a 1957 black and white movies based on a musical

A con man comes to an Iowa town with a scam using a boy's marching band program, but things don't go according to plan.

Con man "Professor" Harold Hill arrives in River City, Iowa, promising that he can teach the small town's children how to play in a magnificent marching band. It's all part of a big swindle, but falling in love with the town librarian wasn't part of the deal.

After writing a tell-all book about her days in the dance troupe "Barry Nichols and Les Girls", Sybil Wren is sued for libeling her fellow dancer Angele. A Rashômon style narrative presents the story from three points of view where Sybil accuses Angele of having an affair with Barry, while Angele insists that it was actually Sybil who was having the affair. Finally, Barry gives his side of the story.

After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka is sent to complete their mission and to retrieve them. She starts out condemning the decadent West, but gradually falls under its spell—with the help of an American movie producer. A remake of Ninotchka (1939).

Derek, a drifter who takes a job as a bartender at a hot night spot, and who thinks with his dick rather than his head, gets drawn into a murderous insurance scheme.

A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.

A cartoonist draws faces and figures on a blackboard - and they come to life.

During the 1950s, musical masterpieces that have yet to be equaled were produced in Cinemascope with stereophonic sound. These two episodes explore how the post-war years were alive with bold experimentation in musical film. Later in the decade, Rock & Roll became the musical choice of the younger generation and movie musicals followed suit. Highlights of this 2-part program include: Films based on smash Broadway musicals become the rage. A pretty starlet with no musical training named Marilyn Monroe takes the country by storm in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." With favorites from the previous decade continue to delight audiences: Rock & Roll films, songs and musical numbers.

This short features theatrical trailers of original musicals released by MGM in 1955 and visits the sets of films still in production. At the end, William Gibson, author of the novel "The Cobweb," introduces the cast of the film adaptation of his book.