Musical Film Index

Musical Film Index: B

**** - Exceptional
*** - Very good entertainment
** - Mediocre
* - Just plain bad
NO STARS - Beyond bad

Babes In Arms (1939) **** - Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland put on a show to help out their struggling vaudevillian families -- a breezy delight, with great musical sequences..
Babes in Toyland (1934) *** - Laurel & Hardy fill this low budget operetta with laughs -- the Wooden Soldiers make this an annual holiday favorite on TV.
Babes in Toyland (1961) ** - Annette Funicello and Ray Bolger in a revised version of Victor Herbert's classic children's musical.
Babes on Broadway (1941) *** - Fun Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland vehicle. The score is only so-so, but they make the most of it.
Babes On Swing Street (1944)
Balalika (1939)
Bambi (1942) **** - Characters don't sing in this handsome Disney cartoon, but several songs serve as background commentary.
Bamboo Blonde, The (1946)
Band Wagon, The (1953) **** - Fred Astaire headlines this glorious backstage look at the birth of a Broadway musical. One of MGM's best – do not miss this one!
Banjo On My Knee (1936)
Barkleys of Broadway, The (1949) *** - Fred Astaire reunites with Ginger Rogers in this tale of a fictional show biz couple. Okay story enlivened by some enjoyable musical numbers, but not a classic.
Barnyard Follies (1940)
Bathing Beauty (1944)
Battle of Paris, The (1929)
Be Yourself! (1930) ** - Lousy story of a musical star romanced by a boxer is enlivened by Fanny Brice in the lead. Worth catching for Brice's renditions of several specialties.
Beat the Band (1947)
Beau James (1957) ** - Bob Hope is miscast as New York's infamous mayor Jimmy Walker. Songs are peripheral but numerous.
Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend, The (1949)
Beautiful But Broke (1944)
Beauty and the Beast (1991) **** - Disney's inspired animated version of the classic story, featuring an Oscar-winning Ashman-Menken score. One of the greatest animated musicals of all time, superb in every department.
Because You're Mine (1952) ** - Few pleasures as opera star Mario Lanza is drafted and finds romance on an Army base – with an officers daughter, of course.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) *** - Angela Lansbury sparkles as a student witch defending Britain from the Nazi's during World War II. An underrated Sherman Brothers score, and some fine animation make this a winner for kinds and adults alike.
Bedtime Story, A (1933) ** - Playboy Maurice Chevalier plays papa to an abandoned baby.
Behind the Eight Ball (1942) NO STARS - The idiotic Ritz Brothers in a musical murder mystery. Good grief.
Belle of New York, The ** - Fred Astaire and Vera Ellen in an uninspired vehicle loosely based on an 1890s stage hit.
Belle of the Nineties (1934)
Belle of the Yukon (1944) * - Gypsy Rose Lee wants her saloon-owning boyfriend to go legit. Lousy.
Belle of the Yukon (1945) ** - Randolph Scott and Gypsy Rose Lee trudge about the Klondike. Some good songs.
Bells Are Ringing (1960) ** - Surprisingly weak. Judy Holliday repeats her acclaimed stage performance in this tale of an answering service operator who falls in love with a client.
Benny Goodman Story, The (1956)
Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool (1989) * - Robert Lindsay stars as a British coal miner with show biz aspirations, but his charm cannot overcome an otherwise lifeless film.
Best Foot Forward (1943) *** - A movie star visits a small town in this fun adaptation of the Broadway hit. Nancy Walker and June Allyson make their film debuts.
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The (1982) ** - Some fun along the way in this weak version of the Broadway hit. Best moments are courtesy of Dolly Parton and Charles Durning.
Best Things in Life Are Free, The (1956) *** - Gordon MacRae stars in this fun bio of songwriters De Sylva, Henderson & Brown.
Big Boy (1930) ** - Jolson dons blackface in this clumsy screen adaptation of his stage hit about shenanigans at a racetrack.
Big Broadcast of 1936, The (1935) ** - All-star specialties don't do much to enliven a nonsensical plot involving a troubled radio station.
Big Broadcast of 1937, The (1936)
Big Broadcast of 1938, The (1938) ** - All star casting can't redeem this ragtag collection of songs and skits. One classic - Bob Hope and Shirley Ross introduce "Thanks For the Memory."
Big Broadcast, The (1932)
Big City (1948)
Big Party, The (1930)
Big Store, The (1941)
Billie (1965) ** - Patty Duke is a tomboy in this so-so vehicle.
Billy Rose's Diamond Horshoe (1945) ** - Betty Grable falls for medical student Dick Haymes, with Billy Gaxton wasted as the guy who loses the girl
Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) *** - Jimmy Durante and Doris Day in an enjoyable circus tale -- several fine Rodgers & Hart songs. Busby Berkeley's last film.
