Introduction: The Musical and Masculinity Take a Turn for the Ambivalent

Abstract

“This is a happy, hand-clapping, foot stomping, country type of musical with all the slickness of a Broadway show. It offers songs, dances and romancing in such a delightful package that word-of-mouth could talk it into solid business at the box-office.”1 In its review of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Variety goes straight to the heart of a popular form of the Hollywood musical genre in the era of the studio system. From the coming of sound well into the 1950s, the Hollywood movie musical often served a dual role: profiting for the studios and reaffirming traditional American values. While often one of the pricier genres to produce—with yards upon yards of bespangled costumes, grand sets, and herds of hoofers—the musical also established itself as a financial winner and public favorite. Contract stars such as Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Deanna Durbin crooned, belted, and danced their ways into the hearts of America as they saved their towns and clanged their trolleys. All was well in St Louis, Paris, and O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A as guys found their gals and warring groups of singing farmers and cowmen, Americans and Russians, and soldiers and civilians found a cause around which to gather. As social and industrial climates changed, however, so would the face, place, and style of the musical genre. With the changing shape of the studio system in the 1950s, star contracts disappeared, budgets dropped, and the musical waned as the go-to-gal for the studios.KeywordsMusical PerformanceSocial UnrestMusical GenreMusical StyleMusical FormThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.