Synopsis

An entertaining and comprehensive documentary about the Hollywood musical ever produced. Hosted by Academy Award winning stage, screen and television icon, Shirley Jones, it is a celebration of song and dance beginning with the Busby Berkeley era through the first musical to win an Academy Award in more than 30 years, *Chicago*, and ending with the highly acclaimed box office hit *Dreamgirls*. The best films from every studio, every decade and the most important and influential stars are included. You’ll ride the rollercoaster of the genre’s dazzling heyday of success. The journey begins with the dawn of sound on film, to the patriotic feel-good musicals of World War II, through the development of the “integrated” musical in which songs became an important story-telling ingredient, through the near-death of the medium when the studio system collapsed, to the genre’s recent resurgence and multi-generational embrace. Fresh, new interviews with stars like Liza Minnelli, Shirley MacLaine, Mickey Rooney, Rita Moreno, Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Caron, Joel Grey and directors Bill Condon (*Dreamgirls*) and Rob Marshall (*Chicago*) among many others give an insider’s insight into the world that helped shape these filmed masterpieces. Mesmerizing sequences interspersed with rarely seen footage and interviews with stars including Busby Berkeley, Vincent Minnelli, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly also help us to understand the creative processes that make their films works of art. *Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History* is a grand historical look at the magic of Hollywood.

Director

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  • Mark McLoughlin
  • Mark McLoughlin has been working in the documentary field for over 20 years. Recently, he produced the documentary *Look Up - The Amazing Story of Superman*, a tribute to Shirley Temple titled *Shirleymania*, and the documentary *Disco: The Story of the Dance Culture* from the 1970s. He also lived in a tent in the Arctic for several months to create the *Saving Mars* documentary for the Discovery Channel. His independent feature documentary *Frame Keeper* was screened at several film festivals worldwide. Additionally, he has contributed to numerous commercials, TV shows, and feature films as a staff member and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work in documentary sound.