# SDMB Musical Lovers' Salon and Debating Society **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785 "2004-06-23T12:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/41 "2004-06-27T00:31:14Z")
Welcome to our new members! Good suggestion, **Moriah** , about picking stuff upcoming on AMC/TMC – but, as **Eureka** pointed out, not all of us have cable. I don’t, for instance. We’ll have to work this out as we go along – but the three-week lag between announcing a title and starting discussion is intended to give everyone as much a chance to track down a copy of the movie as possible. Not everyone is going to be able to find every single title, probably – not unless we limit ourselves to “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story” – so all we can do is try to pick stuff that’s more or less available and give people a chance to figure out their own strategies for finding it. It sounds like local libraries are a good source, and that having a sweetie-pie SO is also a big help. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/42 "2004-06-27T01:07:06Z")
Yes libraries can be a good resource, especially if the movie has not been released on DVD. Am going to fire up my VCR later and watch. My choice will be on dvd though. I just love all the extras available. Two of my favorites on DVD are The Wizard of Oz and My Fair Lady. The Wizard of Oz has oodles of extras. My Fair Lady has the soundtrack that Audrey Hepburn sang when she tried to convince the studio to allow her to sing the part in the movie. Such a pretty strong voice too. She may be no Marni Nixon, but she could have done a wonderful job! ---
**Author:** ![inDisGuize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/76d3ee/32.png) [@inDisGuize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inDisGuize)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/43 "2004-06-27T12:50:58Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > There seems to be some interest in starting a film group for us lovers of movie musicals. Here’s the idea: We’ll take turns picking a movie musical for the group to watch, and announce the title and the date of the start of the discussion (three weeks seems to be doable for people) in this thread. Everyone then scurries off and finds a copy of the movie and watches it. On the appointed date, the person who chose the film will start a thread and kick off the discussion with a brief plot summary/song-and-dance highlights list and a couple of comments or criticisms about the movie. Everyone can then chime in and post to the thread, well, the way we always post. I’m interested in joining the group to the extent that I can. I’m new to this discussion group thing and don’t know what if anything that I might contribute but I’ll be lurking and hope to learn a thing or two about the group and the musicals. Having seen only a handfull of musicals I pass on the opportunity to name a title to view / discuss. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/44 "2004-06-28T00:39:15Z")
Ok am dithering a bit here about my next choice. I have a question for the society in general. What rules do we have about what makes a movie a musical? I have a movie in mind with plenty of music sung by the cast, but not necessarily in context with the movie itself. It is definitely not my only choice, but I thought I should ask first. 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/45 "2004-06-28T01:12:14Z")
My mind’s awhirl, trying to figure out what movie you’re thinking of. I think it’s quite possible that “is this movie a musical or not” would be a completely legitimate question for us to discuss about a movie we’ve all seen. Certainly if a movie has “plenty of music sung by the cast, but not necessarily in context with the movie itself,” it might be something you could go ahead and pick and then we have a lively debate about whether it “counts” or not. This is, after all, the Straight Dope Musical Lovers’ Salon and Debating Society. Note that “Straight Dope” and “Debating” both appear in the name of the group. (Oh c’mon, I realize you don’t want to tip your hand – but could we have another hint, pls.? 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/46 "2004-06-28T01:33:11Z")
LOL. ok. I do get the drift. Two more clues. Improvisational, and an Oscar nominated song. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/47 "2004-06-28T01:46:30Z")
A Mighty Wind? ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/48 "2004-06-28T01:51:32Z")
LOL. Knew I gave too much away but yes that one is under consideration. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/49 "2004-06-28T02:00:50Z")
sorry about that folks. am new here and jayjay is showing me how to do things here. spoilers are neat! ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/50 "2004-06-28T03:09:39Z")
I’m going to have to miss on _Neptune’s Daughter_ I have a bazillion things to do before going on vacation this coming Thursday… But I’ll be here with bells on for the next one! ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/51 "2004-06-29T00:51:04Z")
Twickster, am going to try and get Jayjay to watch the movie with me. I may have to leave a trail of bbq pork rinds and french onion dip in my trap on the sofa. It should be an interesting evening for sure…lol. Hmmm maybe I can use his knitting to hypnotize him. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/52 "2004-06-29T02:00:45Z")
