Musical Film Index

Musical Film Index: N

Naked Boys Singing (2007) ** - Minor stage revue filmed in performance -- some low-budget laughs, but not all its cracked up to be.
Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)** - Ann Southern and Jane Powell play a mother and daughter competing for the same role and the same man. So-so.
Nashville (1975) ** - Lives are affected by a presidential campaign. Acclaimed by many, but I fail to see why.
Naughty But Nice (1939)
Naughty Marietta (1935) **** - Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are paired for the first time in this tale of a French noblewoman fleeing an unwanted marriage in colonial New Orleans.
Naughty Nineties, The (1945) ** - Abbott & Costello on a show boat -- old tunes and old routines.
Navy Blues (1941) *** - Maritime shenanigans, energized by a scene stealing Martha Raye.
Neptune's Daughter (1949) *** - Esther Williams is a bathing suit designer in one of her better vehicles. Red Skelton provides the laughs, and the score includes "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
Never a Dull Moment (1943)
Never Steal Anything Small (1959) ** - James Cagney as a racketeer dockworker out to grab control of his union. A bizarre idea for a musical – few pleasures.
New Faces (1954) ** - The hit Broadway revue makes for a weak film, but theatre buffs will enjoy seeing Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde and others.
New Faces of 1937 (1937)
New Moon (1930) - Stage hit inexplicably re-set in Czarist Russia, with Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore in the leads.
New Moon (1940) *** - French aristocrat Jeanette MacDonald loves revolutionary Nelson Eddy in this handsome remake of Romberg's operetta.
New Orleans (1947) ** - The birth of jazz was nothing like what we're shown here, but Billie Holliday, Louis Armstrong and others make this a priceless film record of vintage performances.
New York, New York (1977) *** - Martin Scorsese's only musical is too long, but some dazzling sequences make it worth sitting through – especially in the expanded home video version. Liza Minnelli is a delight as an aspiring 1940s singer, and introduces Kander & Ebb's socko title tune.
Newsies (1992) * - Disney's plans to make live-action musicals died with this one. Newsboys go to war with powerful publisher Joe Pulitzer, and the audience loses.
Nice Girl (1941)
Night and Day (1946) ** - Cary Grant as Cole Porter? Ignore the fictitious plot and enjoy the songs. Mary Martin plays herself, giving the film its liveliest bit.
Night at Earl Carroll's, A (1940) ** - Another lame attempt to cash in on the famous producer's name, with a party at his Hollywood night club.
Night at the Opera, A (1935) **** - The Marx Brothers unleash comic mayhem in the stuffy world of grand opera; arguably the team's best film, packed with comic gems
Night Club Girl (1944)
Night is Young, The (1935)
Night They Raided Minsky's, The (1968) *** - Not exactly a musical, but Bert Lahr is on hand in this recreation of the final days of burlesque.
Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993) *** - Bizarre but often brilliant stop-motion tale of Halloween Town's attempt to take over Christmas. Poor songs but stunning visuals – your call.
No Leave, No Love (1946)
No, No, Nanette (1930)
No, No, Nanette (1940) * - The Broadway plot and most of the songs are gone. You'll have a better time taking out the garbage.
Nob Hill (1945)
Nobody's Darling (1943)
Northwest Outpost (1947) ** - Nelson Eddy's last film is a tired Yukon operetta by Friml -- both deserved something better, as did their audiences.