- Hair (1979) *** - Fun version of the stage hit has wartime draftee Treat Williams adopted by a tribe of hippies.
- Hairspray (2007) **** - Surprisingly well-handled adaptation of stage hit keeps much of the fun intact with a stellar cast, whacky humor and great score.
- Half a Sixpence (1967) * - Stage hit falls painfully flat with Tommy Steele as a clerk who inherits a fortune.
- Hallelujah (1929)
- Hallelujah I'm a Bum (1933) ** - Al Jolson is a bum who tries to reform so he can marry the heiress he loves. Rodgers & Hart score and some fascinating moments, but overall effect is pretentious.
- Hans Christian Andersen (1952) *** - Silly plot, but Danny Kaye is endearing in the title role. Some grand Frank Loesser songs help immeasurably.
- Happiest Millionaire, The (1967) ** - Some fine moments and a fine Sherman Brothers score cannot save this overblown (and painfully long) tale of wealthy families battling over a wedding.
- Happiness Ahead (1934)
- Happy Days (1930)
- Happy Go Lucky (1943) ** - Millionaire Rudy Vallee is pursued by Mary Martin on an ocean liner. A forgettable variation on Anything Goes with a nothing score.
- Happy Landing (1938)
- Happy-Go-Lucky (1936)
- Harmony Lane (1935)
- Harold Teen (1934)
- Harum Scarum (1965)
- Harvest Melody (1943)
- Harvey Girls, The (1946) *** - Judy Garland heads a team of waitresses trying to bring civilization to the Wild West. Fun numbers like "On the Atchison Topeka" help immensely.
- Hat Check Honey (1943)
- Hats Off (1936)
- Hawaii Calls (1938)
- Hawaiian Nights (1939)
- Head (NO stars) - The Monkees star in this incoherent psychedelic disaster.
- Heads Up (1930)
- Hearts Divided (1936)
- Hearts in Dixie (1929)
- Heat's On, The (1943) *** - Mae West battles shady producers, with solid comic relief from Broadway duo William Gaxton and Victor Moore.
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) *** - John Cameron Mitchell stars in his daring stage hit about a transsexual rock singer. Hard rock score, hard hitting film – not every musical-lover's thing, but heaven for some.
- Helen Morgan Story, The (1957) * - Ann Blythe fatally miscast as the legendary saloon singer.
- Hello, Dolly! (1969) *** - Jerry Herman's stage hit about a clever widow nabbing a husband in 1890s New York hampered by overproduction and a miscast Barbra Streisand in the lead, but there is lots of fun along the way.
- Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943) ** - Alice Faye tries to keep John Payne's love in the madcap show biz world of the 1890s. So-so film, but Faye introduces "You'll Never Know."
- Hellzapoppin' (1941)
- Help! (1965) *** - The Beatles fight off a religious sect. Loads of laughs and a solid helping of the group's hit tunes.
- Her First Romance (1940) ** - Ugly duckling becomes a man magnet. Good singing, with Broadway baritone Wilbur Evans in a rare film appearance.
- Her Lucky Night (1945) ** - The Andrews Sisters as Manhattan night club singers.
- Her Majesty, Love (1931) - Marilyn Miller is a barmaid in old Berlin, with W.C. Fields as her father.
- Hercules (1997) *** - Lots of comedy but little magic in this Disney animated feature – the score is downright weak.
- Here Come the Blondes (1945)
- Here Come the Girls (not seen)
- Here Come the Waves (1944) *** - Bing Crosby is a navy crooner romancing twin sisters – both played by Betty Hutton. Fresh premise, great score.
- Here Comes Elmer (1943) * - Radio stars who should have stayed there stumble badly on the big screen.
- Here Comes the Band (1935)
- Here Comes the Groom (1951)
- Here Is My Heart (1934)
- Here's to Romance (1935)
- Hers to Hold (1943) ** - Deanna Durbin in a wartime romance with soldier Joseph Cotten – unimaginative, with recycled songs.
- Hey Boy! Hey Girl! (1959) * - Louis Prima and Keely Smith star as pop singers; otherwise, nothing to recommend in this one.
