Non-Musical Movies and Their Musical Remakes
Hollywood recycles stories all the time, but one trend that used to be popular was remaking non-musical films as musicals with new songs and dances.
Also included in this list are movie musicals adapted from Broadway musicals which were based on non-musical films or common source material. (It can get pretty complicated.)
Also included in this list are movie musicals adapted from Broadway musicals which were based on non-musical films or common source material. (It can get pretty complicated.)
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- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCary GrantKatharine HepburnJames StewartWhen a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsBing CrosbyGrace KellyFrank SinatraWith socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.Remake of "The Philadelphia Story", with singers Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby replacing James Stewart and Cary Grant.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithLeslie HowardStarsLeslie HowardWendy HillerWilfrid LawsonA phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsAudrey HepburnRex HarrisonStanley HollowayIn 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.Hollywood version of hit stage musical based on Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion".
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJanet GaynorWill RogersLew AyresAn Iowa family finds adventure, love, and heartbreak when they spend a week at the state fair.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsJeanne CrainDana AndrewsDick HaymesEach member of the Frake clan has his/her own reason for attending the annual Iowa State Fair.Rodgers & Hammerstein were commissioned to write a musical score that would fit into the framework of the earlier film.
This musical was itself remade in 1962. - DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasIna ClaireA stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFred AstaireCyd CharisseJanis PaigeA Russian government official is sent to Paris to bring back her comrades; she soon gets a taste of Paris life and falls in love with an American movie producer.Based on a Cole Porter stage musical which was based on the "Ninotchka" story. George Tobias has roles in both films.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanJack ConwayVictor FlemingStarsJanet GaynorFredric MarchAdolphe MenjouA young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, and achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJudy GarlandJames MasonJack CarsonA film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsZero MostelGene WilderDick ShawnA stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.
- DirectorSusan StromanStarsNathan LaneMatthew BroderickUma ThurmanAfter putting together another Broadway flop, down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock teams up with timid accountant Leo Bloom in a get-rich-quick scheme to put on the world's worst show.Big-screen version of successful Broadway musical adapted by Mel Brooks from his own film.
- DirectorSam WoodSidney FranklinStarsRobert DonatGreer GarsonTerry KilburnAn aged teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the decades.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsPeter O'ToolePetula ClarkMichael RedgraveA shy, withdrawn English schoolteacher falls for a flashy showgirl.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRobert NewtonAlec GuinnessKay WalshIn Charles Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home.One of several film versions of Charles Dickens's tale.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMark LesterRon MoodyShani WallisAfter being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.Big-screen version of hit stage musical based on the Charles Dickens book.
- DirectorJoseph AnthonyStarsShirley BoothAnthony PerkinsShirley MacLaineThornton Wilder's tale of a matchmaker who desires the man she's supposed to be pairing with another woman.
- DirectorGene KellyStarsBarbra StreisandWalter MatthauMichael CrawfordMatchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a partner for "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder, convincing his niece, his niece's intended, and his two clerks to travel to New York City along the way.Based on the Broadway musical adapted from the stage play "The Matchmaker".
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartFrank MorganTwo employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.The original story was also the basis for the 1963 Broadway musical "She Loves Me" and the non-musical 1998 film "You've Got Mail".
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJudy GarlandVan JohnsonS.Z. SakallIn turn-of-the century America, Andrew and Veronica are co-workers in a music shop who dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.Musical remake of "The Shop Around the Corner".
- DirectorMorton DaCostaStarsRosalind RussellForrest TuckerCoral BrowneAn orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle.
- DirectorGene SaksStarsLucille BallRobert PrestonBea ArthurFollowing the death of his father, an orphan is sent to live with his free-spirited aunt.Film adaptation of stage musical.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
- DirectorDick PowellStarsJune AllysonJack LemmonCharles BickfordEllen (June Allyson) is kidnapped by her father (Charles Bickford) after she ran off and got married to someone he thinks is a gold digger. She escapes and starts an adventurous trip back to Houston to be with her husband. Her father hires a private investigator to stop her. On the bus to Houston, a newspaper man (Jack Lemmon) figures out who she is. Instead of cashing in on the big story and the reward money he falls in love with her.Musical remake of "It Happened One Night".
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsJune AllysonJoan CollinsDolores GrayFormer nightclub singer Kay Hilliard, married 10 years and mother of a young daughter, is informed that her husband Steven is having an affair with chorus girl Crystal Allen, so she goes to Reno for a divorce.Remake of "The Women".
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsRosalind RussellBrian AherneJanet BlairTwo sisters move from Ohio to New York with hopes of stardom.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsJanet LeighJack LemmonBetty GarrettAfter submitting a story of her beautiful sister, a woman assumes her identity to maintain the attention of a playboy publisher.The original source material had been adapted into the Broadway musical "Wonderful Town", with the star of the previous film Rosalind Russell. This musical uses the same source material, but has entirely new music (opting not to bring "Wonderful Town" to the big screen).
