First musical adapted from a movie?
First musical adapted from a movie?
#0First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:19pmI read the other day how when Oscar Hammerstein adapted Showboat, the author of the book was horrified that he would want to adapt a musical from a book. I think that's sort of funny because since then it has become the standard to adapt musicals from varied sources. I've been trying to figure out what was the first musical adapted from a movie. The earliest one I can think of was Wonderful Town. Can anyone go me one earlier?
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MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#1re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:27pm
Well, actually Wonderful Town was based on a series of popular stories from the 30s that were then made into the hit play "My Sister Eileen" in the 40s. The movie came later.
I'll have to think about what was the first movie turned into a musical.
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#2re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:30pm
Actually "Wonderful Town" was based on the play "My Sister Eileen" which in turn was adapted from short stories by Ruth McKenney. The film was made after the success of the stage play.
I think you might have to go a little further forward to find a musical developed soley from a movie. "Sweet Charity" perhaps?
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Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#3re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:31pm
1953, the year of Wonderful Town, also featured Hazel Flagg (from the film Nothing Sacred) and Carnival in Flanders (from La Kermesse Heroique).
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#4re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:32pm
Ah, I should have realized that there were sources for the movie (just as there were sources for Mame).
But it went short stories - play - movie - musical on stage - move musical, right?
I was thinking maybe Sweet Charity, Night Music, but I figured there had to be something earlier.
yr ronin,
joey
joey
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#5re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:36pmAnd Fanny in 1954 was based on three Marcel Pagnot films.
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#6re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:37pmWas Goldilocks based on a movie? For some reason I'm thinking it was, but it would be after 1953 anyway.
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#7re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:38pmI believe Goldilocks was a completely original book by Walter & Jean Kerr.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#8re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:38pmNo. Goldilocks is about the movie industry, but it's an original piece.
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jam_man
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/25/05
#9re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:39pmCabaret was based on I Am A Camera, but I'm pretty sure it officially credits the movie as the source material. Please correct me if I'm wrong, though. That's as early as I can think.
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"The man who wishes he had written Phantom of the Opera!" - SueleenGay
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#10re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:40pmAh, must have been one of those things mushed in my head incorrectly.
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#11re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:43pm
Nope, Cabaret is based on the play "I Am a Camera" by John Van Druten, which in turn was based on "The Berlin Stories" by Christopher Isherwood. The film version of "I Am A Camera" is very faithful to the play.
Or are you somehow confusing the fact that both the 1987 Prince revival and the Mendes revival used songs from the film "Cabaret?" Obviously the show Cabaret couldn't be based on the film Cabaret, given the stage show came first.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 3/24/06 at 12:43 PM
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#12re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 12:49pmPromises, Promises is another, though it certainly wasn't the first.
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blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#13re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 2:17pmI thought 42nd. Street was famous for being one of the first.
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MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#14re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 2:35pm
42nd Street was a movie from the early 30s.
The stage version didn't happen until the 1980s -- decades after the first movie-to-stage musical adaptions
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#15re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 2:43pm
42nd Street was a movie in 1933, but wasn't adapted into a musical until 1980. So that was an early movie, but a later adaptation.
A Little Night Music (1973) was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night (1955).
Sweet Charity (1966) was adapted from Nights of Cabiria (1957)
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#16re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 4:56pm"Pousse-Cafe" was adapted from Garbo's "The Blue Angel" in the early fifties I believe...
#17re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 5:19pm
What about the first musical that simply took the same title, story, and score from a movie musical?
Just a guess...
Gigi (film) - 1958
Gigi (stage musical) - 1974
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Updated On: 3/24/06 at 05:19 PM
#18re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 5:30pm
What about the film "Lili" which was eventually adapted and became the musical "Carnival"...?
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MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#19re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 5:36pmAcording to IBDB, both Lili and Carnival were based on a story entitled "The Seven Souls of Clement O'Reilly" by Paul Gallico - I also thought of that one, too.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
#20re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 5:59pm
"Carousel" is based on Frank Borsage's 1930 film "Liliom" (based on the same titled play by Ferenc Molnár)
As for the film musical that hit the stage (apart from the Disney Cartoons and works such as Fame and Saturday Night Fever) I have the impression (but I may be wrong) that Victor Victoria wasn't performed on stage until 1996
Updated On: 3/24/06 at 05:59 PM
brandonm
Featured Actor Joined: 5/26/04
#21re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 8:09pmI dont know if this site has any information about the FIRST, but it has a lot of info about movie musicals.......... http://www.filmsite.org/musicalfilms.html
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jam_man
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/25/05
#22re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 11:33pm
Well, even though I thought I saw somewhere that Cabaret was officially credited as being based on the the film of I Am A Camera, though I knew that it was a play first. But I guess I'm wrong.
I've seen from a few sources that My Fair Lady is more closely based on a film of Pygmalion than the original Shaw play, though, of course, it officially credits the play as the source material.
"Who is Stephen Sondheim?" -roninjoey
"The man who wishes he had written Phantom of the Opera!" - SueleenGay
GO CARDINALS!!!
"The man who wishes he had written Phantom of the Opera!" - SueleenGay
GO CARDINALS!!!
#23re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/24/06 at 11:37pm
""Carousel" is based on Frank Borsage's 1930 film "Liliom" (based on the same titled play by Ferenc Molnár) "
No, I'm pretty sure the musical was based solely off of the play Liliam.
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#24re: First musical adapted from a movie?
Posted: 3/25/06 at 12:06am
One of the early musicals that was preceeded by a film version of the same original source material was the 1944 musical SADIE THOMPSON by Vernon Duke (music) and Howard Dietz (lyrics). This was based on Somerset Maugham's short story, "Rain." A film version of "Rain" was released in 1932, and starred Joan Crawford.
A recording of the full score of SADIE THOMPSON was released a couple of years ago, starring Melissa Errico as Sadie. It is a very good recording.
Ethel Merman was originally set to star in SADIE THOMPSON. Due to a falling out with the creative team, The Merm bowed out and was replaced by June Havoc (Gypsy's sister).
Two other early musicals that were films before being musicalized are:
Marc Blitzstein's REGINA (1949) based on Lillian Helman's THE LITTLE FOXES which was filmed with Bette Davis and released in 1941.
The next was Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. "Anna and The King of Siam" was the original novel by Margaret Landon which had been given a successful film treatment, released in 1946. This non-musical film starred Rex Harrison as The King and the musical star (SHOW BOAT) Irene Dunn as Anna. By the way, Bernard Herrmann was the first to write a musical score to this story. There is a terrific recording of this film score. Hermann of course scored many, many films, the most recognized is probably Hichcock's "Psyco."
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