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You can reach author
John Kenrick at
jbk@musicals101.com

Musical Film Index: R **** - Exceptional
*** - Very good entertainment
** - Mediocre
* - Just plain bad
NO STARS - Beyond bad

 

  • Radio City Revels (1938)
  • Radio Stars on Parade (1945)
  • Raggedy Ann and Andy (1977) NO STARS - Terrible animated musical, based on a Broadway flop.
  • Rainbow Island (1944) ** - Sailors marooned on a tropical island. Where's Gilligan when you need him?
  • Rainbow Man (1929) 
  • Rainbow On the River (1936)
  • Rainbow Round My Shoulder (1952)
  • Rascals (1938)
  • Ready, Willing and Able (1937)
  • Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
  • Reckless (1935)
  • Reckless Age (1944)
  • Red Garters (1954)
  • Red, Hot and Blue (1949) - No relation to Broadway hit of the same name.
  • Redhead From Manhattan (1943)
  • Redheads on Parade (1935)
  • Rent (2005) * - Embarassing attempt to recapture the excitement of 1996. The material seems as time worn as the cast.
  • Rescuers, The (1977)
  • Reveille with Beverly (1943) *** - Ann Miller is a radio disc jockey out to entertain the troops in this popular, low budget wartime charmer 
  • Rhapsody (1954)
  • Rhapsody in Blue (1945) *** - Robert Alda stars in a highly fictionalized bio of George Gershwin. Great songs help, as do turns by Al Jolson and Oscar Levant.
  • Rhythm In the Clouds (1937)
  • Rhythm Inn (1951)
  • Rhythm Of the Islands (1943)
  • Rhythm On the Range (1936)
  • Rhythm on the River (1940) *** - Bing Crosby and Mary Martin have a blast as songwriters who've been ghostwriting for someone else and now want to break out on their own..
  • Rhythm Parade (1942)
  • Rich, Young and Pretty (1951) ** - Jane Powell frolics in Paris.
  • Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)
  • Riding High (1943)
  • Riding High (1950)
  • Rio Rita (1929) * - Ziegfeld's stage hit becames a lame comedy 
  • Rio Rita (1942) * - Pathetic remake of Ziegfeld's old stage hit, this time with Abbott & Costello outwitting Nazis in the Mexican desert.
  • Rise and Shine (1941)
  • Road Show (1941)
  • Road to Bali (1953)
  • Road to Hong Kong, The (1962) ** - Hope & Crosby closed their Road series with this uninspired, star-studded entry.
  • Road to Morocco (1942)
  • Road to Rio (1948) ** - Hope & Crosby on another journey.
  • Road to Singapore (1940) ** - Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's first "Road" picture is only okay -- the formula became more enjoyable along the way.
  • Road to Utopia (1946) *** - Hope & Crosby's Road series at its best.
  • Road to Zanzibar (1941)
  • Roadhouse Nights (1930) 
  • Roberta (1935) **** - Jerome Kern's score is the highlight of this stage hit about romance in a Parisian fashion house. Astaire and Rogers steal it all in supporting roles.
  • Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) *** - Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are gangsters battling for dominance in 1920s Chicago, with an assist from unscrupulous do-gooder Bing Crosby. Great score and wry comedy make this an underrated pleasure.
  • Robin Hood (1973) **** - An often underrated delight. Animated animals enact the classic tale, with a charming score by Roger Miller and a multi-starred cast of voices. 
  • Rock Around the Clock (1956) * - Bill Haley's band seeks fame in New York – preserves some vintage rock performances, but otherwise dull.
  • Rock Baby, Rock It (1957) * - Real Texas rockers give some period interest to a lousy film.
  • Rock, Rock, Rock (1956) * - Chuck Berry and other early rock stars sing in this cheap teen flick.
  • Rockabilly Baby (1957)
  • Rock-A-Bye-Baby (not seen)
  • Rockin' in the Rockies (1945) * - The Three Stooges run a ranch. Strictly for fans.
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show, The (1975) **** - No other film can match the "off the wall" fun in this cult classic.
  • Rogue Song, The (1930) 
  • Roman Scandals (1933) *** - Slave Eddie Cantor capers merrily about ancient Rome.
  • Romance In The Dark (1938)
  • Romance on the High Seas (1948)
  • Rookies On Parade (1941)
  • Rosalie (1937) *** - West Point cadet Nelson Eddy sings and princess Eleanor Powell dances up a storm. Lavish, mindless fun.
  • Rose Marie (1954) ** - Bert Lahr steals this otherwise blah remake of the classic Friml operetta about a Canadian Mountie finding love in the wilderness.
  • Rose of the Rancho (1936)
  • Rose of Washington Square (1939) *** - Alice Faye stars in this tear jerker obviously based on Fanny Brice's infamous marriage to Nick Arnstein. Al Jolson is wasted in a supporting role.
  • Rose, The (1979) *** - Bette Midler is brilliant in this tale of a tortured Janis Joplin-esque rock star. 
  • Rose-Marie (1936) *** - Opera star Jeanette MacDonald falls for Canadian Mountie Nelson Eddy. Campy fun includes "Indian Love Call" ("When I'm calling you-oo-oo-oo") and the classic final scene.
  • Roustabout (1964)
  • Royal Wedding (1951) **** - Great fun, with Fred Astaire and Jane Powell as a brother-sister theatre stage team finding love in London. Super numbers include Astaire's dance on the ceiling, and his ingenious pas de deux with a hat rack.
  • Rumba (1935)