminine perspective to some of the ads. Meanwhile, Jack struggles as the new main caretaker and homemaker with little experience or  knowledge of what he’s doing. But he catches on quickly and becomes the darling of the neighborhood mothers, while Caroline climbs the corporate ladder. 

In After Hours (1985) Teri portrays Julie, a waitress with artistic talent who draws a Wanted poster of poor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) that gets him into all kinds of trouble. This is a complicated black comedy, directed by none of than Martin Scorcese.

Teri Garr has a brief appearance as herself in the Hollywood satire The Player (1992). Tim Robbins has a ball playing a studio hack who will do anything to advance his career. Including murder. 

The boy and the horse are just about the whole show in The Black Stallion (1979). After a shipwreck, the two are washed up on a desert island where they become inseparable. Then they’re rescued and the horse becomes a racer. Teri Garr is there to carry the water as the boy’s mother and she carries it well. 

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere, probably for a price. Only the last one is really suitable for all ages. 

                                                                      Teri Garr 

                                                                Part 1

She wasn’t really movie star gorgeous. Sort of “girl next door” pretty, and a face that stands out in a crowd without being pushy. Teri Garr started out her show business career as a dancer. She was a very good one. She appeared as a dancer in five Elvis movies, without a credit to her name. But once she got noticed and cast, her movie CV is excellent. She died at recently 79. 

    Teri Garr’s first film appearance of note came in 1974 in Mel Brooks’ hilarious Young Frankenstein. Gene Wilder is Frederick Frankenstein, a respected doctor and grandson of the famous monster maker. He inherits the Transylvania castle, where it all happened before. He begins his own unusual experiments and is assisted by Igor (Marty Feldman) and Inga (Teri Garr) who seem to come with the castle. The monster Frederick creates escapes and has adventures in the countryside. The film ends with Frederick and Inga getting married after all the damage is cleared away. Mel Brooks considered this his best movie, though not his funniest. But it’s pretty funny.

    Oh God (1977) took a big risk that the storyline wouldn’t completely offend the Christian community. It worked. George Burns portrays the Almighty as grizzled older guy determined to help us earhlings. His strange prophet of choice is supermarket assistant manager Jerry Landers, portrayed quite well by singer John Denver. Jerry rejects God’s advances and tries to talk him out making Jerry a modern Moses. But God persists, and Jerry tries to spread the word. Nobody much believes Jerry, including his wife Bobbie (Teri Garr). Finally Jerry is put on trial for running a scam saying God has appeared to him. Things are going badly until God shows up in the courtroom without the doors opening and takes the stand, reciting the oath as “So help me, Me”. Showing the judge some neat card tricks followed by some genuine miracles turns the tide and the case against Jerry is dismissed. There are two dreadful sequels.

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) was Stephen Spielberg’s dream project and was a tremendous critical and popular success. It netted nine Oscar nominations, but won only in technical categories. An ordinary Indiana guy, Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss) has an encounter with an extra-terrestrial object which flies right over his truck and burns his face. He becomes obsessed with UFOs and is dismissed as a nut by just about everyone, including his wife Ronnie (Teri Garr). Ronnie grows tired of the hullabaloo surrounding Roy’s statements and leaves him with their three children. But he is believed and assisted by Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) who has also experienced contact with the aliens. They wind up at Devil’s Tower, site of the landing of the UFOs. Ms. Garr wanted to play the more sympathetic Jillian, but instead was cast as Ronnie. The film contains the only appearance in a film by Francois Truffaut, who portrays Claude Lacombe, the French director of UFO studies. 

    All of the movies in this article are available somewhere. Only the last one is ok for all ages. 

                                                              Mitzi Gaynor

    If I asked you who played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1958) you might guess Mary Martin, who played her on Broadway. Or you might go with Doris Day or Ginger Rogers or maybe Debbie Reynolds. Nope. It was Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber. Okay, that’s the real name of the charming Mitizi Gaynor, whose interesting life ended at 93. She was a singer and dancer of considerable talent, and was quite prominent in the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals. But her movie career is capsuled in just six years. 

    After the 50's she just quit movies and concentrated on stage and nightclub work. Her husband was Jack Bean, also her agent, and they were together until Jack died in 2006. Well after her film career was over, she stopped the show at the Academy Awards in 1966, singing and dancing to Georgy Girl. The show’s producers had a hard time getting the audience to stop applauding and sit down!

There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) is surely true. This is a Golden Age MGM musical with not much plot but lots of good singing and dancing. The Five Donahues are a vaudeville family until the kids grow up and move on. Ethel Merman is their mom, Dan Dailey is their Dad. Mitzi Gaynor, Donald O’Connor and Johnnie Ray (!) are other members. Marilyn Monroe is also on board to look pretty and smile. Theirs a trunk full of good songs, all written by Irving Berlin. 

