Top 250 Must-See Musicals

by jemspates | created - 2 months ago | updated - 2 months ago | Public
 Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc
  • Instant Watch Options
  • Genres
  • Movies or TV
  • IMDb Rating
  • In Theaters
  • Release Year
  • Keywords









IMDb user rating (average) to
Number of votes to »




Reset
Release year or range to »




































































































1. The Jazz Singer (1927)

Passed | 88 min | Drama, Music, Musical

66 Metascore

The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.

Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer

Votes: 11,078 | Gross: $7.63M

2. The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

Passed | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, Charles Ruggles

Votes: 4,118

3. Love Me Tonight (1932)

Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.

Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charles Ruggles, Charles Butterworth

Votes: 4,627

4. Footlight Parade (1933)

Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

80 Metascore

Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.

Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell

Votes: 6,096 | Gross: $3.49M

5. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

A wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler

Votes: 9,147 | Gross: $4.80M

6. 42nd Street (1933)

Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

83 Metascore

When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.

Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler

Votes: 13,040 | Gross: $2.30M

7. Dames (1934)

Passed | 91 min | Comedy, Music, Musical

A multimillionaire decides to boycott "filthy" forms of entertainment such as Broadway shows.

Directors: Ray Enright, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Zasu Pitts

Votes: 2,430

8. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)

Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Romantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.

Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady

Votes: 2,963

9. The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

80 Metascore

A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.

Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton

Votes: 8,640

10. Top Hat (1935)

Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

93 Metascore

An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.

Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes

Votes: 20,713 | Gross: $3.88M

11. Swing Time (1936)

Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

91 Metascore

Roguish gambler/dancer "Lucky" Garnett is challenged by his fiance's father to come up with $25,000 to prove he's worthy of her hand. But after he falls in love with a dance instructor, Lucky'll do anything to keep from earning the bucks.

Director: George Stevens | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick

Votes: 14,588

12. Shall We Dance (1937)

Approved | 109 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.

Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore

Votes: 7,856

13. On the Avenue (1937)

Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A Broadway producer satirizes an important New York family. The family sues but their daughter falls in love with the producer.

Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye, The Ritz Brothers

Votes: 658

14. Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

Approved | 106 min | Drama, Music, Musical

This send-up of ragtime song and dance begins in 1915 San Francisco when society boy Roger Grant decides to pursue popular rather than serious music.

Director: Henry King | Stars: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman

Votes: 2,322

15. Rose-Marie (1936)

Passed | 113 min | Adventure, Drama, Musical

An incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her fugitive brother.

Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Reginald Owen, Allan Jones

Votes: 1,401

16. New Moon (1940)

Passed | 105 min | Adventure, Musical, Romance

On a Louisiana-bound ship, a nobleman planning a campaign for liberty encounters an heiress.

Directors: Robert Z. Leonard, W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mary Boland, George Zucco

Votes: 641

17. Show Boat (1936)

Approved | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

88 Metascore

Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.

Director: James Whale | Stars: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson

Votes: 3,695

18. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Passed | 176 min | Drama, Musical

69 Metascore

The ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage revues, are portrayed.

Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan

Votes: 8,995

19. Swanee River (1939)

Approved | 84 min | Biography, Drama, Musical

More fictional than factual biography of Stephen Foster. Songwriter from Pittsburgh falls in love with the South, marries a Southern gal (Leeds), then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out.

Director: Sidney Lanfield | Stars: Don Ameche, Andrea Leeds, Al Jolson, Felix Bressart

Votes: 227 | Gross: $0.29M

20. Lillian Russell (1940)

Passed | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History

The life story of the musical star from her discovery in 1890 by bandleader Tony Pastor until her retirement in 1912, when she married newspaperman Alexander Moore.

Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Edward Arnold

Votes: 580

21. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Passed | 126 min | Biography, Drama, Family

89 Metascore

The life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan.

Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf

Votes: 16,867 | Gross: $11.80M

22. Babes in Arms (1939)

Unrated | 94 min | Comedy, Musical

A group of vaudevillians struggling to compete with talkies hits the road hoping for a comeback. Frustrated to be left behind, all of their kids put on a show themselves to raise money for the families and to prove they've got talent, too.

Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee

Votes: 2,849

23. Girl Crazy (1943)

Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Musical

84 Metascore

A philandering young playboy is sent to college somewhere in the American West, and organizes a show, together with his sweetheart, to save the college from closure due to falling enrollments.