- Hey, Rookie(1944) ** - Ann Miller puts on yet another show for the troops – made on the cheap, and the formula wears a bit thin.
- Hi Buddy (1943)
- Hi, Gaucho! (1936)
- Hi, Good Lookin' (1944) * - A girl seeks radio stardom. Look elsewhere.
- High School Hero (1946)
- High Society (1956) *** - Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and some swell Cole Porter songs make this musical version of The Philadelphia Story a treat. Do not miss Bing's super "Now You Has Jazz" with Louis Armstrong.
- High Society Blues (1930)
- High Time (1960)
- High, Wide, and Handsome (1937) ** - Some scholars rave over this basically dull tale of oil riggers in love. The Kern-Hammerstein score includes the popular "Folks Who Live On the Hill."
- Higher and Higher (1944) ** - Jack Haley as a butler helping his impoverished boss. This weak Rodgers & Hart musical is stolen by a trained seal, just as it was on Broadway.
- Hips, Hips, Hooray (1934) *** - Vaudeville vets Bert Wheeler & Robert Woolsey are lipstick salesmen out to help Thelma Todd save her cosmetics business. Ruth Etting, a fun score, a cross country race and a cyclone help make this an amusing, if corny, chaotic romp.
- His Butler's Sister (1943)
- Hit Parade of 1941 (1940)
- Hit Parade of 1943 (1943)
- Hit Parade of 1951 (1950)
- Hit the Deck (1930)
- Hit the Deck (1955) ** - Mediocre naval musical with good cast and a fine Vincent Youman's score.
- Hit the Hay (1946)
- Hit the Ice (1943)
- Hitchhike to Happiness (1945)
- Hitting A New High (1937)
- Hi'ya, Chum (1943) NO STARS - Ritz Brothers run a restaurant. Don't bother.
- Hi'ya Sailor
- Hold Everything (1930)
- Hold On (1966) NO STARS - Don't even bother catching it.
- Hold That Co-Ed (1938)
- Hold That Ghost (1941)
- Holiday in Havana (1949)
- Holiday in Mexico (1946)
- Holiday Inn (1942) **** - Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are former song and dance partners competing for the same girl. The stars and some great Irving Berlin songs make this a winner – "White Christmas" debuts here.
- Hollywood Canteen (1944) *** - An all-star line-up redeems this one with fun cameos and musical performances. Roy Rodgers introduces Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In."
- Hollywood Hotel (1938) *** - Berkeley's last for Warners, with some great numbers enlivening shenanigans in a drive-in diner.
- Hollywood Hotel ** - Silly talent contest plot, but a grand score includes "Hooray for Hollywood."
- Hollywood or Bust (1956)
- Hollywood Party (1934)
- Hollywood Revue of 1929, The (1929) ** - MGM's answer to the all-star revues that every studio put out at this time. Some good songs ("Singin' in theRain"), but some classic camp too
- Holy Terror, The (1937)
- Honey (1930)
- Honeychile (1951)
- Honeymoon Ahead (1945)
- Honeymoon Lodge (1943)
- Honolulu (1939)
- Hooray for Love (1935)
- Hootenanny Hoot (1963)
- Hot For Paris (1929)
- Hot Heiress, The (1931) - Rodgers & Hart musical about romance between a construction worker and a high society dame. Not the team's best effort.
- Hot Rhythm (1944)
- Hot Rod Gang (NO stars) - Moronic racing tale.
- Hound Dog Man (1959)
- How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) *** - Robert Morse repeats his ingratiating stage performance in this delicious spoof of corporate culture. Fantastic Frank Loesser score, and Rudy Valee is a hoot as a pompous executive.
- How You Can Love! (1940)
- Huckleberry Finn (1974) * - Harvey Korman and David Wayne (as King & Duke) are the only signs of life in this terrible sequel to the previous year's Tom Sawyer.
- Hullabaloo (1940)
- Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (1996) **** - Underrated Disney masterpiece with superb Stephen Schwartz score, based on the classic Victor Hugo novel.
|