The Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket - Round Three, Day Three

A tale as old as time.

Hello, friends! We have arrived at October 2023, and we’ve also arrived at the halfway point of the third round of the Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket. I promise you one difficult decision today, but the good news is, I can almost certainly promise you three…not-very-difficult decisions. Let’s rip off the Band-Aid and get going, shall we?

(1) The Wizard of Oz vs. (17) Beauty and the Beast (1991): Like I said. One difficult decision. It’s this one, and it’s a truly difficult one. We have two undoubtedly memorable and beloved films, films that are among the most unforgettable in all of Western cinema. Few films are as influential as The Wizard of Oz, and few films are as seminal in a studio’s history as Beauty and the Beast. I have the clips here, but I know I don’t have to remind you of the classic songs in each one.

I also don’t have to remind you that I don’t actually vote in these brackets. Good thing, too, because…uh…flip a coin. That’s my take. Good luck!

The Wizard of Oz

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

(8) My Fair Lady vs. (9) School of Rock: OK, fine, this time, I will vote for the traditional musical. I love School of Rock plenty, but yes, this time around, it’s got to be My Fair Lady, Audrey Hepburn being dubbed over and all.

…right?

My Fair Lady

School of Rock

(4) The Sound of Music vs. (52) 42nd Street: This one may be one of the easiest matches of the whole round. The Sound of Music is not the best Julie Andrews musical of the mid-1960s, but it is the best movie musical of this matchup. A simple vote, no?

The Sound of Music

42nd Street

(28) A Hard Day’s Night vs. (12) On the Town: The Beatles are iconic. (Can we talk about how the word “iconic” is now so heavily misused that it has lost almost all meaning? My wife and I — as we plan for our upcoming Disneyland trip in October — were watching a YouTube video where a perfectly pleasant young woman defined the exterior sign to a character-dining establishment as iconic. It’s not iconic. A fine restaurant! We’ll be eating there soon! It’s not iconic! I digress.)

Gene Kelly? Frank Sinatra? Also iconic. This one’s a toughie, but in the end, I will lean towards the classical musical structure. On the Town is not my favorite Kelly film (not by a long shot), but in this specific matchup, I’ll throw my lot in with the trio of sailors hanging out in the Big Apple.

You?

A Hard Day’s Night

On the Town