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckOscar HomolkaA group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsDanny KayeVirginia MayoBenny GoodmanWith her gangster boyfriend under investigation by the police, a nightclub singer hides out in a musical research institution staffed by bachelor professors - one of whom begins to fall for her.Music-infused remake of "Ball of Fire", by the same director (Howard Hawks). The cast boasts musicians like Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Louis Armstrong. Mary Field reprises her role as Miss Totten.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRalph BellamyA married couple file an amicable divorce, but find it harder to let go of each other than they initially thought.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsJane WymanRay MillandAldo RayIn this 1953 musical remake of "The Awful Truth", Wyman is married to womanizing composer Milland and sets out to give him some of his own medicine. She has an affair, but her ploy backfires, and the couple get a divorce. Once separated, they try every way to make each other jealous.Musical reworking of "The Awful Truth".
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsJonathan HazeJackie JosephMel WellesA clumsy young man working at an impoverished flower shop discovers that the strange plant he has been nurturing has an insatiable appetite for blood, forcing him to kill to feed it.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsRick MoranisEllen GreeneVincent GardeniaA nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.Movie version of stage musical based on the earlier film.
- DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsGerard ButlerEmmy RossumPatrick WilsonA young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.This example is a little bit different, but if I included "My Fair Lady" and "Oliver!", I had to include "Phantom". The hit stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber is very different from the silent horror film from six decades earlier, though both are based on the Gaston Leroux book. Not quite a "remake", but a musical version of the same story.
- DirectorRichard BoleslawskiStarsFredric MarchCharles LaughtonCedric HardwickeIn early-19th-century France, an ex-convict who failed to report to parole is relentlessly pursued over a 20-year period by an obsessive policeman.Just one of many film adaptations of Victor Hugo's classic novel.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsHugh JackmanRussell CroweAnne HathawayIn 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.Movie version of the smash stage musical, based on Victor Hugo's novel.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxA penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play.Based on a play.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsAdolphe MenjouGeorge MurphyFrank SinatraGordon Miller is rehearsing a musical comedy in the penthouse suite of Gribble's hotel...on credit. The mounting bill is driving Gribble frantic. Chaos increases when playwright Glen Russell, whose dramatic play he thinks Miller is producing, arrives. But it turns out Russell can sing like Sinatra, and Miller has leading lady Christine turn on the charm. Can Miller's crazed machinations save the show?Musical version of the "Room Service" stage play.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsWallace BeeryLionel BarrymoreAline MacMahonStory of small-town life in turn-of-the-century America, and a young boy's problems facing adolescence.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsMickey RooneyGloria DeHavenWalter HustonDannville, Connecticut at the turn of the century. Young Richard Miller lives in a middle-class neighborhood with his family. He is in love with the girl next door Muriel, but her father isn't too happy with their puppy love, since Richard always shares his revolutionary ideas with her.Musical version of "Ah, Wilderness!" (based on the play). Mickey Rooney, who played the younger brother in the 1935 film, graduates into the lead here.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsGinger RogersDavid NivenCharles CoburnAn unemployed woman discovers an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage, and accepts an offer to take responsibility for the child in return for a job.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsEddie FisherDebbie ReynoldsAdolphe MenjouAfter finding a baby outside an orphanage, a salesgirl receives sympathy from those around her, including her boss' son, as they all assume the baby is hers.Musical remake of "Bachelor Mother".
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsReginald OwenGene LockhartKathleen LockhartAn elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.One of several non-musical adaptations of Charles Dickens's beloved story.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlbert FinneyAlec GuinnessEdith EvansA musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.Not necessarily a remake of any particular movie, but a musical version of the Dickens story.
- DirectorFrank UrsonStarsPhyllis HaverVictor VarconiVirginia BradfordA wild jazz-loving and boozing wife Roxie Hart, kills her boyfriend in cold blood after he leaves her.Also remade as non-musical Ginger Rogers vehicle "Roxie Hart" (1942).
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.Movie version of hit Broadway musical.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsIrene DunneRex HarrisonLinda DarnellIn 1862, a young Englishwoman becomes royal tutor in Siam and befriends the King.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsYul BrynnerDeborah KerrRita MorenoA widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.Movie version of Broadway musical that tells the same story as "Anna and the King of Siam".
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsRonald ColmanMarlene DietrichJames CraigIn ancient Baghdad, Hafiz the King of Beggars dreams of untold riches and of marrying his daughter to a real prince.One of several films based on a successful Arabian Nights play.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStanley DonenStarsHoward KeelAnn BlythDolores GrayA roguish poet is given the run of the scheming Wazir's harem while pretending to help him usurp the young caliph.Film adaptation of hit Broadway musical based on "Kismet" play.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsWill RogersWilliam FarnumFrank AlbertsonA radio salesman finds himself transported back in time to King Arthur's court.Based on Mark Twain's book.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsBing CrosbyRhonda FlemingCedric HardwickeA singing mechanic from 1912 finds himself in Arthurian Britain.Intended as a film version of the Rodgers & Hart musical, but became a musical adaptation of Twain's source material with all-new songs.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsDaniel Day-LewisMarion CotillardPenélope CruzFamous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother.Based on a stage show inspired by Fellini.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsGiulietta MasinaFrançois PérierFranca MarziA waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsShirley MacLaineJohn McMartinRicardo MontalbanTaxi dancer Charity continues to have faith despite endless disappointments at its hands, and hope that she will finally meet the man to romance her away from her sleazy life. Maybe, just maybe, handsome Oscar will be the one to do it.Film adaptation of Broadway show, based on "Nights of Cabiria".