Birth of the Blues (1941) *** - Bing Crosby organizes a jazz band. Great numbers!
Bitter Sweet (1933) *** - Anna Neagle stars in this faithful British adaptation of Noel Coward's stage operetta.
Bitter Sweet (1940) ** - Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy do their best, but this MGM remake drowns Noel Coward's elegant operetta in schmaltz.
Blonde from Brooklyn (1945)
Blonde Ransom (1945)
Blondie Goes Latin (1941) ** - The Blondie series included this painless musical entry. Not as bad as it sounds.
Blondie of the Follies (1932)
Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952)
Blossoms On Broadway (1937)
Blue Hawaii (1962) ** - Elvis as a singing GI 'neath the swaying palm trees.
Blue Skies (1946) *** - Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby are one-time show business partners battling for the same girl, set to some great Irving Berlin tunes. A blatant rehash of the Holiday Inn (1942) formula, but these guys make it great fun to watch again.
Blues Brothers (1979) ** - John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd bring their Saturday Night Live duo to the screen in this noisy vehicle.
Blues Busters (1950)
Blues in the Night (1941) ** - Ambitious tale of a musician who is his won worst enemy is eventually unfulfilling.
Bohemian Girl, The (1936)
Bolero (1934)
Bop Girl (1957) NO STARS - Calypso musical – change channels immediately!
Born Reckless (1959) * - A rodeo musical? Yee-haw.
Born to Dance (1936) *** - Eleanor Powell dances up a storm, and Jimmy Stewart sings Cole Porter's "Easy to Love."
Born to Sing (1942) * - Street kids put on a show. Should have stuck to stick ball.
Bottoms Up (1934)
Bowery to Broadway (1944)
Boy Friend, The (1971) ** - Ken Russell's uneven version of this 1920s stage spoof has its admirers, but I am not one of them.
Boy! What a Girl (1947) *** - Producers struggle to win backing for an all-black musical. Great fun – musical numbers include super jitterbug routines.
Boys from Syracuse, The (1940) ** - Cheap, pedestrian version of the Rodgers & Hart stage hit. What a waste!
Brazil (1944)
Breaking the Ice (1938)
Bride and Prejudice (2004) * - India's Bollywood take on the Jane Austen classic; loud, brash and dull.
Bride of the Regiment (1930)
Brigadoon (1954) ** - Pleasant but uninspired version of Lerner & Loewe's stage hit about a mysterious town in the Scottish highlands. Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse star.
Bright Lights (1931)
Bring on the Girls (1945) ** - A young millionaire joins the navy to escape women out for his money. Only memorable because of numbers by Spike Jones and his wacky band.
Bring Your Smile Along (1955) * - Early Blake Edwards feature.
Broadway (1942)
Broadway Bad (1933)
Broadway Gondolier (1935)
Broadway Hostess (1935)
Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) *** - Dancer Eleanor Powell woos childhood sweetheart, producer Robert Taylor. Great numbers, stylish MGM fun.
Broadway Melody of 1936 (1936) *** - Jeck Benny plays a columnist out to ruin producer Robert Taylor. Eleanor Powel dances up a storm, and there's a hit-filled Freed-Brown score.
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) *** - Skip the plot and relish Eleanor Powell's dancing, Sophie Tucker's kvelling, and Judy Garland's legend-making "Dear Mr. Gable."
Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) *** - Backstage love story offers great fun, and Eleanor Powell & Fred Astaire's "Begin the Beguine" tap duet is unforgettable.
Broadway Melody, The (1929) ** - A backstage romance at the 'Zanfield' Follies. Mostly a bore, this was a landmark hit -- and the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Broadway Rhythm (1944)
Broadway Scandals (1929)
Broadway Serenade (1939)
Broadway Through a Keyhole (1933) * - This blatant (and dull) rip-off of the real life romance of Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler inspired Jolson to whallop author Walter Winchell in the kisser -- hardly worth the effort.
Broadway to Hollywood (1933)
Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)
Buck Privates (1941)
Buddy Holly Story, The (1978) *** - Gary Busey is great in this enjoyable bio pic.
Bugsy Malone (1976) ** - All-kid cast spoofs prohibition gangsters; a fun idea that eventually chokes on its own cuteness.
Bundle of Joy (1956) ** - Debbie Reynolds adopts a baby, then tries to date Eddie Fischer – just as silly as it sounds.
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) ** - Doris Day and Gordon MacRae sing more period hits in this so-so sequel to On Moonlight Bay.
Bye Bye Birdie (1963) ** - Mediocre version of the delightful stage hit, with a rock star giving a final performance before a stint in the army.