Broadway Video Database - 1949

Complete listings of Broadway shows that have been filmed, taped or adapted, films that have made their way to the stage or vice-versa, concerts, documentaries, films with a theatrical focus and more! If it's theatre or star related and available on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, Netflix or Amazon ... we've got it!

Beauty and the Beast (7/19/2011) The sublime adaptation by Jean Cocteau (Orpheus) of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece--in which the true love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast--is a landmark feat of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais (Orpheus) and Josette Day (Les parents terribles). The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder.
Rio Rita (6/27/2011) It's fiesta time in Vista Del Rio, and that means much musical celebration. It's also a time of global war. So, in the updated plot of this exuberant World War II-era remake of the 1929 Wheeler and Woolsey romp, that means little Vista Del Rio is a jalapen?o hotbed of Axis spies. The agents intend to use a fiesta radio show to send a coded message, a scheme that may be scrambled silly when stumblebums Doc and Wishy stumble onto it. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play the inept duo in this musical c...
The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1/1/2011) Movies often visit the theme of a mother's love, but few match the poignancy and power of The Sin of Madelon Claudet. Renowned "First Lady of the American Theatre" Helen Hayes makes her Hollywood debut a most memorable one, winning the Best Actress Academy Award® (1930-31) for her portrayal of an abandoned young mother whose devotion to her child and desperate sacrifices to provide for him lead her into harlotry. Hayes's husband Charles MacArthur (The Front Page) provides the screen adaptation o...
The Letter (1/11/2005) In the opening sequence of The Letter, director William Wyler delivers a primer on film directing: at a rubber plantation, in the tropical funk of a Malaysian night, the heavy stillness is suddenly broken by shots... and a woman with a gun, descending a staircase. She is the wife of the plantation owner, and the dead man is, ahem, not her husband. Holding the gun so securely is Bette Davis, in one of her greatest performances (her acting of a big revelation, late in the film, is still an astound...
Meet Me in St. Louis (4/6/2004) In the year before the 1904 St Louis World's Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde It took John Barrymore to bring class to the American horror film, at least in the eyes of the industry. Dignified and virtuous as Dr. Henry Jekyll in this 1920 silent, Barrymore transforms into id incarnate as the lascivious Mr. Hyde. With almost no makeup beyond his gnarled, knobby fingers and greasy hair, Barrymore relies almost solely on a bug-eyed grimace, a spidery body language, and pure theatrical flourish. He tends to be hammy as the leering beast of a thug but brings a tortured struggl...
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that changes him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
Babes in Arms The struggle of two talented young artists, to make their own way in the show business.
A Tale of Two Cities "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." Charles Dickens' tale of love and tumult during the French Revolution comes to the screen in a sumptuous film version by the producer famed for nurturing sprawling literary works: David O. Selznick (David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, Gone with the Wind). Ronald Colman (The Prisoner of Zenda) stars as Sydney Carton ? sardonic, dissolute, a wastrel...and destined to redeem himself in an act of courageous sacrifice. "It's a far, far better th...
Jane Eyre Jane Eyre secures a job as governess to the child (Margaret O'Brien) of the troubled Edward Rochester, sire of Thornfield, a mysterious English manor. When she hears strange cries and noises from a distant wing, her inquiries are rebuffed. As time goes on, Jane and her master fall in love and decide to marry. But their halted when a visitor suddenly reveals the shocking secret that Rochester has kept for years.
Ziegfeld Follies The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
Kismet Hafiz, the jovial King of Beggars, dons new garments and slips into the royal palace to woo his regal "Lady of the Moonlight." Meanwhile, Bagdad's new Caliph carries out his own masquerade, posing as a gardener's son and roaming the city...where he falls in love with a peasant girl who happens to be Hafiz's daughter. How will it all work out? It depends on the machinations of court intrigue and on fate - kismet. As Hafiz, Ronald Colman is up to his turban in mischief in this often-filmed bauble ...
Babes in Toyland (or March of the Wooden Soldiers) Imagine an enchanted fantasy world of timeless characters and magical moments where nothing goes right for toy makers, Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee. Based on the original Babes in Toyland, this movie is a dazzling spectacle of 6-foot wooden soldiers, Mother Goose characters and the beloved team of Laurel and Hardy. This holiday classic is perfect for the Christmas season. In color and expertly restored, this film will surely become a part of your family holiday tradition.
