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".

New York, New York (1977)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Tim Burton's magnificent gothic film was a combination of stop-motion animation and originally-composed spooky yet inventive musical numbers and songs (by Danny Elfman), including the opening number This is Halloween by the denizens of Halloween Town and the amazing Making Christmas sequence; the major character -- the "Pumpkin King" Jack Skellington (voice of Chris Sarandon, singing voice by Elfman) also sang the existential torch song Jack’s Lament ("…Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones / An emptiness began to grow…"), the show-stopping song-and-dance What’s This? ("There’s children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads, they’re busy building toys and absolutely no one’s dead!") in reaction to Christmas Town, and the fantastic Poor Jack song when Jack realized his mistake and lamented in an angel headstone's arms: ("What have I done? / What have I done? / How could I be so blind?"); in the triumphant finale, Jack finally realized his love for patchwork girl Sally ("...for it is plain as anyone can see: we're simply meant to be") with a closing kiss on a snowy curlicue hill.

Oklahoma! (1955)

There were many memorable Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II standards in this widely-acclaimed Best Score-winning film (adapting the 1943 Broadway musical that was based upon Lynn Riggs' 1931 folk play, Green Grow the Lilacs) with Agnes De Mille's choreography - notably, it was the first of nine Broadway shows that were created by the successful duo; the film's director was Fred Zinnemann - making his first musical (with a somber tone), and its budget of seven million dollars made it the most expensive film ever made to that time; the setting was the Oklahoma Territory in the early 20th century shortly before Oklahoma statehood; it was shot on location in the new 65-mm. wide-screen technicolor process called Todd-AO and with stereo sound - and heralded in its publicity as: "A motion picture as big as all outdoors"; its opening number was of a cowboy (Gordon MacRae as cowboy Curly McLain) on horseback singing Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'; other songs were the rousing title song Oklahoma!, the well-known Surrey With a Fringe On Top (pictured) ("Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry / When I take you out in my surrey / When I take you out in my surrey with the fringe on top!"), the expressionistic, red-hued dialogueless Dream Ballet ("Laurey Makes Up Her Mind") fantasy, and Gene Nelson's (as cowboy Will Parker) versatile performance of Kansas City; the main love ballad was People Will Say We're in Love; other performers included Shirley Jones (as Laurey), Gloria Grahame (as Ado Annie), and Rod Steiger (as the brutish Jud Fry).

Oliver! (1968)

Lionel Bart's musical version of the Charles Dickens novel "Oliver Twist" about a poorhouse orphan's (Mark Lester) travails that were set in early 19th century London - both a British production and a Broadway hit - as well as a Best Picture-winning film (from first-time musical director Carol Reed who won Best Director), provided many memorable songs, including the show-stopping Food Glorious Food by the entire Mr. Bumble's Home for Paupers and Orphans after Oliver innocently asked for more food; other hit songs included wily and thieving Fagin's (Ron Moody) professional advice to Oliver You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two and Reviewing the Situation; also the film featured the large production number - the welcoming Consider Yourself ("Consider yourself... at home! / Consider yourself... one of the family!"), Oliver's wistful Where Is Love?, and Nancy's (Shani Wallis) As Long As He Needs Me.

On the Town (1949)

#19

This fresh and innovative landmark MGM musical was co-directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and Leonard Bernstein's music from the stage musical of 1944; it opened with the show-stopping song-and-dance number New York, New York (It's a Hell of a Town) - it was performed by sailors-on-leave Gabey (Gene Kelly), Chip (Frank Sinatra) and Ozzie (Jules Munshin) after docking in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and featured all the prominent sights of New York City; this was the first time that actual locations were used for musical numbers; they also experienced all the sights of the city with their new girlfriends: lust-crazed woman cab driver Hildy Esterhazy (Betty Garrett) (who advanced on Chip in Come Up to My Place), anthropologist student Claire Huddesten (Ann Miller) (whom Ozzie met in the fictional Museum of Anthropological History where they performed the song/dance Prehistoric Man), and dancer "Miss Turnstiles" Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen) - who performed a duet with Gabey in Main Street, and then appeared in a stylized and innovative dream sequence titled A Day in New York; the film ended with the climactic title number On the Town performed by the three couples.

Orchestra Wives (1942)

In this non-Technicolored Fox musical, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra - recalling the Big Band era of music and swing jazz (following the previous year's Sun Valley Serenade) - performed I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo in the film's finale, as well as other renditions of Harry Warren's music including At Least and Serenade in Blue; the film also featured one of the famed Nicholas Brothers' best dance numbers; Glenn Miller starred as Gene Morrison - the leader of the film's fictional band.

Paint Your Wagon (1969)

When brought to the big screen by heavy-handed director Joshua Logan, Lerner and Loewe's western stage musical from 1951 (with adaptation by Paddy Chayefsky and additional tunes by Andre Previn) was mostly criticized for its love triangle plot and for featuring non-singers (Jean Seberg with voice of Rita Gordon) and Western rowdy tough-guy prospectors Clint Eastwood (I Still See Elisa, and I Talk to the Trees!) and Lee Marvin (Wand'rin' Star) in singing roles during the 1849 California Gold Rush; the musical also featured a rendition of one of the stage show's best songs - the most recognized They Call the Wind Maria sung by Harve Presnell.

The Paleface (1948)

Paramount on Parade (1930)

This stylish black and white Paramount production (one of the best examples of an all-star revue of songs and sketches by current and upcoming stars in a studio) was directed by eleven directors; it starred - among others, Maurice Chevalier (singing All I Want is Just One Girl as a Paris gendarme, and the Technicolored finale Rainbow Revels with Chevalier as a chimney sweep and chorus girls singing Sweepin' the Clouds Away (pictured)), Ruth Chatterton (singing My Marine), and Clara Bow (singing I'm True to the Navy Now).

The Parent Trap (1961)

This Disney comedy farce was most memorable for the Let's Get Together duet - in early split-screen - by separated-at-birth twins Sharon McKendrick (Hayley Mills) and Susan Evers (also Mills), in a plot where they schemed to reunite their biological parents (Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith).

Pennies from Heaven (1981)

Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)

Pinocchio (1940)

This masterful Disney animation contained the reknowned scene of small Jiminy Cricket (voice of Cliff Edwards) singing the advisory Give a Little Whistle (pictured) to become Pinocchio's conscience; also the scene of Pinocchio being led astray by wily Honest John with the delightful song Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me) (pictured), and the scene of human-like puppet Pinocchio (voice of Dickie Jones) singing I've Got No Strings when performing for Stromboli (voice of Charles Judels); the film was most noted for its Oscar-winning Best Song When You Wish Upon a Star sung by Jiminy during the opening credits.