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".

There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

Director Rob Reiner's debut film was a marvelous satire-spoof on the subgenre of rockumentaries, with its many heavy metal songs written and performed by Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer), often with distacting problems occuring during each one, including Stonehenge when an 18" Stonehenge monolith comically destroyed the atmosphere of the number; other musical segments included the comic lyrics of Big Bottom ("Big bottom, big bottom / Talk about mudflaps / My baby's got 'em"), and the embarrassing performance of Sex Farm at an uptight military base gig, among others.

This is the Army (1943)

There were almost two dozen patriotic Irving Berlin songs in this Michael Curtiz-directed morale-boosting Warners' film musical adapted from Berlin's 1942 stage tribute to the Army during the two World Wars, including Kate Smith's famous, rousing rendition of God Bless America (pictured); there was also a rare screen appearance by Irving Berlin (who sang Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning); other tunes included I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen, I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep, and the title song.

Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

Producer Ross Hunter's and director George Roy Hill's overlong musical comedy spoof featured Julie Andrews as the title character - farm girl Millie Dillmount who was transformed into a NY 'Roaring 20's' "modern" flapper while unwittingly residing in a Home for Young Women (a white slavery establishment) - the film won the Academy Award for Original Music Score (composed by Elmer Bernstein), and starred John Gavin (singing voice by Bill Lee) as her handsome boss Trevor "Swell" Greydon, James Fox as her irresponsible boyfriend and paper-clip salesman Jimmy Smith, Mary Tyler Moore (singing voice by Jackie Allen) as dumb rich-girl friend and aspiring actress Dorothy "Just Perfect" Brown, and Oscar-nominated Carol Channing as wealthy, madcap and outlandish widow Muzzy "Raspberries!" Van Hossmere and her show-stopping number Jazz Baby (pictured) that included a dance atop a xylophone and her playing of various instruments and First Date (Do It Again!) - with her performing acrobatics after being fired from a cannon; the many enjoyable musical numbers with Jimmy Van Heusen & Sammy Cahn's 20's-like popular songs included the Oscar-nominated, pre-credits title song Thoroughly Modern Millie sung by Julie Andrews, the dance number Tapioca (pictured), the song Sing, L'Chaim at a Jewish wedding, Millie's internally-sung adoration of her handsome boss Baby Face ("Baby face, you've got the cutest little baby face"), and the romantic duet between Trevor and Dorothy of Victor Herbert's Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.

Three Little Words (1950)

This MGM musical biography of composers/songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, with Andre Previn's first score (with an Oscar nomination) for a major film, contained 15 hit songs; it starred Fred Astaire (as Bert Kalmar), Vera-Ellen (as Jessie Brown Kalmar with singing voice by Anita Ellis), Arlene Dahl (as Eileen Percy Ruby), and comedian Red Skelton (as Harry Ruby); Debbie Reynolds (in her screen debut as Helen Kane with singing voice of Helen Kane) briefly performed I Wanna Be Loved by You (pictured) with a cutsey Betty Boop-like voice; Astaire sang Who's Sorry Now (pictured) and joined in a duet with Skelton for So Long, Oo-Long (pictured); Astaire and Vera-Ellen danced to Thinking of You and Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer at Home.

(Michael Jackson's) Thriller (1983)

Tommy (1975)

The rock group The Who's landmark psychedelic "rock opera", composed by guitarist Peter Townshend, and directed by Ken Russell for the surrealistic feature film version, quickly became a cult film, with its stars Roger Daltry (as Tommy, the deaf, dumb and blind kid pinball wizard), Oscar-nominated Ann-Margret (as Tommy's mother), Oliver Reed (as the boyfriend), and appearances by Elton John (for the song Pinball Wizard), and Tina Turner (performing Acid Queen); memorable numbers included Eric Clapton's Eyesight to the Blind, and Roger Daltrey's Listening to You.

