A Musical Lesson (1921-1930)

Since its cinematic breakthrough in the early 20's, the musical genre has had a tumultuous reputation with film goers and critics alike. Having been a staple diet in theatres for many years before any sort of palpable film success, the musical has a history deserving of a commentary beyond The Sound Of Music, Grease, Wizard of Oz...

In this series I'll make several attempts to document the rise and fall of the genre and hopefully open a box of revelations which will just make you watch (or at least record) that old musical when it hits the box at some god-darned-hideous hour.

It'll be more exciting than Marley & Me and Lesbian Vampire Killers combined and that is a heartening thought!


The first real hit for the film musical genre was The Jazz Singer (released in 1927). The film went on to attain success from all quarters including special commendations at the annual Oscar ceremony. Technically speaking the first Hollywood musical was The Broadway Melody (1929), however The Jazz Singer is generally credited for being the first film to pull of songs within a narrative and for those songs to enhance the film rather than interfere with the pacing.

It's success is stunning bearing in mind the sound revolution was still over a decade away (although most of the film plays in silence).


The Broadway Musical (produced by MGM), as previously mentioned, is accredited to be the first musical and its easy to see why. It's the first musical to win the Best Picture Oscar and first musical to gain wide distribution across America.

The next in the series will look at 1930-1945, a time where change meant a whole deal to the tale of world history and as a consequence, film.