Top 250 Must-See Musicals
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- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsAl JolsonMay McAvoyWarner OlandThe son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierClaudette ColbertMiriam HopkinsAn amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldCharles RugglesA 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.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellRuby KeelerChester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsWarren WilliamJoan BlondellAline MacMahonA wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsWarner BaxterBebe DanielsGeorge BrentWhen 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.
- DirectorRay EnrightBusby BerkeleyStarsJoan BlondellDick PowellRuby KeelerA multimillionaire decides to boycott "filthy" forms of entertainment such as Broadway shows.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsDick PowellAdolphe MenjouGloria StuartRomantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersAlice BradyA woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdward Everett HortonAn American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersVictor MooreRoguish 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.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdward Everett HortonA ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsDick PowellMadeleine CarrollAlice FayeA Broadway producer satirizes an important New York family. The family sues but their daughter falls in love with the producer.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerAlice FayeDon AmecheThis 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.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsJeanette MacDonaldNelson EddyReginald OwenAn incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her fugitive brother.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardW.S. Van DykeStarsJeanette MacDonaldNelson EddyMary BolandOn a Louisiana-bound ship, a nobleman planning a campaign for liberty encounters an heiress.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsIrene DunneAllan JonesCharles WinningerDespite 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.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyLuise RainerThe ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage revues, are portrayed.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsDon AmecheAndrea LeedsAl JolsonMore 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.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsAlice FayeDon AmecheHenry FondaThe 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.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyJoan LeslieWalter HustonThe life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandCharles WinningerA 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.
- DirectorNorman TaurogBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandGil StrattonA 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.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung 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.
- DirectorRoy MackStarsEthel WatersSammy Davis Jr.Hamtree HarringtonRufus 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..
- DirectorVincente MinnelliBusby BerkeleyStarsEthel WatersEddie 'Rochester' AndersonLena HorneA compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsLena HorneBill RobinsonCab Calloway and His Cotton Club OrchestraThe relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsDon AmecheBetty GrableRobert CummingsSisters Kay and Barbara arrive in Miami from Texas looking for rich husbands.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsAlice FayeDon AmecheCarmen MirandaAn entertainer in Rio impersonates a wealthy aristocrat. When the aristocrat's wife asks him to carry the impersonation further, complications ensue.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaJohn PayneNan 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.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaPhil BakerA soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsGinger RogersRay MillandWarner BaxterLiza Elliott, "Allure" magazines editor-in-chief, suffers from headaches and continuous daydreams and undergoes psychoanalysis to determine why.
- DirectorIrving RapperStarsRobert AldaJoan LeslieAlexis SmithGeorge Gershwin is a driven composer whose need to succeed destroys his relationship with singer Julie Adams and socialite Christine Gilbert.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsCary GrantAlexis SmithMonty WoolleyA fictionalized biopic of composer Cole Porter from his days at Yale in the 1910s through the height of his success to the 1940s.
- DirectorLemuel AyersRoy Del RuthRobert LewisStarsWilliam PowellJudy GarlandLucille BallThe late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. looks down from Heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
- DirectorRichard WhorfVincente MinnelliGeorge SidneyStarsRobert WalkerVan HeflinLucille BremerBiography 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).
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsLarry ParksEvelyn KeyesWilliam DemarestThis 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 non-Jewish dancer, and marries her. In the end he chooses success on the stage.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsLarry ParksBarbara HaleWilliam DemarestIn 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 spotlight isn't what it used to be. This time Jolson trades in the stage for life in the fast lane: women, horses, travel. It takes the death of Moma Yoelson and World War II to bring Jolson back to earth - and to the stage. Once again teamed with manager Steve Martin, Jolson travels the world entertaining troops everywhere from Alaska to Africa. When he finally collapses from exhaustion it takes young, pretty nurse Ellen Clark to show him there's more to life than "just rushing around".
- DirectorWalter LangStarsJeanne CrainDana AndrewsDick HaymesEach member of the Frake clan has his/her own reason for attending the annual Iowa State Fair.
- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsJudy GarlandGeorge MurphyGene KellyTwo vaudeville performers fall in love, but find their relationship tested by the arrival of WWI.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsJudy GarlandRay BolgerJohn HodiakOn 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.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandGene KellyWalter SlezakA 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.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJudy GarlandVan JohnsonS.Z. SakallIn 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.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJudy GarlandFred AstairePeter LawfordA 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.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJudy GarlandGene KellyEddie BrackenA 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.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJudy GarlandJames MasonJack CarsonA film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsFrank SinatraEsther WilliamsGene KellyTwo 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.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDan DaileyCyd CharisseThree soldiers meet ten years after their last meeting in New York, and find out that they have little in common now.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsGene KellyMitzi GaynorKay KendallThe former members of a dance troupe are suing because of recently published memoirs. Each one insists on own point of view.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsRita HayworthGene KellyLee BowmanRusty Parker wins a contest and becomes a celebrated cover girl; this endangers her romance with dancing mentor Danny.