Top Hat (1935)

#15

This RKO film (Best Picture-nominated) marked the fourth pairing of Fred Astaire (as amorous dancer Jerry Travers) and Ginger Rogers (as fashion model Dale Tremont) - it was the one that catapulted them to legendary status - set within the backdrop of an art-deco Venice with its plot about mistaken identity and a number of Irving Berlin tunes; Astaire's early performance of a hotel room sand tap dance was titled No Strings (pictured) in which he slapped the walls - his dancing upset sleeping Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) in a room below - but he put both Dale and Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) back to sleep; also the delightfully dreamy song/dance Isn't This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain)? (pictured) in a sheltering and deserted band shell during a rain shower; and Jerry's firing of his cane as a gun (with machine-gun-like rat-a-tats) to creatively shoot down his chorus of dapper dancers during his signature number Top Hat, White Tie and Tails (pictured) - Astaire had previously performed this routine in "Smiles", a 1930 stage musical; and the most memorable and dreamlike Astaire-Rogers romantic duet ever was of Irving Berlin's enchanting Cheek to Cheek (pictured) (with the famous opening lyric "Heaven, I'm in Heaven...") with Rogers dancing languorously and silkily in a gown made of ostrich feathers in an Art Deco setting; the final dance number was the fast-moving spectacular The Piccolino.

Toy Story 2 (1999)

The touching, climactic moment in this sequel (the third Disney/Pixar feature film) came when Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) saw his black-and-white television puppet counterpart on the 1960s "Woody's Roundup" show singing You've Got a Friend in Me (nominated for an Oscar in the original Toy Story (1995)), making Woody realize his significance as a toy to a child; the film also featured the melancholy Oscar-nominated Best Song When She Loved Me (sung by Sarah McLachlan) with a flashback of Jessie (voice of Joan Cusack) experiencing being loved, forgotten, and ultimately abandoned by her owner, Emily; and the finale in which the penguin squeeze toy Wheezy (voice of Joe Ranft) belted out, Vegas-style (with Robert Goulet's voice): "You've Got a Friend In Me", accompanied by a trio of Barbie backup singers

(Toy Story (1995))

The Triplets of Belleville (2003, Fr.) (aka Belleville Rendez-vous)

This Belgian-French-Canadian animated feature film contained black-and-white archival footage of the Triplets' (Violette, Blanche, and Rose - representing the tri-colored French flag) song-and-dance of the Oscar-nominated Best Original Song Belleville Rendez-Vous - it was a 30s style cartoon parody which featured caricatures of dancer/singer Josephine Baker (doing her banana dance) and hoofer Fred Astaire, guitarist Django Reinhardt and pianist Glenn Gould; in their old age, the dancing Triplets entertained with a cabaret/skiffle act using household items (newspaper, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, and a hatbox) as mad instruments.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

Victor/Victoria (1982)

Blake Edwards' screwball sex farce was a lavish star vehicle for Julie Andrews, playing opera singer Victoria Grant who assumed the role of Polish gay drag queen singer Count Victor Grezhinski; two of the best-known songs were in these show-stopping numbers: (1) Chicago, Illinois performed wildly and aggressively with other showgirls in baby-doll underwear by uncontrollable, coarse, sex-starved Norma Cassady (Oscar-nominated Leslie Ann Warren) and (2) Le Jazz Hot - Victoria's production number performed in a black gown with stringy bat-wing sleeves and a rhinestone headdress - when she revealed herself in her 'debut' as alter-ego Victor by ripping off her headdress.

Viva Las Vegas (1964)

This American romantic musical memorably teamed Elvis Presley (in one of his best films as race car Grand Prix driver Lucky Jackson who must take a job as a singing casino waiter) with the fiery and voluptuous Ann-Margret (as swimming teacher Rusty Martin) - who were engaged in an off-screen romance at the time; it was noted for their dueling pelvises (most evident in the wild, orgiastic production number C'Mon Everybody), for Presley's famous rendition of the title song Viva Las Vegas (over the neon credits), and of Ray Charles' What'd I Say.