Academy Musical Favorites of the 1960s on Satellite TV

Today when someone thinks about a 1960s movie he or she may immediately see images of happy, high, hippies wandering across the screen.  However, according to Oscar and the Academy, the Best Pictures of the 1960s were far from depicting this retrospective image.  In fact, especially in the early 60s the top pictures were wholesome singing and dancing musical spectaculars.  Today many of these old favorites are available via satellite TV, but without the glitz and glamour of high definition or state-of-the-art technology they are often overlooked by younger viewers.  To catch up on one's history of cinema it's best to start at the beginning, or at least towards the beginning, and check out some of these musical Best Picture nominees (and winners) from the 1960s.

1.  West Side Story (Winner) 1961

When Romeo and Juliet is redone on the red hot streets of New York City, the result is a sizzling best picture winner.  West Side Story follows two young lovers, Maria and Tony, as the rival gangs to which they have allegiances begin to clash at an escalating level of intensity.  With the white gang, the Jets led by Riff, and the Puerto Rican Sharks led by Bernardo, it looks like neither side is going to back down.  Maria and Tony continue their romance in secret, but everything falls apart when a winner-takes-all rumble under the highway is planned by the two gangs.  The audience is left to wonder whether love is strong enough to conquer all, or whether violence will prevail.  With a slew of pop culture references to this film going out over satellite TV every day, it really is a must-see classic movie.  

2. The Music Man (Nominee) 1962

Harold Hill comes to town with a bang, and revs up the locals to participate in the boy's marching band which he will train and equip.  The only snag is that Harold has no musical talent whatsoever, and is in fact planning to con the unsuspecting townspeople.  It seems that nothing can foil Harold's brilliant con, until he meets the lovely town librarian and falls instantly in love.  Will Harold learn a valuable moral lesson, or will he choose to stay with his lying cheating ways?

3. My Fair Lady (Winner) 1964

When British linguists make a bet, they wager big, as is shown in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical My Fair Lady.  Professor Henry Higgins accepts a wager from Colonel Pickering that he cannot transform a Cockney flower girl from the streets into a passable Lady.  Determined to prove the Colonel wrong, Henry takes Eliza Doolittle, the chosen girl, into his home and begins a rigorous training program.  What nobody considered was what would happen to Eliza after undergoing such a dramatic change, and Henry must learn to see her in a whole new light.  

4. Mary Poppins (Nominee) 1964

Combining song, dance and colorful cartoony animations, Mary Poppins is the heartwarming tale of a super-nanny who flies into the lives of the Banks children on a magical umbrella.  Using her special powers and delightful disposition Mary Poppins touches the lives and hearts of many in this cheerful tale.  Although the animations may not do your HD TV justice, Mary Poppins is sure to win over even the hardest heart.  

5. The Sound of Music (Winner) 1965

When Maria's attempts to become a nun are unsuccessful, she takes up an opportunity to work as the governess for the children of Navy captain Georg Von Trapp.  Set in 1930s Austria, Maria wins over the hearts of the children, and the captain, with her positive attitude and sunny disposition, however their world is turned upside down by the German seizure of control in Austria.  Family and love may be strong, but are they strong enough to survive in war-time Europe?  

6. Oliver (Winner) 1968

The musical adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens tale, Oliver is a young orphan who runs away from the orphanage only to find himself in with a dodgy crowd.  Out on the streets of London he and a gang of boys learn to pickpocket and steal to survive.  Whether by luck or fate Oliver's circumstances keep changing, and the audience is left wondering if his dark past will inevitably come back to haunt him.  

7. Hello Dolly! (Nominee) 1969

When matchmaker Dolly Levi heads to Yonkers, New York, it is to meet the 'well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire' Horace Vandergelder.  She convinces Horace and his crew to head into New York City, where she every so slyly deters Horace's romantic prospects with any other woman (besides herself).  As the romantic web she weaves becomes increasingly complex, the plot thickens, and we are left wondering whether Dolly will get her man.

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