Musical (Song and Dance) Movie Moments and Scenes

Greatest Musical (Song and Dance) Movie Moments and Scenes

The following listing (in multiple parts) was an attempt to compile a collection of many of the greatest song and dance moments in film history. Though the list appears to be dominated by musicals, other genres were examined and included.

Those that are exceptional examples of the development of song/dance are marked with this symbol:

AFI's 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time are marked with an icon and their ranking number (#)

Another point of reference for this kind of material may be found in the AFI's selections of 100 Years...100 Songs and in this site's genre writeup of "Musical Films".

Greatest Musical - Song and Dance Movie Moments and Scenes (alphabetical) - Part 1 Part 1 \| Part 2 \| Part 3 \| Part 4 \| Part 5 \| Part 6 \| Part 7 \| Part 8 \| Part 9 \| Part 10 \| Part 11 \| Part 12 \| Part 13 \| Part 14 \| Part 15 \| Part 16 \| Part 17 \| Part 18 \| Part 19 \| Part 20 \| Part 21 \| Part 22 \| Part 23 \| Part 24 \| Part 25
Movie Title	Brief Scene Description	Example
Aladdin (1992)	Disney's animated film included the Oscar-nominated wild, shapeshifting song Friend Like Me by the spirited Genie (voice of Robin Williams), and Aladdin's (singing voice by Brad Kane) romantic, Oscar-winning Best Song A Whole New World sung to Jasmine (singing voice by Lea Salonga) while he took her around the world on his magic carpet.
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)	In this popular film produced by Darryl Zanuck at Fox, Irving Berlin's many hit songs were sung by Alice Faye as band singer Stella Kirby (who became a famous Broadway star) including Everybody's Doin' It, and Now It Can Be Told (with Don Ameche); in addition, Ethel Merman (as singer Gerry Allen) belted out Say It With Music and Blue Skies ("Nothing but blue skies do I see") (with Alice Faye), as well as Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil - and her famous rendition of Heat Wave during a Carnegie Hall band concert; an immortal rendition of Oh How I Hate To Get Up In the Morning was wearily sung by Jack Haley, and Don Ameche performed Easter Parade.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)	This Disney animated classic featured the White Rabbit's (voice of Bill Thompson) frantic song I'm Late as he dashed along, and The Mad Hatter's (voice of Ed Wynn) anarchic The Unbirthday Song sung at the Mad Tea Party.
All of Me (1984)	This gender-switching comedy ended with a famous "mirror" dance in which Roger Cobb (Steve Martin) and Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin) joyously danced in a mirror's reflection to All of Me, before collapsing on each other.
All That Jazz (1979) #14	Roy Scheider brilliantly characterized the self-destructive and egotistical choreographer/director Joe Gideon (based upon real-life entertainer and this film's director Bob Fosse) - known for his trademark: "It's showtime, folks!"; the film opened with the 'cattle call' dance audition sequence featuring George Benson's version of On Broadway; also there was the impromptu top hat and tails song-and-dance act performed in Joe's apartment by his girlfriend/lover Katie Jagger (Ann Reinking, Fosse's real-life lover essentially playing herself) and his pre-teen daughter Michelle Gideon (Erzsebet Foldi); the film also included the sweaty and sensual Air-Rotica dance sequence with sexy and half-naked Sandahl Bergman; and in the spectacular finale - the film's most outstanding number - television host O'Connor Flood (Ben Vereen) sang Bye Bye Life (originally Bye Bye Love) with Gideon to a heavenly studio audience in a hallucinatory dance-musical number during Gideon's near-death experience after a heart attack - with chorus girls dancing around his hospital bed; this dark finale ended with Gideon in a body bag.
An American in Paris (1951) #25	In this superb Best Picture-winning prestigious musical from MGM (and director Vincente Minnelli) that recycled some Ira and George Gershwin tunes, ex-GI American painter Jerry Mulligan (Honorary Award-winning Gene Kelly) performed the much-remembered song/dance I Got Rhythm (pictured) to neighborhood street children in Paris; also, Jerry delivered an enchanting romantic song/dance Our Love is Here to Stay (pictured) that was tenderly presented to waifish perfume shop clerk Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron) on the quay next to the bank of the Seine River (a studio-built Paris); also included in the film was Henri Baurel's (French music hall star Georges Guetary) elaborate and lush Folies Bergere-like rendition of I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise (pictured) with lavish-costumed chorus girls, and the closing audacious 17-minute symphonic American in Paris (pictured) ballet of Jerry and Lise dancing before lavish, colorful and impressionistic backdrops, fountains and artistic settings based on the works of famous and celebrated French painters (Dufy, Utrillo, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Rousseau) - he pursued her through the continually-changing backdrop of Paris; other numbers included Caron's Embraceable You, and Kelly's song/dance with Guetary in the Latin Quarter titled S'Wonderful.
An American Tail (1986)	Fievel and sister Tanya Mousekewitz (voices of seven year-old Phillip Glasser and Amy Green) both sang the Oscar-nominated, soulful and sweet ballad Somewhere Out There in parallel to each other and at a full moon after Fievel was separated from his family during a fierce storm during their voyage to NYC in America in the late 1800s; the popular song was also reprised during the credits with the voices of Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram.
Anchors Aweigh (1945)	This quintessential musical sequence, the delightful highlight of this film, featured "Pomeranian sailor" Joseph Brady's (Gene Kelly) live-action magical dance with animated mouse Jerry - the character from MGM's "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, during The King Who Couldn't Dance number. (Jerry spoke and sang, and although cat Tom appeared as the valet for Mouse King Jerry, he didn't dance or talk).
Animal Crackers (1930)	At the start of this Marx Brothers comedy film, when Captain Spaulding's (Groucho Marx) entourage arrived, the excited guests broke into song in the trademark Hooray for Captain Spaulding production number to honor the fearless explorer from Africa; at one point, Spaulding lept about, spun around, and hopped - rotating like a corkscrew with one leg in a strange wild dance. [This song became Groucho Marx's theme song, and its music was used for his hosted TV game show You Bet Your Life.] Almost immediately, after showing contempt for his elaborate welcome, Spaulding sang that he was leaving: I Must Be Going.
Annie (1982)	Ten year old orphan Annie (Aileen Quinn) belted out this sentimental film's anthem Tomorrow ("Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You're only a day away!"); also included in the film was the orphans' song It's a Hard Knock Life, and the nasty, opportunistic song Easy Street sung by the greedy trio of orphan manager Mrs. Hannigan (Carol Burnett), her no-good brother Rooster (Tim Curry) and Rooster's girlfriend Lilly (Bernadette Peters).