Directors: Norman Taurog, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Gil Stratton, Robert E. Strickland

Votes: 2,245 | Gross: $3.77M

24. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

PG | 102 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

92 Metascore

Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.

Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor | Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr

Votes: 428,782 | Gross: $2.08M

25. Rufus Jones for President (1933)

21 min | Short, Comedy, Family

Rufus Jones, a black child, is elected President of the United States in this short musical comedy. The film features song and dance numbers by a seven year old Sammy Davis Jr..

Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Ethel Waters, Sammy Davis Jr., Hamtree Harrington, Dusty Fletcher

Votes: 231

26. Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

A compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.

Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong

Votes: 3,414

27. Stormy Weather (1943)

Passed | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.

Director: Andrew L. Stone | Stars: Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Katherine Dunham and Her Troupe

Votes: 2,889

28. Moon Over Miami (1941)

Approved | 91 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Sisters Kay and Barbara arrive in Miami from Texas looking for rich husbands.

Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Robert Cummings, Carole Landis

Votes: 1,390

29. That Night in Rio (1941)

Approved | 91 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

An entertainer in Rio impersonates a wealthy aristocrat. When the aristocrat's wife asks him to carry the impersonation further, complications ensue.

Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda, S.Z. Sakall

Votes: 932

30. Week-End in Havana (1941)

Passed | 81 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Nan Spencer is on a boat bound for Havana which runs aground. The man sent to rescue her is engaged and she doesn't understand his disinterest. Monte Blanca is interested, to the annoyance of his girlfriend.

Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, John Payne, Cesar Romero

Votes: 734

31. The Gang's All Here (1943)

Passed | 103 min | Musical, Romance

A soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.

Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman

Votes: 2,058

32. Lady in the Dark (1944)

Approved | 100 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

Liza Elliott, "Allure" magazines editor-in-chief, suffers from headaches and continuous daydreams and undergoes psychoanalysis to determine why.

Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Warner Baxter, Jon Hall

Votes: 564

33. Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

Passed | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Musical

55 Metascore

George Gershwin is a driven composer whose need to succeed destroys his relationship with singer Julie Adams and socialite Christine Gilbert.

Director: Irving Rapper | Stars: Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Charles Coburn

Votes: 1,799

34. Night and Day (1946)

Approved | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Musical

A fictionalized biopic of composer Cole Porter from his days at Yale in the 1910s through the height of his success to the 1940s.

Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Cary Grant, Alexis Smith, Monty Woolley, Ginny Simms

Votes: 3,205

35. Ziegfeld Follies (1945)

Approved | 110 min | Comedy, Musical

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. looks down from Heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.

Directors: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney, Merrill Pye, Charles Walters | Stars: William Powell, Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire

Votes: 3,634 | Gross: $7.93M

36. Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

Passed | 132 min | Biography, Musical

Biography of songwriter and Broadway pioneer, Jerome Kern (Robert Walker). Unable to find immediate success in the U.S., Kern sought recognition abroad. He journeyed to England where his dreams of success became real and where he met his future wife Eva Leale (Dorothy Patrick).

Directors: Richard Whorf, Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney | Stars: Robert Walker, Van Heflin, Lucille Bremer, June Allyson

Votes: 2,713 | Gross: $6.72M

37. The Jolson Story (1946)

Approved | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Music

This movie shows the idealized career of the singer Al Jolson, a little Jewish boy who goes against the will of his father in order to be in showbiz. He becomes a star, falls in love with a... See full summary »

Director: Alfred E. Green | Stars: Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest, Bill Goodwin

Votes: 1,768

38. Jolson Sings Again (1949)

96 min | Biography, Music

In this sequel to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement. But his wife has left him and the appeal of the ... See full summary »

Director: Henry Levin | Stars: Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, William Demarest, Ludwig Donath

Votes: 724

39. State Fair (1945)

Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

Each member of the Frake clan has his/her own reason for attending the annual Iowa State Fair.

Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine

Votes: 4,498

40. Holiday Inn (1942)

Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

70 Metascore

At an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.

Directors: Mark Sandrich, Robert Allen | Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale

Votes: 17,628 | Gross: $8.18M

41. For Me and My Gal (1942)

Not Rated | 104 min | Musical, Romance, War

Two vaudeville performers fall in love, but find their relationship tested by the arrival of WWI.

Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly, Mártha Eggerth

Votes: 3,845 | Gross: $4.37M

42. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

94 Metascore

Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer

Votes: 27,689 | Gross: $7.57M

43. The Harvey Girls (1946)

Passed | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, History

65 Metascore

On a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) meets a cheery crew of young women travelling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.

Director: George Sidney | Stars: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury

Votes: 4,864

44. The Pirate (1948)

Approved | 102 min | Adventure, Comedy, Musical

A girl is engaged to the local rich man, but meanwhile she has dreams about the legendary pirate Macoco. A traveling singer falls in love with her and to impress her he poses as the pirate.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper

Votes: 5,614 | Gross: $2.96M

45. In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

Approved | 102 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

In turn-of-the century America, Andrew and Veronica are co-workers in a music shop who dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.

Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. Sakall, Spring Byington

Votes: 4,309 | Gross: $6.30M

46. Easter Parade (1948)

G | 103 min | Musical, Romance

A nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.

Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford, Ann Miller

Votes: 11,093 | Gross: $9.03M

47. Summer Stock (1950)

Approved | 108 min | Musical, Romance

A small-town farmer, down on her luck, finds her homestead invaded by a theatrical troupe invited to stay by her ne'er-do-well sister.

Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven

Votes: 4,810

48. A Star Is Born (1954)

Passed | 154 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

89 Metascore

A film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.

Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford

Votes: 19,684 | Gross: $14.93M

49. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

Approved | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

66 Metascore

Two turn-of-the-century baseball players, who work in vaudeville during the off-season, run into trouble with their team's new female owner and a gambler who doesn't want them to win the pennant.

Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett

Votes: 4,077

50. It's Always Fair Weather (1955)

Passed | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

Three soldiers meet ten years after their last meeting in New York, and find out that they have little in common now.

Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Dolores Gray

Votes: 3,984

51. Les Girls (1957)

Approved | 114 min | Comedy, Musical

The former members of a dance troupe are suing because of recently published memoirs. Each one insists on own point of view.

Director: George Cukor | Stars: Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg

Votes: 3,059

52. Cover Girl (1944)

Passed | 107 min | Comedy, Music, Musical

Rusty Parker wins a contest and becomes a celebrated cover girl; this endangers her romance with dancing mentor Danny.

Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Lee Bowman, Phil Silvers

Votes: 5,943

53. Tonight and Every Night (1945)

Approved | 92 min | Drama, Musical, War

The theater in which this film is set was called The Windmill and performers there refused to be deterred by the blitz that was leveling much of London at the time.

Director: Victor Saville | Stars: Rita Hayworth, Lee Bowman, Janet Blair, Marc Platt

Votes: 1,109

54. Down to Earth (1947)

Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical

Upset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth and lands a part in the show. She works her charms on the show's producer and he... See full summary »

Director: Alexander Hall | Stars: Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, Marc Platt, Roland Culver

Votes: 1,606 | Gross: $5.45M

55. You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

In Buenos Aires, a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-oldest daughter.

Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou, Isobel Elsom

Votes: 4,087 | Gross: $0.67M

56. Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)

Approved | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Musical

50 Metascore

Biopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, David Brian

Votes: 1,792

57. Bathing Beauty (1944)

Passed | 101 min | Comedy, Musical

A contrived misunderstanding leads to the breakup of a songwriter and his fiancée. She returns to work as a gym teacher at an all-girls school, but a legal loophole allows the man to enroll as one of her students.

Director: George Sidney | Stars: Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Basil Rathbone, Bill Goodwin

Votes: 1,881

58. Neptune's Daughter (1949)

Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A swimsuit fashion designer is determined to protect her scatterbrained sister from a South American heartbreaker, but a case of mistaken identity complicates matters.

Director: Edward Buzzell | Stars: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban, Betty Garrett

Votes: 1,747

59. Jupiter's Darling (1955)

95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Fabius loves his beautiful but vulnerable city, Rome, and he also loves his beautiful but invulnerable fiancée, Amytis. Fascinated by the tales she has heard about Hannibal, who is about to... See full summary »

Director: George Sidney | Stars: Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Marge Champion, Gower Champion

Votes: 700

60. Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Passed | 140 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical

60 Metascore

A pair of sailors on leave try to help a movie extra become a singing star.

