I think the "Legend" should probably take precedence. There were two theatrical musicals in the 80s that attempted to make interesting shows out of the lives of, respectively, the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and the one-and-only Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. I don't think the Jackson one -- NOLA was a tour-stop-- made it to Broadway and I know the Armstrong project (whose NYC producers cast there and then rehearsed and opened its tour in New Orleans) didn't hit the Big Time either. Both were A-list professional productions. Aspects of both shows were excellent, but...... neither story was "dramatic" enough to flesh out what were essentialy pretty straightforward success stories. Jennifer Holliday was a powerful Mahalia Jackson. I don't remember the quite-good actor/trumpeter who played Satchmo, but that show had teriffic sets and costumes and the novelty of a supporting cast who not only played such jazz greats as Bix Beiderbieck and others-- but also played their instruments onstage during the show. It was quite a novelty and quite entertaing. (Except for the dreadful "Red Beans & Rice" song sung by the little Louis.) But--- the shows were dull because there wasn't enough "conflict" in the lives depicted to make them continually interesting. Thus they both failed. But, wow, could that Jennifer Holliday sing!!!!!! Joe B
--- On Sat, 2/20/10, Bruce Hershenson <[email protected]> wrote: From: Bruce Hershenson <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOPO] What WERE the best film biographies of popular singers? To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7:55 PM Good points everyone! That raises another question. Should a biographical film be as factual as possible, even if the result is a far less entertaining movie? Ot should they paraphrase the advice of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and go with "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend"? And which of the bios mentioned WERE the most factual? Or the LEAST factual? Bruce On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 7:47 PM, Franc <[email protected]> wrote: Funny Girl, Love or Leave Me. The Helen Morgan Story and Jolson Story are all highly enjoyable musical films but I don't know if I'd call them great "biographies". A lot of those films are fictional. I also don't know if your question is a fair one: does the world need more horror films or detective films or sci-fi films or love stories or porno? The world needs good films, no matter the genre. FRANC P.S. Add La Bamba to the list. -----Original Message----- From: MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Hershenson Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2010 1:01 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOPO] What WERE the best film biographies of popular singers? All this talk about a Sinatra movie biography got me wondering if there is really a need for more biographies of great pop singers. What WERE the best film biographies of popular singers? Bruce Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
