Though not strictly limited to the format of the musical, films about music itself and about the lives and passions of musicians and musical performers are a favourite subject of cinema. Composers like Johann Strauss, Schubert and Mozart are the heroes of many a motion picture. Mario Lanza played Enrico Caruso, Barbra Streisand played Fanny Brice, and movies have been made of the lives of Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Janis Joplin. And then there is Gertrude Lawrence and Ruth Etting. Who? Find out more.
Producer: Pete Myers
Broadcast: September 27, 1991