In Anything Goes (1956) show biz producers Bill (Bing Crosby) and Ted (Donald O’Connor) travel to Paris to sign a new star. But each of them signs a girl, and the problem must be sorted out on the Trans Atlantic cruise back to America. Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire are the talented girls and each gets to show her talent in various settings on the way to the U.S. That’s about it for plot, but the singing and dancing are good.

On a more serious note, there is The Joker Is Wild (1957) a pretty good film bio about performer Joe E. Lewis (Frank Sinatra), who displeased the Mob and got his face and throat slashed. But he gradually made his way back to stardom, stepping on others on the way. His poor wife (Mitizi Gaynor) and his best friend Austin (Eddie Albert) are among the casualties. Liquor and drugs ring the curtain down on the Joker. 

In one of the weirdest casting since Marlin Brando played Sky Masterson, David Niven is paired with Mitzi Gaynor They are a happily married couple trying to have a romantic interlude on their anniversary and being foiled by their children, their relatives, delivery people and life in general. One present is a new TV which David hates and kicks the screen in. This happens again and everyone is all mad about everything until there is a Hollywood ending and everyone is happy again. Happy Anniversary (1959) is Mitzi’s last film.

You can also follow Mitzi Gaynor in We’re Not Married (1952) and Les Girls (1957). All these films are available, probably for a price. All are for adults.

                                                                    Maggie Smith

                                                                        Final

The only way I know to finish with Dame Maggie Smith is to consolidate some things. So first off would be the Harry Potter films (2001-2011).  She’s in seven of the eight. And in every one Maggie was Professor McGonagal. Not the biggest part in these, but she sure pulls her weight. And after all, she gives Harry his first Quidditch broomstick. A Nimbus 2000 no less. 

Downton Abbey (2010-2015) was the much loved Masterpiece Theater series on PBS. And its fans practically demanded a movie. And they got it in 2022- Downton Abbey: A New Era. And it is pretty good. All of the usual suspects are on board including Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. As the uncrowned matriarch of the family, her rather acerbic character keeps the wheels of the younger crowd turning. The movie involves the frantic preparations for a visit by Royalty to the Abbey. This is the biggest of big deals in Merrie Olde England. Maggie is unperturbed. 

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) is a hoot. Hotelier Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) hoddwinks a staid group of retired Britishers to take up residence in his hotel. To say it is nothing like the advertisements is putting it mildly. But-stiff upper lip and all that- and the new residents make the most of it. Maggie Smith is on hand as Muriel Donnelly. The cast is stellar: Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy. Nighy almost steals the thing as a not-quite-dead resident. So of course there is a sequel: The Second Best Marigold Hotel (2015). Add Richard Gere to the cast. The hotel is in danger of closing. Muriel accompanies Sonny to San Diego where they try to convince a hotel mogul to invest in the Indian hostelries. There are lots of shenanigans winding up with Sonny’s wedding. 

Gosford Park (2001) is right up Maggie’s alley. A Robert Altman entry with many of his tricks. The cast is outstanding: Bob Balaban, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and of course our Maggie as Constance, Dowager Countess of Trentham. A bunch of wealthy Brits are invited to a shooting party (it’s a British thing) at the estate of Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon). Things are going splendidly until one of the guests is murdered. Hijinks follow. The film made lots of money and was nominated for a fistful of Oscars. Maggie got a nomination along with otheres, but lost to Jennifer Connelly for A Beautiful Mind.

Ladies In Lavender (2004) pairs Maggie with fellow icon Judi Dench. They are the Widdington sisters, Janet and Ursula,  who live in a picturesque village in Cornwall. Handsome Andrea Marowski (Daniel Bruhl) washes up on the beach, having been thrown overboard in a shipwreck. He is a budding world famous violinist. The sisters nurse him back to health and Ursula falls in love with the much younger Andrea. He gets his big chance to play with a symphony orchestra and leaves without saying good-bye. But things heal over nicely- the sisters journey to see him play in person, and the villagers listen on the radio. 

We now say a fond farewell to Dame Maggie Smith. Did I cover all of her films? Lord no, I just hit the high spots. 

                                                                 Maggie Smith

                                                                 Part 3

In the 1990's Maggie Smith turned 60 and continued to act in superior movies in which she played a big part. 

Sister Act (1992) is a comedy with music featuring Whoopi Goldberg as lounge singer Deloris. After witnessing a mob murder, she is relocated for her protection in a convent, disguised as one of the nuns. Deloris joins the choir, ramps up their arrangements and becomes director. Maggie Smith portrays the Mother Superior of the convent. At first she is outraged by the direction of the choir, but is won over by how well liked they become. This was an extremely popular film earning $200 million above its cost. So of course it became a franchise. Sister Act 2 came out in 1993 with the same cast and basically the same story. It also became a hit Broadway musical. And- Sister Act 3 is being produced now, of course without Dame Maggie.

