# Best Movie Musical Numbers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649 "2001-07-24T18:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/1 "2001-07-24T18:12:58Z")
I was watching “Gold Diggers of 1935” on TCM this week and was bowled over again by the “Lullabye of Broadway” number. Insane genius, that Busby Berkeley! What are your favorite musical numbers? • More Berkeley moments: “42nd Street;” exercise coach Charlotte Greenwood singing “Bend, Down, Sister” in “Palmy Days;” Carmen Miranda’s “Lady in the Tutti-Fruitti Hat” number from “The Gang’s All Here;” the delightfully awful “Shanghai Lil” number from “Footlight Parade” (the movie that also contains the infamous Peeing Fountain). • Kay Thompson belting out “Think Pink!” in “Funny Face.” • The best of the Astaire/Rogers duets: “Night and Day,” “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.” • The immortal Lyda Roberti singing “It’s Terrific When I Get Hot” in “Million Dollar Legs.” I’m sure I’ll think of more . . . ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/2 "2001-07-24T18:26:06Z")
I love “Go Home with Bonnie Jean” from Brigadoon. I especially like the dancing. Of course, with Gene Kelly, you can’t go wrong. Also, nothing is more serene than Gordon MacRae (hubba hubba) singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” from Oklahoma. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/3 "2001-07-24T18:53:32Z")
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: MM burns up the set in ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’. West Side Story: Rita Moreno’s ‘I Like To Be In America’. Carousel: MacRae and Jones ‘If I Loved You’. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/4 "2001-07-24T18:53:51Z")
I’ve been dancing round my living room singing “Meine liebe Herr” from **Caberet** all day today. I **love** Caberet, and that number in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/5 "2001-07-24T18:57:21Z")
I use to love those huge Busby Berkeley numbers. Like little human kalidescopes right there on your TV! However, I’ll have to go with Gene Kelly. My favorite is the whole “pitch sequence” in “Singing in the Rain”. Especially the part where he dances with Cyd Charrise. But then James Cagney taping down the stairs of the White House in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” is nothing to sneeze at either. Oh, and Esther Williams, not exactly dance numbers, per se, more “swim numbers”. Didn’t Mr. Berkeley choreograph a few of her movies? **sigh…I wish we got TCM** ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/6 "2001-07-24T19:11:00Z")
Just to start off: [ul] [li]“America!” and “Cool”[/li][li]“Rich Man’s Frug” from Sweet Charity (I saw this the other day, and loved it once again).[/li][li]I’ll also agree with “Let’s Face The Music and Dance”[/li][li]“Who Will Buy” from Oliver![/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/7 "2001-07-24T19:14:42Z")
“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: MM burns up the set in ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’." Cyn—I love Mar’, too, but I’ll hand the laurel wreath to Jane Russell and Her All-Boy Chorus in the “Anyone Here for Love?” number in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/8 "2001-07-24T21:50:30Z")
“Baby, You Knock Me Out” from _It’s Always Fair Weather_ “By a Waterfall” from _Footlight Parade_ “A Day in New York Ballet” from _On the Town_ “Down Argentine Way” from _Down Argentine Way_ (Nicholas Bros. version) “If You Could See Her” from _Cabaret_ “Love Is Good for Anything That Ails You” from _Pennies from Heaven_ “Once a Year Day” from _The Pajama Game_ “Pick Yourself Up” from _Swing Time_ “The Poor Apache” from _Love Me Tonight_ “The Trolley Song” from _Meet Me in St. Louis_ ---
**Author:** ![Tyklfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tyklfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyklfe)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/9 "2001-07-24T22:16:55Z")
_Hello Dolly_ from ??? Hello Dolly ??? Also _Diamonds are a girls best friend_ from **Moulin Rouge** ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/10 "2001-07-24T22:54:40Z")