- DirectorStephen RobertsStarsGary CooperFay WrayFrances FullerMiddle-aged dentist Biff Grimes reminisces about his unrequited love for beautiful Virginia Brush and her husband Hugo, his ex-friend, who betrayed him.First remade in 1941 as the non-musical "The Strawberry Blonde" with James Cagney.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsDennis MorganJanis PaigeDon DeForeBiff Grimes has spent the last ten years regretting that he hadn't married Virginia Brush, the girl of his dreams. Virginia ran off and married his best friend - breaking his heart. Virginia's best friend, Amy, consoles Biff.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsHenry FondaOlivia de HavillandJoan LeslieA college English teacher suddenly finds himself the center of a free-speech debate on campus.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsVirginia MayoRonald ReaganGene NelsonA burlesque dancer goes to college, where she romances a professor and helps put on a musical show.Musical reworking of "The Male Animal".
- DirectorLeo McCareyRay McCareyNorman Z. McLeodStarsHarold LloydAdolphe MenjouVerree TeasdaleTimid milkman, Burleigh Sullivan (Lloyd), somehow knocks out a boxing champ in a brawl. The fighter's manager decides to build up the milkman's reputation in a series of fixed fights and then have the champ beat him to regain his title.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsDanny KayeVirginia MayoVera-EllenAfter a timid milkman knocks unconscious a boxing champion who was accosting his sister, he decides to take up boxing himself in order to impress a beautiful nightclub singer.Remake of "The Milky Way", with Lionel Stander reprising his supporting role.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsSonny BonoRuth BrownDivineA 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
- DirectorAdam ShankmanStarsJohn TravoltaQueen LatifahNikki BlonskyPleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.Movie version of hit Broadway musical.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsJean ArthurFred MacMurrayMelvyn DouglasLong-missing Bill Cardew returns to find his wife Vicky remarried...and in no hurry to settle for just one husband.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsBetty GrableMarge ChampionGower ChampionA widowed singer marries her late husband's songwriting partner, which leads to trouble when her first husband turns up very much alive.Musical version of "Too Many Husbands".
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinGabriel GabrioSaturnin FabreA wanted gangster is both king and prisoner of the Casbah. He is protected from arrest by his friends, but is torn by his desire for freedom outside. A visiting Parisian beauty may just tempt his fate.French movie remade (non-musically) in America in 1938 as "Algiers" with Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsYvonne De CarloTony MartinPeter LorreThe life, loves and adventures of a classic Casbah thief.Musical version of "Pepe le Moko"/"Algiers".
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsGinger RogersGeorge MurphyAlan MarshalWorking girl Janie is proposed to by a conservative car salesman, a bohemian auto mechanic, and a millionaire playboy and must make a choice.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsJane PowellCliff RobertsonKeith AndesDodie dreams of marrying a millionaire so that she can live 'the life'. Buzz, her boyfriend, however is not rich as he is a salesman for a housing development. He proposes and Dodie accepts. Dodie next meets Pete, who she thinks is rich, but she soon finds out that he is just a boat mechanic. They have fun on their date and Pete proposes and Dodie accepts. Then Dodie meets Neil Patterson who is rich. They go to Mexico on his yacht and have fun on their date. Neil proposes and Dodie accepts. Now she has to choose.Musical remake of "Tom, Dick, and Harry".
- DirectorJacqueline AudryStarsGaby MorlayJean TissierYvonne de BrayGilberte is a sixteen year old girl raised by her aunt and grandmother to be a demimondaine. But she's not ready for that yet, and spends her days in lessons and in teasing Mamita's old friend, the rich playboy Gaston LaChaille, and following his affairs from afar. But when Gaston throws off his latest mistress, it looks as if Gigi just might be ready to begin her destined career.French movie.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMaurice ChevalierLouis JourdanWeary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.Based on French novella, which had previously been adapted as a successful non-musical stage play. Songwriter Alan Jay Lerner wrote the screenplay adaptation.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsLionel BarrymoreBlanche FridericiCharles LaneA prostitute seeking a fresh start becomes the obsession of a religious extremist.Silent version of W. Somerset Maugham's story, remade with sound in 1932 as "Rain" with Joan Crawford.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsRita HayworthJosé FerrerAldo RayA self-righteous missionary man seeks to save the soul of a former prostitute.Not a full-blown musical.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierStarsDorothy ShortKenneth CraigLillian MilesCautionary tale that features a fictionalized take on marijuana use. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.
- DirectorAndy FickmanStarsKristen BellChristian CampbellNeve CampbellAn outrageous tongue-in-cheek musical comedy adaptation of the classic anti-marijuana propaganda film Reefer Madness (1936).TV movie version of stage musical inspired by infamous 1930s anti-marijuana propaganda flick.