In this first episode of a three-part series, presenter and musician Neil Brand argues that the movie musical was the most important form of cinema from the advent of the age of sound. Beginning with the very first film musical, 1929's Broadway Melody, Brand looks at the huge and lasting impact of the musical and, in his trademark analysis of songs at the piano, takes us through some of the most important numbers in this first golden age.

In the second episode of the series, Neil Brand looks at how the movie musical entered a second golden age in the aftermath of World War II.

In this final episode, Neil Brand asks how the movie musical survived in our modern age.