My favorite number in _West Side Story_ is the mambo in the gymnasium. A lot of people put it second-tier below “America” or whatever, but I think it’s got raw energy that works on several levels: the sexuality of the teens showing off for one another, the rivalry between the two gangs trying to best each other, and the pure joy of physical movement. There’s a Gene Kelly movie – I think it’s _The Pirate_ – where he does a tap number with the Nicholas Brothers. Kelly’s no slouch, but the brothers blow him off the screen. Great fun. And then, of course, there’s _South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut_, and the amazing “La Resistance” medly. High-larious. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/11 "2001-07-24T23:08:15Z")
Allow me to show off my more plebian tastes. Cab Calloway performing “Minnie the Moocher” in the Blues Brothers. I forget what the song is Ray Charles performs, but his scene is also excellent. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/12 "2001-07-24T23:10:47Z")
Busby Berkeley movies have cool cinematography, but no real dancing. For that, give me Fred Astaire every time. I like the roller-skate number in _Shall We Dance_, and the solo “shoemaker” tap routine in _The Barkleys of Broadway_. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/13 "2001-07-24T23:21:49Z")
Probably a controversial choice, but “Step in Time” from _Mary Poppins_. Also, “Madam Librarian” from _The Music Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Knight16](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/35a633/32.png) [@Knight16](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knight16)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/14 "2001-07-24T23:34:25Z")
Best musical numbers in movies are: 5. “Skid Row” from “Little Shop of Horrors” 4. “June is Busting Out All Over” from “Carousel” 3. “Ya got Trouble” from “The Music Man” (How Robert Preston did that number on Broadway without flubbing, I’ll never know.) 2. The entire Munchkin scene from “The Wizard of Oz” From “I don’t think were in Kansas…” until the girl trots down the Yellow Brick road. (C’mon, who doesn’t know the Lollipop Guild?) And number one… 1. “Shall We Dance” from “The King and I” (Just feel the sexual tension exploded when Yul grabs Deb by the waist and spins her across the grand ballroom floor.) Comments? ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/15 "2001-07-24T23:39:35Z")
I’m with Saint Zero. The Blues Brothers was the ulitmate musical. West Side Story was good, but it wasn’t enough. It’s hard not to love Aretha! The Ray Charles song was “Shake your tailfeathers”… awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Rossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@Rossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rossarian)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/16 "2001-07-25T00:09:27Z")
The **Camelot Song** from _Holy Grail_. 🙂 Sorry, I really don’t have any culture. “On second thought, let’s not go to Camelot. Tis a silly place.” ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/17 "2001-07-25T00:23:10Z")
My turn: 1. Trouble–“Music Man” 2. America–“West Side Story” 3. Nothin’ Like a Dame–“South Pacific” 4. Ferry Cross the Mersey–I think that was the title tune (it was with Gerry and the Pacemakers). 5. Both of Euty’s choices were good in my book 6. Hymn to Him–“My Fair Lady” 7. Get Me to the Church on Time–My Fair Lady 8. Kirk Douglas’s Whale of a Tale–“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” (OK, OK it’s not really a musical but I did love that song). 9. Thanks for the Memories–“Big Broadcast of 1936(?)” (not sure of the date on that one) 10. Minnie the Moocher–In both movies I’ve seen it in. 11. Yesterday–“Hard Day’s Night” 12. Aretha in “The Blue’s Brothers”. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/18 "2001-07-25T01:29:24Z")
**Anything** from “The Music Man” and “My Fair Lady.” My very favorite? “Wouldn’t It be Loverly.” I love that one. _All I want is a room somewhere, far away from the cold nights air…_ ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/19 "2001-07-25T01:31:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > \*_… nights air…_ > \*\* NIGHT air…NIGHT…not night **S** (what an idiot) ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649/20 "2001-07-25T03:38:41Z")
This isn’t the sort of thing you were looking for, but the Puttin’ on the Ritz scene from “Young Frankenstein” kills me every time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-musical-numbers/73649.md?page=2)