Judy Garland! Fred Astaire! Rita Hayworth! Frank Sinatra! Lena Horne! Cyd Charisse! Alice Faye! These musical legends and many more will sing and dance their way into your hearts once again in 15 classic musicals spanning three decades of Hollywood’s Golden Age!
And the star power doesn’t stop there: James Cagney! Lana Turner! Jimmy Stewart! Debbie Reynolds! Artie Shaw! Carmen Miranda! Paulette Goddard - the list goes on and on! No fan of classic musicals or legendary stars should miss out on this delightful set!
365 Nights in Hollywood (1934) Dancing Pirate (1936) Make a Wish (1937) Something to Sing About (1937) The Duke is Tops (1938) Second Chorus (1940) Pot O’Gold (1941) Private Buckaroos (1941) This is the Army (1943) Doll Face (1945) Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) The Fabulous Dorseys (1947) Mr. Imperium (1951) Royal Wedding (1951) I Dream of Jeanie (1952)
Disc One
365 NIGHTS IN HOLLYWOOD (1934) – George Marshall (Destry Rides Again) directed this delightful early Alice Faye musical about a movie director (James Dunn of Bright Eyes) who turns the tables on some unscrupulous financiers. (77 mins.)
DANCING PIRATE (1936) – Ostensibly the story of a dancing teacher (Charles Collins of A Blueprint For Murder) who gets kidnapped by pirates (well, it could happen), this musical is memorable for its early appearance by future megastar Rita Hayworth, as one of The Dancing Cansinos (her real family). (83 mins.)
MAKE A WISH (1937) – Actress Gertrude Berg (The Goldbergs) wrote this unusual tale of a young boy (soprano Bobby Breen) who strikes up a friendship with a reclusive composer (Basil "Sherlock Holmes" Rathbone). Future Tonto Jay Silverheels made his film debut as Harold Smith (Harry and Tonto?). (80 mins.)
Disc Two
SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (1937) – A post-Footlight Parade and pre-Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney dances his way through this fun tale of a Manhattan bandleader who is lured to Hollywood, where he clashes with the tough studio boss (Gene Lockhart of Algiers). Directed by Victor Schertzinger (Road to Singapore). (90 mins.)
THE DUKE IS TOPS (1938) – Lena Horne (Stormy Weather) makes her film debut in this all-black backstage musical about a stage producer (Ralph "The Dark Gable" Cooper) who devotes himself to promoting the career of his young singing sweetheart (Horne). (73 mins.)
SECOND CHORUS (1940) – Fred Astaire, fresh from the Astaire/Rogers cycle at RKO, teamed with the sparkling Paulette Goddard (Modern Times), versatile Burgess Meredith (Of Mice and Men), and Artie "King of the Clarinet" Shaw in this Oscar-nominated story of a talented threesome coping with the issue of career vs. personal happiness. (84 mins.)
Disc Three
POT O’GOLD (1941) – James Stewart (It’s a Wonderful Life) stars as a harmonica player who tries to help a swing band, which puts him at odds with his music-hating uncle (Charles Winninger of Show Boat). Lovely Paulette Goddard is Stewart’s sweetheart. (86 mins.)
PRIVATE BUCKAROO (1941) – A lively wartime musical starring The Andrews Sisters (singing "Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree"), Dick Foran (The Mummy’s Hand), young Donald O’Connor (Singin’ in the Rain), Shemp "Three Stooges" Howard, and swing king Harry James. (68 mins.)
THIS IS THE ARMY (1943) – Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) directed this all-star wartime extravaganza about putting an all-soldier show on Broadway. George Murphy (Little Miss Broadway) and Joan Leslie (Yankee Doodle Dandy) star, along with Ronald Reagan (Kings Row), singer Kate Smith, and composer Irving Berlin (who sings his own "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning"). (121 mins.)
Disc Four
DOLL FACE (1945) – Burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee penned this backstage tale of a burlesque queen (Vivian Blaine of Guys and Dolls) who has trouble breaking into Broadway. Brazilian bombshell Carmen Miranda is Chita Chula and crooner Perry Como makes a rare screen appearance as Nicky. (80 mins.)
TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY (1946) – All-star Technicolor extravaganza about the life of composer Jerome Kern (played by Robert Walker of Strangers on a Train). Features fabulous performances by Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Cyd Charisse, and many other musical luminaries. (132 mins.)
THE FABULOUS DORSEYS (1947) – The lives of Big Band leaders Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey as convincingly portrayed by – Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey! Great swing-era hits and appearances by such jazz greats as Paul Whiteman, Charlie Barnet, Bob Eberly, Art Tatum, and Helen O’Connell.
Disc Five
MR. IMPERIUM (1951) – Lana Turner (The Postman Always Rings Twice), Ezio Pinza (South Pacific), and Debbie Reynolds (Singin’ in the Rain) star in this romantic musical about a singer-dancer (Lana) who falls for a prince (Ezio). (87 mins.)
ROYAL WEDDING (1951) – This is the film in which Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling. The plot centers on a brother-and-sister act (Astaire and Jane Powell of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) and their arrival in London during the royal wedding of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Future Rat-Packer Peter Lawford and Sarah Churchill (daughter of Winston) costar. (93 mins.)
I DREAM OF JEANIE (1952) – Nostalgic musical biography of 19th century American composer Stephen Foster (Bill Shirley, who voiced Prince Charming in Sleeping Beauty), Louise Beavers (Imitation of Life), wartime pin-up queen Lynn Bari, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer also appear. (90 mins.)