Applause Based on a novel by Beth Brown, this 1929 film musical tells the story of Kitty Darling, a fading Burlesque star.
Holiday Inn At an inn which is only open on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
Grand Hotel A group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.
Little Women Little Women is a "coming of age" drama tracing the lives of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. During the American Civil War, the girls father is away serving as a minister to the troops. The family, headed by their beloved Marmee, must struggle to make ends meet, with the help of their kind and wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, and his high spirited grandson Laurie.
Little Women Louisa May Alcott's famous novel of the March family, brought to the screen.
The Secret Garden When tempestuous Mary Lennox, born in India to wealthy parents, is orphaned by a cholera epidemic, she is sent to live with her reclusive and embittered Uncle Archibald Craven and her ill-behaved, bedridden cousin Colin at their desolate and decaying estate known as Misselthwaite Manor. Dickon, the brother of one of the house maids, tells her of a garden secreted behind a hidden door in a vine-covered wall. When a raven unearths the key, the two enter and discover the garden is overgrown from ne...
Anchors Aweigh Anchors Aweigh - The legendary talents of Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra combine to create an unparalleled song-and-dance explosion! This spritely tale of two lovesick sailors on shore leave in Hollywood co-stars beautiful Kathryn Grayson as Susie, an aspiring young singer, and child star Dean Stockwell as her nephew who wants to run away and join the Navy. Both sailors fall hard for Susie, with "Sea Wolf" Joe Brady (Kelly) rivaling his bookish best friend Clarence (Sinatra) for her affections. Th...
A Day At The Races Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's farm by winning a big race with her horse. There are a few problems. Hackenbush runs a high priced clinic for the wealthy who don't know he has his degree in Veterinary Medicine.
Henry V Dubbed the greatest actor of the twentieth century, Sir Laurence Olivier, the classically trained and majestically handsome English theater veteran, first transplanted his passion for Shakespeare to the big screen in the 1940s, and in so doing, allowed Elizabethan verse to break free of its stage-bound origins. Olivier directed only five films in his sixty-year career, yet his three Shakespeare adaptations (Henry V, Hamlet, Richard III), presented here together on DVD for the first time, are sti...
Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare's classic tale of love and youth ruined by a family feud. The Montagues and the Capulets, two powerful families of Verona, hate each other. Romeo, a Montague, crashes a Capulet party, and there meets Juliet. They fall in love and secretly marry. After killing a nephew of Lady Capulet in a fight, Romeo is banished from Verona. Capulet tries to marry Juliet to Paris, a prince. Juliet seeks the counsel of Friar Laurence, who married her and Romeo. He suggests a daring plan that ends tra...
Macbeth 11th-century Scottish nobleman Macbeth is led by an evil prophecy and his ruthless yet desirable wife to the treasonous act that makes him king. But he does not enjoy his newfound, dearly-won kingship.
The Taming of the Shrew In sixteenth century Padua, Hortensio loves Bianca, the youngest daughter of Baptista. But Baptista will not allow the two to get married until his eldest daughter, the extremely headstrong Katherine, is betrothed. This task seems impossible because of Katherine's shrewish demeanor. They believe their prayers have been answered with the arrival from Verona of the lusty Petruchio, whose father has just passed, leaving him to travel the world and marry. Having not yet met her, Petruchio agrees to ...
A Midsummer Night's Dream Love is blind, fickle and true. And under the sway of capricious fairies it becomes blinder ( a queen romances as donkey), more fickle (best friends swoon over each other's beau) and truest of all (lovers repledge their devotion). "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" in Shakespeare's bewitching comedy!
The Boys from Syracuse THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE stars Allen Jones, Irene Hervey, Martha Raye, Joe Penner and Alan Mowbray. It is loosely based on the play by William Shakespeare "The Comedy of Errors". The Action taks place in Ephesus in ancient Asia Minor and concerns the efforts of two boys from Syracuse. Complications arise when their wives mistake two strangers for their husbands.
A Date with Judy Developed from a radio program which began in 1941, hyperactive teenager Judy challenges and is challeged by her overly proper parents, pest of a brother Randolph and boyfriend Oogie.