Directors: George Sidney, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, José Iturbi

Votes: 9,436

61. On the Town (1949)

Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

71 Metascore

Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.

Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller

Votes: 18,789

62. Royal Wedding (1951)

Not Rated | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A brother and sister dance act encounter challenges and romance when booked in London during the Royal Wedding.

Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill

Votes: 6,110

63. The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)

Passed | 109 min | Comedy, Musical

A married musical team splits up so the wife can become a serious actress.

Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, Billie Burke

Votes: 3,502

64. An American in Paris (1951)

Passed | 114 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

83 Metascore

Three friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary

Votes: 36,894 | Gross: $4.50M

65. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

99 Metascore

A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.

Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen

Votes: 260,757 | Gross: $8.82M

66. Hit the Deck (1955)

Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Three sailors come ashore and take the city by storm, but can they win the hearts of three women by song?

Director: Roy Rowland | Stars: Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Pidgeon

Votes: 961

67. The Band Wagon (1953)

Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

93 Metascore

A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray

Votes: 12,582

68. Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Approved | 126 min | Musical, Romance

A wealthy American has a chance encounter with a joyful young French woman, and anonymously pays for her education. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, nicknaming him from the description given by some of her fellow orphans.

Director: Jean Negulesco | Stars: Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Terry Moore, Thelma Ritter

Votes: 4,287

69. Silk Stockings (1957)

Approved | 117 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A Russian government official is sent to Paris to bring back her comrades; she soon gets a taste of Paris life and falls in love with an American movie producer.

Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige, Peter Lorre

Votes: 4,329

70. Funny Face (1957)

Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

75 Metascore

An impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.

Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair

Votes: 33,025

71. White Christmas (1954)

Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

56 Metascore

A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.

Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen

Votes: 51,136 | Gross: $30.00M

72. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Approved | 91 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers.

Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid

Votes: 43,038 | Gross: $12.00M

73. Call Me Madam (1953)

Approved | 114 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Washington hostess Sally Adams becomes a Truman-era US ambassador to a European grand duchy.

Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, George Sanders

Votes: 1,463

74. There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

Approved | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.

Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Connor, Dan Dailey

Votes: 6,702

75. Words and Music (1948)

Approved | 121 min | Biography, Comedy, Musical

Musical biography chronicling the songwriting partnership of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.

Director: Norman Taurog | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake, June Allyson, Perry Como

Votes: 1,451

76. Three Little Words (1950)

Passed | 102 min | Biography, Comedy, Musical

The story of the successful Tin Pan Alley songwriting team of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby is told loosely and lightheartedly.

Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl

Votes: 2,059 | Gross: $2.80M

77. Deep in My Heart (1954)

Approved | 132 min | Biography, Comedy, Musical

Biographic movie about the American composer Sigmund Romberg.

Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: José Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon

Votes: 959

78. Pagan Love Song (1950)

Approved | 76 min | Musical, Romance

A man from Ohio inherits a coconut plantation and falls in love with a half-American, half-Tahitian beauty. Song-and-swim musical ensues in the tropical paradise.

Director: Robert Alton | Stars: Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Minna Gombell, Charles Mauu

Votes: 586

79. Anything Goes (1956)

TV-PG | 106 min | Musical, Romance

Bill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each discovers the perfect leading lady for the plum female role. Each promises the prize role to ... See full summary »

Director: Robert Lewis | Stars: Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire, Mitzi Gaynor

Votes: 1,029

80. Romance on the High Seas (1948)

Approved | 99 min | Comedy, Musical, Mystery

58 Metascore

Romantic misunderstandings abound when spouses suspect each other of being unfaithful, and a nightclub singer takes a cruise under a false identity.

Directors: Michael Curtiz, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Doris Day, Don DeFore

Votes: 2,739

81. Tea for Two (1950)

Approved | 98 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A socialite with aspirations of a career in show business bets her wealthy uncle $25,000 that she can say "no" to everything for two days straight, hoping winning will help her fulfill her dreams.

Director: David Butler | Stars: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Eve Arden

Votes: 2,193

82. On Moonlight Bay (1951)

Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Family, Musical

65 Metascore

During World War I, a teenage girl begins a romance with a college student, but his unconventional attitudes cause friction with her father.

Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Jack Smith, Leon Ames

Votes: 3,059

83. By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)

Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Family, Musical

Marjorie Winfield's engagement to Bill Sherman, who has just arrived home from fighting in World War I, serves as the backdrop for the trials and tribulations of her family.

