# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/21 "2007-08-14T23:46:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] ETA: I’m surprised that _Dirty Dancing_ has never become a stage musical. [/QUOTE] Currently packing them in in [the West End](http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1930890,00.html). And, apparently, [Canada and Germany](http://www.dirtydancingonstage.com/) as well. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/22 "2007-08-15T00:27:15Z")
_Doctor Strangelove_ Featuring the showstopper “You Can’t Fight in Here (This is the War Room)”, the tender ballad “My Precious Bodily Fluids” and the inspirational “Mein Fuhrer, I Can Walk!” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/23 "2007-08-15T01:26:43Z")
I recall one critic described _Godfather III_ as “not a movie, but an opera,” so why not go all the way and turn all three movies into a Wagnerian trilogy. You got your basic love story (Michael and Kaye), interesting villains and a struggle of good vs. evil, so there’s enough material to work with. Plus there would be one final chance to cast the right actress instead of Sophia Coppola. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/24 "2007-08-15T02:21:20Z")
I’m thinking the Coen Brothers would do a great job with _The Maltese Falcon._ John Goodman as Kaspar Gutman, Johnny Depp is Joel Cairo, and I’m thinking Hugh Laurie would make an excellent Sam Spade. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/25 "2007-08-15T02:50:39Z")
What about **Star Wars**? Somewhere in there we’d have to get Bill Murray singing: _Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars…_, and I’m sure we can recycle some of the musical numbers from that Christmas Special. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/26 "2007-08-15T02:54:07Z")
And while it was a gag reference from _The Simpsons_, now that they’ve remade _The Planet of the Apes_ once already, the musical can’t really be too far behind. \*I hate every ape I see, From chimpan-A to chimpan-zee… …You’ve finally made a monkey, [Yes we’ve finally made a money,] You’ve finally made a monkey out of meeee! I love you, Doctor Zaius!\* ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/27 "2007-08-15T08:29:53Z")
I’ve heard that there’s a version of Hamlet done at one of the theatre departments in one of the NYC schools, called _Hello, Hamlet!_. I want to see that. For Musicals that haven’t been made yet, I’d rather try to pick WTF titles that just would seem wrong to set up as a musical - just to see if it would be possible to make things work. So, my suggestion would be _The Caine Mutiny_. Queeg tap-dancing with those ball-bearings just needs to happen, dammit. ---
**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 15, 2007, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/28 "2007-08-15T11:53:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro_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”[/QUOTE] In the Jeff Golblum comedy movie _The Tall Guy_ (well worth seeing), his character gets the lead in such a musical, called _Elephant!_ and ending with the tearjerker “In Heaven There’s an Angel With Big Ears”. ---
**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 15, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/29 "2007-08-15T13:21:46Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] I’ve heard that there’s a version of Hamlet done at one of the theatre departments in one of the NYC schools, called _Hello, Hamlet!_. I want to see that. [/QUOTE] Anthony Burgess wrote in one of his autobiographies how he worked on a musical to be titled “Will!” which would have been sort of a proto-“Shakespeare In Love” done as a Lionel Bart-style romp. (for those who don’t remember Lionel Bart, he was best lampooned by Monty Python in “Every Sperm is Sacred”) As prolific as he was, Anthony Burgess still wasted much too much of his life on this kind of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/30 "2007-08-15T13:25:19Z")
**This Island Earth** “I’m Gonna Build an Interociter” “The Battle Hymn of the Metalunans” … the possibilities! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/31 "2007-08-15T13:28:46Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] 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! [/QUOTE] Hell, do the whole original trilogy. The world _needs_ a singing Sarlacc (voiced by Ron Taylor, perhaps?). ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/32 "2007-08-15T13:42:38Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] **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_. [/QUOTE] Also, _Bridge Over Cold and Deep Waters_ ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/33 "2007-08-15T14:27:26Z")
Harold and Maude Smokey and the Bandit Beverly Hills Cop So I Married an Axe Murderer I actually liked the Edward Scissorhands ballet, so maybe that would make a good musical. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/34 "2007-08-15T18:54:08Z")
Any of the Star Trek films, as long as Shatner’s still alive to do a couple big production numbers. ♪♫Picture yourself in a ship on a planet With pointy-eared Vulcans and Ron Howard’s brother♪♫ ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/35 "2007-08-15T18:54:58Z")
Full Metal Jacket. Bonus points if Ermey participates. Aliens “Much as I may hate to be morbid, I don’t want to be Xeno ordure. I say we nuke them from orbit, It’s the only way to be suuuure…” ---
**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 15, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/36 "2007-08-15T18:59:38Z")
**The Great Escape** with songs like, _30 Days in the Cooler_, _Can You Dig?_ _Papers, Please_ and _Every Man in Camp Loves Tom, Dick and Harry._ \*\*Bridge On The River Kwai \*\* would have great numbers like _The Colonel Bogey Boogie_, _It’s lonely in the Box Without You_, _A Happy Worker Is An Efficient Worker_, _The Bataan Death Waltz_, and _Stop Calling Me Obi-Wan!_ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/37 "2007-08-15T19:01:56Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Harold and Maude [/QUOTE] There have been attempts. The first musical version ran [on Broadway](http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3682)… for two nights. It was revamped a couple of years ago and ran waaaaay off B’way (i.e. New Jersey) with [Estelle Parsons & Eric Millegan](http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/nj/nj78.html) in a limited run that got better but still mixed reviews. I think _FRIED GREEN TOMATOES_ could be a helluva musical. I like the idea of characters from different eras singing duets and restoring some of the hysterical material cut from the book. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/38 "2007-08-15T19:17:44Z")
In an interview with Mel Brooks he said that there were talks about musical versions of _Young Frankenstein_, _Blazing Saddles_ and (his remake of the Lombard/Benny classic) _To Be or Not to Be_, but I can’t find where any are beyond talks. Another pic of mine _Reversal of Fortune_. Songs include _Good Morning Newport_, _The Cherry on My Sundae/Diabetic Duet_, _I’ll Never Leave My Wife For You (But I Think I Know a Compromise)_, _Above or Bulow_, _Wheedle Deedle Who’s Got the Needle?_, _Dershowitz Superstar_, _Oh You’ve No Idea_, and _Klaustrophobia & Bulowmia_. The musical takes certain liberties of course; Klaus ends up in a gay wedding with Dershowitz while Sunny comes out of the coma to walk him down the aisle. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/39 "2007-08-15T19:21:16Z")
And of course the Harry Potter movies/books would be perfect for musicals. _Good Morning Voldemort!_ (there’s the kneazle who lives next door!) _Thestral Gavotte_ _Under the Stairs_ (to the tune of _Under the Sea_) It’s gonna be hard to sing “Cho” to the tune of _Maria_, though, so we’ll change his first girlfriend to Parvati. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534/40 "2007-08-15T19:27:20Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] In an interview with Mel Brooks he said that there were talks about musical versions of _Young Frankenstein_, _Blazing Saddles_ and (his remake of the Lombard/Benny classic) _To Be or Not to Be_, but I can’t find where any are beyond talks. [/QUOTE] **Young Frankenstein** is opening on Broadway in the Fall. It’s already begun previews in Seattle & the marquee is up at the Hilton Theatre in New York. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-films-that-should-become-musicals/415534.md?page=3)