This comprehensive history of the Hollywood musical kicks off with the advent of talking pictures. And what better way to usher in this bold new era than with a musical starring the world’s most popular entertainer?
Released in 1927, The Jazz Singer was a ground-breaking vehicle for the great Al Jolson. Although largely silent apart from six musical numbers, it also contained snippets of dialogue which wowed audiences at the time. The world changed for ever when Jolson introduced Toot, Toot, Tootsie with the immortal words: “Wait a minute, wait a minute… you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”
Ambitious in breadth and scope, the series aims to cover every major development in the genre, from golden-age classics such as The Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain, right up to 2006’s Dream Girls starring Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy. It also promises archive interviews with the likes of Busby Berkeley, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.
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