A Damsel In Distress Astaire teams up with Burns & Allen to bring some good ol' American music and mayhem to stately England. There, lovely Joan Fontaine pines for a husband and finds Astaire. Naturally, A Damsel in Distress becomes a lady in love. Enjoy George Gershwin's last completed score, including the pensive "A Foggy Day" amd "Nice Work If You Can Get It" plus the famed Astaire-Burns-Allen fun house dance and other inspired stepping-out that earned dance director Hermes Pan an Academy Award(R). Renowned "Jeev...
Hamlet Laurence Olivier stars in and directs this classic version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the towering tragedy of the Danish prince who feigns madness to trap his father's murderer. This brilliant production earned critical acclaim and four 1948 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Actor, Art Direction-Set Direction, and Costume Design.
42nd Street When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
Night and Day Swellegant and elegant. Deluxe and delovely. Cole Porter was the most sophisticated name in 20th-century songwriting. And to play him on screen, Hollywood chose debonair icon Cary Grant. Grant stars for the first time in color in this fanciful biopic. Alexis Smith plays Linda, whose serendipitous meetings with Cole lead to a meeting at the altar. More than 20 Porter songs grace this tale of triumph and tragedy, with Grant lending his amiable voice to You're the Top, Night and Day and more. Monty...
The Barkleys of Broadway The last Astaire/Rogers movie, about a show-biz team divided by career ambitions, is also the duo's only color film. Highlights: Fred's Shoes with Wings On and the pair's They Can't Take That Away from Me.
Blithe Spirit Adapted from a play by Noel Coward, Charles and his second wife Ruth, are haunted by the ghost of his first wife, Elvira. Medium Madame Arcati tries to help things out by contacting the ghost.
Arsenic and Old Lace A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.
Les Miserables In 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.
Miracle on 34th Street When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing.
It's a Wonderful Life George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?
The Hunchback of Notre Dame In 15th century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
You Can't Take It With You A good-natured but decidedly eccentric family meets a new friend.
The Women Be careful what you say in private. It could become a movie. Some gossip overheard by Clare Boothe Luce in a nightclub powder room inspired her Broadway hit that's wittily adapted for the screen in The Women. George Cukor directs an all-female cast in this catty tale of battling and bonding that paints its claws Jungle Red and shreds the excesses of pampered Park Avenue princesses. Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland and Paulette Goddard are among the array of husband sna...
The Wizard of Oz When it was released during Hollywood's golden year of 1939, The Wizard of Oz didn't start out as the perennial classic it has since become. The film did respectable business, but it wasn't until its debut on television that this family favorite saw its popularity soar. And while Oz's TV broadcasts are now controlled by media mogul Ted Turner (who owns the rights), the advent of home video has made this lively musical a mainstay in the staple diet of great American films. Young Dorothy Gale (Jud...
Without Love In World War II Washington DC, scientist Pat Jamieson's assistant, Jamie Rowan, enters a loveless marriage with him. Struggles bring them closer together.
We're Not Dressing Beautiful high society type Doris Worthington is entertaining guests on her yacht in the Pacific when it hits a reef and sinks. She makes her way to an island with the help of singing sailor Stephen Jones. Her friend Edith, Uncle Hubert, and Princes Michael and Alexander make it to the same island but all prove to be useless in the art of survival. The sailor is the only one with the practical knowhow to survive but Doris and the others snub his leadership offer. That is until he starts a clam b...
Waterloo Bridge Vivian Leigh stars as a ballerina in war-torn England who turns to prostitution when she believes her fiance has died in the war in this drama based on Robert E. Sherwood's acclaimed play. Robert Taylor co-stars. Year: 1940 Director: Mervyn LeRoy Starring: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson, Virginia Field, Maria Ouspenskaya.
Thunder Rock Redgrave plays British journalist Charleston in the decade before WWII., where he witnesses the onslaught of fascism.
Stage Door A boardinghouse full of aspiring actresses and their ambitions, dreams and disappointments.
Seventh Heaven A young couple, expecting their first child, are told tales by one of their tenants that frighten the wife, who believes they may be prophecies concerning their unborn child.
Roxie Hart To try and kick-start her show-business career, our heroine admits to a Chicago murder. But although Cook County don't seem to let dames swing, and even with top slippery lawyer Billy Flynn, it's all something of a gamble. (Jeremy Perkins for IMDB.com)
Rope Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.