# Classic Films That Should Become Musicals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534 "2007-08-14T09:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/1 "2007-08-14T09:49:43Z")
**Hairspray** started as a (great) non-musical film starring Divine. **The Producers** was a (great) non-musical film starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. So, what films do you think should become a musical? And if you are in the mood, who should star in the film? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/2 "2007-08-14T10:43:46Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] **Hairspray** started as a (great) non-musical film starring Divine. **The Producers** was a (great) non-musical film starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. So, what films do you think should become a musical? And if you are in the mood, who should star in the film? [/QUOTE] Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS Christopher Walken as Rotwang the Inventor/Sorcerer. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/3 "2007-08-14T12:09:11Z")
**2001: A Space Odyssey** I can just see it now: —The Opening, where, under the influence of the Monolith, the Apes learn first to dance, then to sing, culminating in the wotrld’s first kick-line –The zero-G Dance of the Stewardesses – Dr. Heywood Floyd’s rap/patter Denial of anything Wrong to the Russians, combined with his Lunar Briefing –The big Jupiter Spaceship number, with the three astronauts in cryosleep dancing in their “coffins” around the centrifuge with Dave and Frank, while Hal chimes in from multiple ports and sprouts cyberlegs to dance with. –HAL’s big “What do you think you’re doing, Dave?” solo, followed by his heartrending version of “Daisy, Daisy” –Dave Bowman’s “I’m feeling a little older now” (done to the music of “Shout!”) , done with himself. – The Finale, with the entire cast performing to Strauss’ "Also Sprach Zarathustra: It’ll be even bigger than the musical version of **Dune** : [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=167075&highlight=Dune+Musical](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=167075&highlight=Dune+Musical) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/4 "2007-08-14T12:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] So, what films do you think should become a musical? [/QUOTE] None of them. ETA: No **good** films, that is. A bad, stupid and/or terminally cheesy movie might actually be more interesting as a musical. E.g., _Little Shop of Horrors_. But with good, or at least interesting, movies, the tendancy is for a musical version to lose any kind of edge, depth or subtlety possessed by the original movie. Okay, the show _A Little Night Music_ (based on Bergman’s _Smiles of a Summer Night_) was pretty good, but sometimes spoken dialogue has a power that even the best Stephen Sondheim songs can’t match. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/5 "2007-08-14T12:12:54Z")
I hate every chimp I see From Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z You’ll never make a monkey out of me. Oh Gosh! I was wrong. It was earth all along. You’ve finally made a monkey Yes, you’ve finally made a monkey Yes, you’ve finally made a monkey out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/6 "2007-08-14T12:20:33Z")
I love you, Dr Zaius! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/7 "2007-08-14T12:40:41Z")
Do they still do musicals with big, signature props, like the helicopter in _Miss Saigon_ or the chandalier in _Phantom_? Because that’s a concept that just cries out for an exploding Imperial Death Star. Although filmed a few times but never a classic movie, Kafka’s _Metamorphosis_ - a revolving stage set and you get the bug dancing on the walls & ceiling like Fred Astaire. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/8 "2007-08-14T12:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] None of them. ETA: No **good** films, that is. A bad, stupid and/or terminally cheesy movie might actually be more interesting as a musical. E.g., _Little Shop of Horrors_. But with good, or at least interesting, movies, the tendancy is for a musical version to lose any kind of edge, depth or subtlety possessed by the original movie. Okay, the show _A Little Night Music_ (based on Bergman’s _Smiles of a Summer Night_) was pretty good, but sometimes spoken dialogue has a power that even the best Stephen Sondheim songs can’t match. [/QUOTE] There are many exceptions. **My Fair Lady** keeps the depth of **Pygmalion** and adds a few little twists of its own (one song brings in a reference to Shaw’s sarcastic suggestion for a better ending to the play, for instance). **Chicago** is a nice reworking of **Roxie Hart** (admittedly, they went to the source rather than the movie, but there’s no reason it would have failed otherwise). It all depends on the writers, songwriters, and director. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/9 "2007-08-14T19:02:52Z")
