50 major American Musicals (ranked)
by Teyss | created - 20 Dec 2021 | updated - 21 Jan 2022 | PublicOnly includes movies where dancing and/or singing play an important part. Listed roughly by artistic and historical importance (1 = most important).
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1. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 260,869 | Gross: $8.82M
2. The Band Wagon (1953)
Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 12,585
3. 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: 4,331
4. A Star Is Born (1954)
Passed | 154 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
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: 19,688 | Gross: $14.93M
5. 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: 3,986
6. Mary Poppins (1964)
G | 139 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
Director: Robert Stevenson | Stars: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns
Votes: 186,161 | Gross: $102.27M
Despite appearances this movie is American, not British.
7. Swing Time (1936)
Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 14,594
8. 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: 7,861
9. Cabaret (1972)
PG | 124 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey
Votes: 59,435 | Gross: $42.77M
10. Funny Face (1957)
Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 33,053
11. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
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: 428,930 | Gross: $2.08M
12. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
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: 27,695 | Gross: $7.57M
13. The Sound of Music (1965)
G | 172 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn
Votes: 261,281 | Gross: $163.21M
14. My Fair Lady (1964)
G | 170 min | Drama, Family, Musical
In 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Votes: 101,895 | Gross: $72.00M
15. The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 8,643
16. 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: 6,113
17. 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: 43,051 | Gross: $12.00M
18. 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: 5,946
19. New York, New York (1977)
PG | 155 min | Drama, Music, Musical
An egotistical saxophonist and a young lounge singer meet on VJ Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long, uphill climb.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, Lionel Stander, Barry Primus
Votes: 21,904 | Gross: $16.40M
20. West Side Story (1961)
Approved | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise | Stars: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 121,267 | Gross: $43.66M
21. The Blues Brothers (1980)
R | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.
Director: John Landis | Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, John Candy
Votes: 214,641 | Gross: $57.23M
22. 42nd Street (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
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: 13,043 | Gross: $2.30M
23. 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: 9,153 | Gross: $4.80M
24. Top Hat (1935)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 20,721 | Gross: $3.88M
25. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
Approved | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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
26. Show Boat (1951)
Approved | 108 min | Drama, Family, Musical
The daughter of a riverboat captain falls in love with a charming gambler, but their fairy tale romance is threatened after his luck turns sour.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown
Votes: 5,382
27. 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: 3,636 | Gross: $7.93M
28. Babes on Broadway (1941)
Approved | 118 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney star in a musical directed by Busby Berkeley as two talented teenagers dreaming of success as Babes on Broadway.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fay Bainter, Virginia Weidler
Votes: 1,653 | Gross: $3.85M
29. An American in Paris (1951)
Passed | 114 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
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: 36,909 | Gross: $4.50M
30. Gigi (1958)
G | 115 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters | Stars: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold
Votes: 24,515
31. All That Jazz (1979)
R | 123 min | Drama, Music, Musical
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer
Votes: 35,432 | Gross: $37.82M
32. 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: 6,818 | Gross: $4.38M
33. Guys and Dolls (1955)
Not Rated | 150 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
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: 19,384 | Gross: $13.00M
34. Carmen Jones (1954)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
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: 5,926
35. Hair (1979)
PG | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Claude Bukowski leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly embraced into the hippie group of youngsters led by Berger, yet he's already been drafted. He soon falls in love with Sheila Franklin, a rich girl but still a rebel inside.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden
Votes: 40,907 | Gross: $15.28M
36. The King and I (1956)
G | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
A widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson
Votes: 27,931 | Gross: $21.30M
37. Footlight Parade (1933)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 6,095 | Gross: $3.49M
38. Gypsy (1962)
Approved | 143 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Based on the Broadway hit about the life and times of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee and her aggressive stage mother, Mama Rose.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace
Votes: 7,012 | Gross: $13.01M
39. 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
40. Oklahoma! (1955)
G | 145 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
In Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Gordon MacRae, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood
Votes: 14,085
41. Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
Passed | 132 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In the 1920s, three women become performers in the renowned Broadway show the Ziegfeld Follies, where they find fame, love, and tragedy.
Directors: Busby Berkeley, Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Lana Turner
Votes: 3,457
42. Lady Be Good (1941)
Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A composer and his songwriter wife clash as they succeed in working together, writing hit Broadway shows, but fail in their marriage to the point of getting divorced twice.
Directors: Norman Z. McLeod, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore
Votes: 1,175
43. High Society (1956)
Not Rated | 111 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
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: 17,545 | Gross: $13.00M
44. 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: 4,111
45. Follow the Fleet (1936)
Passed | 110 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A Navy sailor tries to rekindle a romance with the woman he loves while on liberty in San Francisco.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Nelson
Votes: 4,721
46. Carousel (1956)
Approved | 128 min | Drama, Fantasy, Musical
Fifteen years after his death, a carousel barker is granted permission to return to Earth for one day to make amends to his widow and their daughter.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Ruick
Votes: 6,808
47. South Pacific (1958)
Approved | 157 min | Musical, Romance, War
On a South Pacific island during World War II, love blooms between a young nurse and a secretive Frenchman who's being courted for a dangerous military mission.
Director: Joshua Logan | Stars: Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston
Votes: 9,820
48. Finian's Rainbow (1968)
G | 141 min | Family, Fantasy, Musical
An Irish immigrant and his daughter move into a town in the American South with a magical piece of gold that will change people's lives, including a struggling farmer and African American citizens threatened by a bigoted politician.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Don Francks
Votes: 4,184 | Gross: $11.60M
49. Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a troubled marriage while her stepsister gets engaged.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts, Edward Norton
Votes: 39,436 | Gross: $9.71M
50. Grease (1978)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Votes: 300,827 | Gross: $188.76M
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