Here is yet another top ten list, this time of the top musicals every created. The first thing to note is that this seems to be a cyclical genre. Though there have been a few notable films in recent years the heyday of the musical was the mid-1960s. These films are beloved and their music has been beloved and constantly remade for years. In addition they have been righly awarded. Nearly half of the films on the list won the Best Picture Oscar for their year and the others share a bevy of other awards.
The ingredients for a successful musical seem to be to take a dynamite composing team like Bernstein and Sondheim, or Rogers and Hammerstein, or George and Ira Gershwin, combine them with a little technicolor, and add Gene Kelly, or Julie Andrews, or Judy Garland. So here they are, my list of the best musicals ever brought to the screen.
1. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Easily the Best musical ever made it is also one of the best movies ever made and one of the best films about Hollywood. This film stars Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor as three actors trying to cope as Hollywood changes from silent pictures to talkies. The film features memorable numbers like Singin in the Rain, Good Morning, Make ‘Em Laugh, and Moses. It also includes a dance number with Kelly and Cyd Charisse.
2. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
A perennial favorite shown every Easter about a Kansas farm girl who goes to a magical place called Oz. Technicolor never looked more spectacular and the film’s fantasy world stands up well to the tests of time. No one did it better than Judy and here she is showcased singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
3. My Fair Lady (1964)
A wonderful musical from the heyday of the musical in the early 60s. The film won the best picture Oscar in 1965. Here Professor Higgins, Rex Harrison, turns cockney flower girl Eliza, Audrey Hepburn, into a princess for a day. This film features I Could Have Danced All Night and Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.
4. The Sound of Music (1965)
The indominable Julie Andrews the queen of the 60s musical in her biggest film. This one is a bit high on the saccharine but you can’t beat the score with Rodgers and Hammerstein gems like The Sound of Music, My Favorite Things, and Climb Every Mountain. The film sets up a governess and her numerous charges against the Nazis in Austria and won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1966.
5. Funny Girl (1968)
This one is a loose autobiography of comedienne performer Fannie Brice and stars Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif. This one is a surprisingly serious film and features song like Don’t Rain on My Parade and People. It was Streisand’s first film but she already had quite a presence for this role she won the Best Actress Oscar in one of the Academy’s few ties with Katharine Hepburn for Lion in Winter.
6. Mary Poppins (1964)
The other great Julie Andrews film, this one didn’t win the Best Picture Oscar but it did win a Best Actress award for Andrews. An unforgettably imaginative film about an English nanny and her two charges the film features songs like Chim-Chim-Cheree and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
7. Meet Me in St Louis (1944)
The second film from the stellar Judy Garland Meet Me in St Louis is a sweet musical about the Smith family and their trials and tribulations in 1903 leading up to the world’s fair. Garland never looked better as filmed by her future husband Vincente Minnelli. The film features the charmingly light The Trolley Song as well as the perennial Christmas favorite Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
8. An American in Paris (1951)
Another Vincente Minnelli creation this one starring Gene Kelly as the American in question who meets a lovely and mysterious girl, played by Leslie Caron, in Paris. This is another George and Ira Gershwin score accentuated by Kelly’s amazing dance numbers. There are a number of timeless classics in this soundtrack including Our Love is Here to Stay, I Got Rhythm, and S Wonderful. An American in Paris beat out A Place in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire to take home the Best Picture of 1952 Academy Award.
9. West Side Story (1961)
This story of two rival gangs in New York and a pair of star crossed lovers was an update of Romeo and Juliet. This film seems a bit dated but it still has one of the greatest soundtracks thanks to Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim. The soundtrack includes Maria, America, Tonight, I Feel Pretty, and Somewhere. The film won a staggering 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
10. Shall We Dance (1937)
With a soundtrack by George and Ira Gershwin it had to be good. This is the gem in the crown of Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films featuring songs like Shall We Dance?, The Can’t Take That Away From Me, and Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.
also
Moulin Rouge, The Muppet Movie. Grease, On the Town, High Society, Cabaret, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Holiday Inn
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- My Best Movie Songs
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