Howard Keel at the height of his career in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, with Jane Powell. In his autobiography, Only Make Believe: My Life in Show Business, Howard Keel refers to the making of Stanley Donen’s 1954 sleeper blockbuster…
Jack Cummings
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MGM Musicals Box Office Fail: Could Howard Keel Career Be Rescued After Three Consecutive Flops?
by Andre S.Howard Keel MGM musicals: Texas Carnival publicity shot with Esther Williams. In his MGM musicals of the 1950s, Howard Keel was almost always paired with small, girl-like leading ladies – Betty Hutton, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Blyth, Jane Powell – which…
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Howard Keel Musicals: Box Office Ups & Downs Emblematic of Genre Woes in 1950s Hollywood
by Andre S.Howard Keel musicals at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: Box office roller-coaster ride. Brought to Hollywood in 1948 to star in MGM’s then popular musicals, stage performer Howard Keel seemed poised to reach major stardom after the impressive international success of his first movie…
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Howard Keel: The Strong, Singing Type Embodied Rugged American Virility in Mid-Century MGM Musicals
by Andre S.Howard Keel publicity shot ca. 1950. A prominent name in Hollywood musicals in the first half of the 1950s, Howard Keel was seen – and heard – as baritone-voiced, larger-than-life characters in a quintet of the best-liked entries in the…