Director: David Butler | Stars: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp

Votes: 2,480

84. April in Paris (1952)

Unrated | 100 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A series of misunderstandings leads to a chorus girl traveling to Paris to represent the American theater, where she falls in love with a befuddled bureaucrat.

Director: David Butler | Stars: Doris Day, Ray Bolger, Claude Dauphin, Eve Miller

Votes: 1,514

85. Calamity Jane (1953)

Passed | 101 min | Musical, Romance, Western

74 Metascore

The story of Calamity Jane, her saloon, and her romance with Wild Bill Hickok.

Director: David Butler | Stars: Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey

Votes: 10,851

86. The Pajama Game (1957)

Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

An Iowa pajama factory worker falls in love with an affable superintendent who had been hired by the factory's boss to help oppose the workers' demand for a pay raise.

Directors: George Abbott, Stanley Donen | Stars: Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr.

Votes: 4,107

87. Damn Yankees (1958)

Approved | 111 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A frustrated fan of the hopeless Washington Senators makes a pact with the Devil to help the baseball team win the league pennant.

Directors: George Abbott, Stanley Donen | Stars: Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Russ Brown

Votes: 3,445

88. Guys and Dolls (1955)

Not Rated | 150 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical

77 Metascore

In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine

Votes: 19,373 | Gross: $13.00M

89. Carmen Jones (1954)

Approved | 105 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

65 Metascore

Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.

Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Olga James

Votes: 5,924

90. Porgy and Bess (1959)

Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

77 Metascore

A woman whose past is scorned by nearly everyone around her meets a man who'd love her regardlessly- if only everyone else would allow them to.

Directors: Otto Preminger, Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey

Votes: 1,915

91. Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

Approved | 123 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A debt-ridden circus is saved by a well-meaning but inept publicity man.

Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Stephen Boyd, Martha Raye

Votes: 1,728

92. Li'l Abner (1959)

Approved | 114 min | Comedy, Musical, Family

As Sadie Hawkins Day approaches, Daisy Mae hopes to win the hand of Li'l Abner by catching him in the traditional race.

Director: Melvin Frank | Stars: Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye, Peter Palmer, Howard St. John

Votes: 1,496

93. My Sister Eileen (1955)

Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

After submitting a story of her beautiful sister, a woman assumes her identity to maintain the attention of a playboy publisher.

Director: Richard Quine | Stars: Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Betty Garrett, Bob Fosse

Votes: 2,113

94. Pal Joey (1957)

Approved | 111 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

Joey Evans is a charming, handsome, funny, talented 1st class, A-Number 1 heel. When Joey meets the former chorus girl and now rich widow Vera Simpson, the pair of lecherous souls seem made for each other.

Director: George Sidney | Stars: Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Barbara Nichols

Votes: 5,861

95. High Society (1956)

Not Rated | 111 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

65 Metascore

With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.

Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm

Votes: 17,535 | Gross: $13.00M

96. Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Passed | 109 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

An ex-husband and wife team star in a musical version of 'The Taming of the Shrew'; off-stage, the production is troublesome with ex-lovers' quarrels and two gangsters looking for some money owed to them.

Director: George Sidney | Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn

Votes: 6,813 | Gross: $4.38M

97. Can-Can (1960)

Approved | 131 min | Comedy, Musical

In 1896 Paris, a female nightclub proprietor fights against the forces of public morality for the right to feature her performers doing the risqué dance, the Can-Can.

Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan

Votes: 2,490

98. Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

Approved | 123 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical

In Prohibition-era Chicago, two rival gangs compete for control of the city's rackets.

Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby

Votes: 5,688 | Gross: $9.81M

99. Bells Are Ringing (1960)

Not Rated | 126 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

61 Metascore

A Brooklyn answering service operator becomes involved in the lives of her clients, including a struggling playwright with whom she begins to fall in love.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Fred Clark, Eddie Foy Jr.

Votes: 3,812 | Gross: $6.16M

100. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)

G | 89 min | Family, Fantasy, Music

A young boy dreams that he is in an imaginary world where, assisted by his family's plumber, he must save other piano-playing kids like himself from the dungeons of his dictatorial piano teacher who also mind-controls his mother.

Director: Roy Rowland | Stars: Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig

Votes: 4,462



Recently Viewed