> [@supervenusfreak](#): > > …I may have to leave a trail of bbq pork rinds and french onion dip in my trap on the sofa. It should be an interesting evening for sure… Ya know, we’re definitely on the verge of Too Much Information here… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ThatDuckIsEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@ThatDuckIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThatDuckIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/53 "2004-06-29T14:36:57Z")
Club Secretary checking in… Latest list is as follows: **twickster supervenusfreak Maureen** moi **cervaise amarinth KrisfertheCat lissener Ilsa\_Lund koeeoaddi Eonwe TwoTrouts DeVena Draelin Lamia ArchiveGuy inDisGuize** I just moved into MY NEW HOUSE on Sunday, so as soon as I find my VCR, I’ll be in business. If I dont get to watch this time, I’ll still lurk to read all the about the movie and watch it when I can. \* That’s Entertainment\* is a GREAT thing for all musical lovers to watch. Good job recommending that, **Ilsa** I woudn’t have thought of that one. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/54 "2004-06-29T17:02:34Z")
Congrats on your new house, **ThatDuckIsEvil**! Now just make it feel like home by popping some corn and settling in on the sofa to watch a nice musical… 😉 On **supervenusfreak** ’s question – I think my preference would be (and I’ve been hanging back because I don’t want this to turn into the TwicksFilmSociety) to get some of the great ones out of the way first. I just had one of those five-minute mini-mental-vacations while standing at the photocopier, thinking, “Geez, I hope someone picks **Victor/Victoria, Bye Bye Birdie, All That Jazz, Hedwig and the Angry Inch** etc. etc. etc.” What does everyone else think of “movie about music, but not really a musical”? ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/55 "2004-06-29T17:43:42Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s Entertainment is a GREAT thing for all musical lovers to watch. Good job recommending that, Ilsa I woudn’t have thought of that one. I once had a marathon of all three “That’s Entertainment” movies running on TCM. It was one of the best damn afternoons I ever spent. And as for you twickster…no more guessing! 😉 . I love all of the movies you listed and more. I will defintiely go with a more straightforward musical as my choice. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/56 "2004-06-29T17:57:36Z")
Do add me to the list. I’ll swim on down to Blockbuster after work and see how well their Esther Williams section is stocked. Whaddya mean they “\*\*don’t have \*\* an Esther Williams section?” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/57 "2004-06-29T18:24:47Z")
I’ll echo Ilsa Lund and urge you to see \*\*_That’s Entertainment III,_ \*\* one of the most fascinating documentaries ever made, let alone documentaries about movies. They really dug deep for this one, and show alternate versions of various scenes–things like a split screen Joan Crawford and Cyd Charisse lip-synching to the same track, in two utterly different sequences. Many of the clips have never seen the light of day before (including the Cyd Charisse clip mentioned above). ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/58 "2004-06-29T21:52:44Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I’ll echo Ilsa Lund and urge you to see \*\*_That’s Entertainment III,_ \*\* one of the most fascinating documentaries ever made, let alone documentaries about movies. They really dug deep for this one, and show alternate versions of various scenes–things like a split screen Joan Crawford and Cyd Charisse lip-synching to the same track, in two utterly different sequences. Many of the clips have never seen the light of day before (including the Cyd Charisse clip mentioned above). It’s worth it just to see Joan Crawford parading around in that Two-Faced Woman get-up. One of the most horrifyingly campy things I’ve ever seen. Other highlights include Judy Garland’s first appearance in the half-tuxedo, in a number cut from _Easter Parade_(Irving Berlin’s Mr. Monotony), and Lena Horne singing in her bubble bath, cut from _Cabin in the Sky._. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/59 "2004-06-30T02:22:44Z")
Hmmm I may just have to settle in and watch alot of musicals this week. “Victor/Victoria” is one of my all time favorite movies and gets a viewing at least once a month. Am lucky here that soemtimes I have alot of down time at work and can actually watch then too. But I am definitely going to have to watch “Neptune’s Daughter” this week too. It must go back to the library next week. But this weekend am going to a gay bear retreat and taking along my copy of the Bette Midler version of “Gypsy”. She was born to play Rose. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/60 "2004-07-01T00:57:23Z")
Went by the video store tonight on my way home – if anyone’s still looking, the Hollywood Video in Roxborough has _Neptune’s Daughter_ on the shelf. Alas, they didn’t have _That’s Entertainment III_ – only I and II. I actually got two non-musicals. I’m so ashamed… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785.md?page=4)