In the colorfully packaged book Hollywood Musicals (published by QNY), Will Dodson celebrates that happiest of genres and the stars that emerged from it—Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly. Musical theater in one form or another is probably as old as civilization; with the invention of talking pictures in the late 1920s, the movies also began to sing and dance.
The victory of sound over silence at the bijou coincided with the Great Depression; musicals such as 42nd Street were determined to keep the show going while putting a smile on every face and a song in every heart During World War II musicals waved the flag of patriotism. Afterward, a stream of Broadway hits such as Oklahoma and South Pacific made their way to Hollywood.
The golden age of the movie musical ended with the rise of rock’n’roll, although the genre continues to exist and occasionally scores a hit (Chicago). Dodson doesn’t really explain how rock triggered the decline, but is insightful on the historic relationship between the musical and gay culture.