The Secret Garden (1993) is gleaned from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s lovely 1909 novel. The story has beguiled children and grown-ups alike for decades and it is brought to the screen admirably here. Mary Lennox (previously unknown Kate Maberly) is orphaned when illness takes both her parents in India. She is sent to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven, in Yorkshire. He is a dour widower, mourning the loss of his wife who died in her beautiful garden. He orders the garden closed up forever but Mary Lennox is determined to find it. Hence the Secret Garden. She is not helped much by the housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock (Dame Maggie) but with the help of an estate gardener and a local boy she perseveres. Secret Garden also became a smash Broadway hit with an incredible score. .

Richard III (1995) is one of the best treatments of Shakespeare’s play about “Old Crookback” one of England’s most controversial king. Updated with a jerk of 450 years to the 1930's it features all of the bloodthirsty goings-on as members of warring families fight for the crown. Ian McKellen stars as Richard. The star-studded cast includes Maggie Smith, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, and  Robert Downey, Jr. It frankly bears little resemblance to Will’s play, but it is a stemwinder. 

Washington Square (1997) is successfully brought to the screen from Henry James’ stately novel. Jennifer Jason Leigh admirably performs Catherine Sloper, homely but wealthy daughter and only surviving child of the Sloper family. She is courted by Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin) who her father suspects-rightly- that he is a fortune hunter. She loves him anyway and her Aunt Lavinia (Maggie Smith) tries to push forward the romance. But the father prevails and Morris gives up. Catherine does quite well without him and easily rebukes his advances years later. 

Maggie Smith has a ball as Lady Hester, one of the English ladies ensconced in fascist Italy in Tea With Mussolini (1999).  They at first refuse to go home, but all relent except Lady Hester. Lady Hester falls out of like with Mussolini. Her portrayal of the flighty but stubborn English Dame is quite winning. 

All of the films in this article are available,  probably not for free.  Only Secret Garden is suitable for children. 

                                                           Maggie Smith

                                                                Part 2

In 1978 Maggie Smith won her second Oscar, for her portrayal as Diana Barrie in Neil Simon’s California Suite. Simon also wrote the screenplay, which is a sparkler- no surprise. The play and movie are a group of four stories about couples who travel to California for various reasons. Maggie portrays Diana Barrie, a fading film star nominated for an Oscar. She is unhappily married to Sydney Cochran (Michael Caine), a gay actor venturing further and further from the closet. As her moment in the spotlight nears, Diana fluctuates between despair, hope and panic. Watch her face- a symposium on acting all by itself! The other three stories feature such stalwarts as Bill Cosby, Jane Fonda, Walter Matthau, Elaine May and Richard Pryor. All the stories are good; Maggie’s is the best.

    Dame Maggie appeared in two movies with the same title. They are 31 years apart and have nothing to do with each other except those titles. Both are named Quartet. The 1981 version is not exactly a barrel of laughs. Mada Zelli (Isabell Adjani) is left penniless when her art dealer husband Stephan is convicted of possessing stolen art. She moves in with acquaintances H.J. Heidler (Alan Bates) and his wife Lois  (Maggie Smith). Mada begins an affair with H.J. and Lois meekly stands by, not confronting her wandering husband. Stephan gets out of prison but his return is not greeted with cheer. This Merchant-Ivory offering is a bit of a downer.

    The second Quartet came out in 2012. It is way more fun and interesting. It is set in a home for retired musicians. Financial hardships threaten to close the place. Some of the residents want to produce an opera patterned after a famous version of Rigoletto which featured a quartet made up present house members. Maggie Smith portrays Jean Horton. She was a member of the famed quartet. She agrees to sing her part and the show does go on, of course. Jean rekindles her love for quartet member Reg (Tom Courtenay) and they might end up back together. The show is a smash hit. 

Another Merchant-Ivory production is the better-known Room With A View (1985). It was a critical and popular success and was nominated for eight Oscars. However it won only for art direction and set decoration. Maggie Smith was nominated for her role as Charlotte Bartlett, chaperon on a trip to Italy for Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), a cousin. She lost to Diane Wiest for Hannah and Her Sisters. Maggie was robbed. 

Dame Maggie has the title lead in The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987) and her perfoemance is close to her best. She is a spinster piano teacher whose reduced circumstances land her in a rundown boarding house. There she meets charming James Madden (Bob Hoskins). He believes she has lots of money and will invest in his planned business. She will break your heart!

    All of the films in this article are available somewhere. All are for adults.