Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.

They’re just some of the great partners who achieved fame by singing and dancing for the cinema. They’re all part of the golden age of Hollywood movie musicals.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, the musical was one of the top genres in the movie realm, but thereafter their popularity subsided, despite a smattering of solid film musicals in subsequent decades.

In recent years, the musical is making a comeback on the big screen. The success of films like “Chicago” and “Moulin Rouge!” have prompted Hollywood to take another look at the musical, inspiring new ways to bring song and dance to the big screen.

“Moulin Rouge!” appeared in 2001. Director Baz Luhrmann said he and Catherine Martin, the film’s production designer, were inspired to do a musical after seeing a Bollywood movie. Now, their film is number 25 in the American Film Institute’s list of top musicals. (“Singin’ in the Rain,” the 1952 MGM classic with Gene Kelly, is number one.)

The next year along came “Chicago,” a sharply satirical film set in the Windy City and starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere. It won six Oscars, including Best Picture, the first musical to do so in 34 years.

“Chicago” and “Moulin Rouge!” were both critically acclaimed and raked in bunches of money. They also showed a modern, cinematic touch in merging traditional dramatic elements with musical motifs.

Since their release, a number of musicals have been set to film, right on up to the recent release of “Mamma Mia!” Up against some tough summer rivals, that movie has done quite well for itself, considering competition like “The Dark Knight.”

Songs from The Beatles punctuate the film “Across the Universe.” Released last year, the musical chronicles the lives of its young characters through the 1960s.

“Sweeney Todd,” also released last year, garnered critical acclaim while mining the unique talents of Johnny Depp, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, in a gruesomely fun adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Depp was nominated for an Oscar.

Last year even found room for “Hairspray,” a remake of the campy John Waters’ cult classic from the ‘80s. It was adapted from the Broadway musical. Mainstream performers like John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer appeared in the popular film.

And “Dreamgirls,” which sprang from the 1981 Broadway musical, also found both critical kudos and a healthy audience. Singer Jennifer Hudson earned an Academy Award for her outstanding work in a supporting role.

So what do local musical movie fans think of this resurgence?

Chris Polson thinks films like “Hairspray,” “Chicago” and “Moulin Rouge!” are a little grittier than movie musicals like “Oklahoma.” Perhaps today’s audience can relate to them more, he said.

“I’ve always enjoyed musicals since I was a kid,” said Polson, who’s performed in a number of Texarkana Repertory Co. productions.

He remembers seeing “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music” when they first opened on the big screen. He recalls seeing the latter film twice at the drive-in and once more indoors.

“There was a group of us in high school that liked to find the old Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland musicals. They did a series of musicals, Mickey and Judy did,” Polson recalled.

Among them are “Strike Up the Band,” “Girl Crazy,” “Babes on Broadway” and “Babes in Arms.”

For people who enjoy musicals, Polson said, it’s appealing to see the songs carry the story and move the action along.

“They just love the spectacle of it, I know that, and the rhythm of the show,” he said about the fondness for musicals on film.

There’s no doubt Jimmy “Smitty” Smith, another TexRep regular, enjoys a musical on the big screen. He’d already seen the ABBA homage “Mamma Mia!” five times within the first two weeks of its opening.

“What happens is that I like it so much I try to drag other people to see it,” admitted Smith, who doesn’t favor getting deep when he ventures to the movie theater.

“When I go to a show I like to be entertained. I like a happy show. I like the kind that has a good, happy ending, the kind that I can laugh through,” he said.

Smith said anytime there’s a musical on the big screen, he’s there. And he said that’s true regardless of what the critics say. (“Mamma Mia!,” for example, has received a mixed response from critics.)

He said people enjoy seeing musicals on the big screen because they may not get a chance to see much theater in person.

“I think it’s because they’re fun,” added Smith.

Banks Lee of Texarkana intends to move back to Florida soon and get involved with Disney entertainment. He also shares a love of movie musicals.

“I think they’re appealing because it gives people who are never able to go to New York or London a chance to see an actual stage production,” said Lee.

“The movie helps introduce people to the musical,” he said.

Lee said a unique aspect of “Moulin Rouge!” is the contemporary songs featured in the film, even though the movie takes place in 1900.

“I just love that story,” Lee said.

He suspects that with the success of “Moulin Rouge!” filmmakers were inspired to put Broadway shows on film, and he thinks that movie musical resurgence is helping Broadway today.

Local Renay Turner said the movie musical brings the theater to those who may not be able to go to the stage.

“I guess my thoughts would be that you take shows that are very popular in theater ... and a lot of people don’t feel comfortable going to that or necessarily have access to those kind of shows,” she said.

Turner pointed out there’s also a crossover effect. Music-themed films like “Lion King” have later been set to stage on Broadway.

Part of the success, she added, is that movie musicals have had some starpower, such as Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in “Mamma Mia!”

They’ve also made money at the box office.

“You leave a movie not just with a good story, but with a song in your head,” said Turner.

Perhaps that’s the simple reason musicals have been successful on the big screen. Many of our memorable songs, after all, come from musicals.

Can you imagine life—much less “The Wizard of Oz”—without “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Judy Garland’s signature song from the film? Or Fred Astaire’s rendition of the Irving Berlin classic “Cheek to Cheek.”

But movie musicals can also combine the elements of standard musicals with the freedom of perspective allowed by the movie camera. The musicals of Busby Berkeley are a good example of this.

Berkeley’s “Footlight Parade,” released in 1933, features intricate patterns created by his showgirl swimmers in the “By a Waterfall” scene. At several points, it feels like you’re watching a human kaleidoscope. It’s something that could never be replicated on the traditional stage.

The musical heyday also gave us timeless movie stars.

Nebraska native Fred Astaire, the most elegant of dapper dancers, rose through vaudeville and the Broadway and London stage, only to make it big with RKO Pictures and the legendary partnership with Ginger Rogers. They made 10 films together, most of them in the 1930s. Rogers later won an Academy Award for a non-musical role in “Kitty Foyle.” And Astaire is lauded as one of the truly great dancers of the 20th century.

Then there’s the leggy, graceful, Texas-born Cyd Charisse, who died in June. She had the good fortune to dance with Astaire and Gene Kelly in a few MGM classics. Like Rogers, she continued on after the musical’s demise by performing in dramatic roles.

It’s doubtful any star could rise today through musical films to achieve the fame of Kelly, Astaire, Garland and Rogers. After all, in the studio system stars would sing and dance in a string of films under their contract.

The business is different today, but musicals still offer a chance for the contemporary actor to show off talent by not only dramatically moving us but also by literally moving and singing across the movie set, straight into our hearts.