Bill Murray’s rendition of Star Wars just cries out for fleshing out to a full length musical. Cries out like a million voices suddenly being silenced, in fact. I mean, what are stormtroopers \*for \* other than a kickline? There’s sword fights, a princess, a big villain in a black cape and at least one Solo. If that material isn’t gay enough for a musical, I don’t know what is! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/10 "2007-08-14T19:14:00Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] Bill Murray’s rendition of Star Wars just cries out for fleshing out to a full length musical. [/QUOTE] It’s been done. All of the songs, though, were songs from other musicals but with new words. It never quite made it to Broadway. [Cite](http://web.mit.edu/mtg/www/2003/IAP/Photos.html). Turns out that the same group did Reefer Madness: The Musical. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/11 "2007-08-14T19:23:10Z")
9 1/2 Weeks Uh… Push it! Push it real good! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/12 "2007-08-14T19:24:17Z")
One that has been made into a musical, and which I’d dearly like to see: **Plan Nine from Outer Space**. They did it as a student thing at the University of Utah, just before I got there (I always seem to JUST MISS things at schools), and I was surprised to read about it later showing up at professional theaters in the Midwest. It later played in California, IIRC. It seems to be a different one from that referred to in Wikipedia, since that dates it to 1997, and this would have been 1982 originally ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan\_9\_from\_Outer\_Space](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Outer_Space) ). In the Utah version one of the songs, I understand, details the other eight plans. It’s supposed to be pretty funny, until near the end, when it inexplicably takes a turn for the serious. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/13 "2007-08-14T19:41:46Z")
Y’all aren’t trying hard enough. _The Seventh Seal_ No-thing escapes me! No one escapes me! And yooooou’ll never escape My love for yoooooooou! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/14 "2007-08-14T20:34:25Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] It’s been done. All of the songs, though, were songs from other musicals but with new words. [/QUOTE] Hey, it worked for _MAD_. A lot. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/15 "2007-08-14T20:43:14Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] **Hairspray** started as a (great) non-musical film starring Divine. [/QUOTE] It didn’t contain original songs but the original has a number of musical sequences (and a great soundtrack). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/16 "2007-08-14T21:13:26Z")
And “I’m Shocked to Discover” I’m Shocked to Discover I’m Shocked to Discover (here’s your winnings, sir) I’m Shocked to Discover Gambling Hereeeeeeeee. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/17 "2007-08-14T21:16:55Z")
**Slingblade** Songs would include _A Bush in the Hand_, _That’s all I Gotta Sing About That_, _Like Biscuits and Mustard_, _He Ain’t Preemie, He’s My Brother_, _Waters of the Medulla Oblongata_, _I’m Hurtin’ Honey_ and _I Like the Way You Sang_. **The English Patient** starring Julia Louis Dreyfuss Songs include _Tell Me About Yourself_, _Why I Let the Nazis In_, _Just Die Already_, _The Chapel of San Matteo_, _No I Mean It- Die Already_, _No Thumbs Are Better than No Hands_, and _Seriously, Let Me Help You… DIE!_ **The Elephant Man** Breakaway hit is _I’m Not an Animal, I’m a TENOR!_ and _I’m a Big Boy and I’ll Sleep How I Wanna_ ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/18 "2007-08-14T21:19:35Z")
If you want to make movies into musicals like Hairspray, just delve deeper into the John Waters catalog. I can only imagine the fun when they do _Pink Flamingos_. Think about it… a cross dressing John Travolta eating dog shit. In all honesty, _Cry-Baby_ would probably be able to work. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/19 "2007-08-14T21:21:37Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] In all honesty, _Cry-Baby_ would probably be able to work. [/QUOTE] For the sake of the investors [it better](http://www.topix.net/movies/cry-baby/2007/05/theater). ETA: I’m surprised that _Dirty Dancing_ has never become a stage musical. There was talk for some while of _Moulin Rouge_ becoming a stage musical but getting the rights to all those songs would have to be prohibitive (though they did it for the screen obviously). One I would LOVE to see on stage is _[Little Voice](http://imdb.com/title/tt0147004/)_. I haven’t seen Kevin Spacey’s [Bobby Darin pic](http://imdb.com/title/tt0363473/), but I understand it was originally intended for the stage. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/20 "2007-08-14T21:23:11Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] For the sake of the investors [it better](http://www.topix.net/movies/cry-baby/2007/05/theater). [/QUOTE] I had no idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534.md?page=2)