- DirectorVictor SavilleStarsRita HayworthLee BowmanJanet BlairThe 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.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsRita HayworthLarry ParksMarc PlattUpset 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 incorporates her changes into the show. Unfortunately, her changes also produce a major flop.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsFred AstaireRita HayworthAdolphe MenjouIn 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.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEsther WilliamsVictor MatureWalter PidgeonBiopic 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.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsRed SkeltonEsther WilliamsBasil RathboneA 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.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsEsther WilliamsRed SkeltonRicardo MontalbanA swimsuit fashion designer is determined to protect her scatterbrained sister from a South American heartbreaker, but a case of mistaken identity complicates matters.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsEsther WilliamsHoward KeelMarge ChampionFabius 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 attack Rome, Amytis is driven by curiosity to the edge of his camp. Captured, she makes a last request of the indifferent Hannibal...that he spare the city. She offers to lead him to a hilltop where she can prove that taking the city is not worth the trouble. Hannibal goes with her, even though she has to cup her hand under his chin and float him across a river as he can't swim. Before long, Hannibal is doing more surveying of Amytis than of Rome. And Fabius finds he can defend neither his city nor his fiancée against the advances of Hannibal. Especially after he has his elephants painted bright colors because Amythis thinks gray is drab.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsFrank SinatraKathryn GraysonGene KellyA pair of sailors on leave try to help a movie extra become a singing star.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyFrank SinatraBetty GarrettThree sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsFred AstaireJane PowellPeter LawfordA brother and sister dance act encounter challenges and romance when booked in London during the Royal Wedding.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersOscar LevantA married musical team splits up so the wife can become a serious actress.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGene KellyLeslie CaronOscar LevantThree friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA 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.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsJane PowellTony MartinDebbie ReynoldsThree sailors come ashore and take the city by storm, but can they win the hearts of three women by song?
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsFred AstaireCyd CharisseOscar LevantA pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsFred AstaireLeslie CaronTerry MooreA 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.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFred AstaireCyd CharisseJanis PaigeA 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.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsAudrey HepburnFred AstaireKay ThompsonAn impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBing CrosbyDanny KayeRosemary ClooneyA 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.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJane RussellMarilyn MonroeCharles CoburnShowgirls 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.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsEthel MermanDonald O'ConnorVera-EllenWashington hostess Sally Adams becomes a Truman-era US ambassador to a European grand duchy.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsEthel MermanMarilyn MonroeDonald O'ConnorMolly 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.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsMickey RooneyTom DrakeJune AllysonMusical biography chronicling the songwriting partnership of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsFred AstaireVera-EllenRed SkeltonThe story of the successful Tin Pan Alley songwriting team of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby is told loosely and lightheartedly.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsJosé FerrerMerle OberonHelen TraubelBiographic movie about the American composer Sigmund Romberg.
- DirectorRobert AltonStarsEsther WilliamsHoward KeelMinna GombellA 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.
- DirectorRobert LewisStarsBing CrosbyDonald O'ConnorZizi JeanmaireBill 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 the girl they selected without informing the other until they head back across the Atlantic by liner - with each man having brought his choice along. It becomes a stormy crossing as each man has to tell his find that she might not get the role after all.
- DirectorMichael CurtizBusby BerkeleyStarsJack CarsonJanis PaigeDoris DayRomantic misunderstandings abound when spouses suspect each other of being unfaithful, and a nightclub singer takes a cruise under a false identity.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsDoris DayGordon MacRaeGene NelsonA 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.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsDoris DayGordon MacRaeJack SmithDuring World War I, a teenage girl begins a romance with a college student, but his unconventional attitudes cause friction with her father.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsDoris DayGordon MacRaeLeon AmesMarjorie 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.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsDoris DayRay BolgerClaude DauphinA 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.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsDoris DayHoward KeelAllyn Ann McLerieThe story of Calamity Jane, her saloon, and her romance with Wild Bill Hickok.
- DirectorGeorge AbbottStanley DonenStarsDoris DayJohn RaittCarol HaneyAn 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.
- DirectorGeorge AbbottStanley DonenStarsTab HunterGwen VerdonRay WalstonA frustrated fan of the hopeless Washington Senators makes a pact with the Devil to help the baseball team win the league pennant.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsMarlon BrandoJean SimmonsFrank SinatraIn 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.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsHarry BelafonteDorothy DandridgePearl BaileyContemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsSidney PoitierDorothy DandridgeSammy Davis Jr.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.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsDoris DayJimmy DuranteStephen BoydA debt-ridden circus is saved by a well-meaning but inept publicity man.
- DirectorMelvin FrankStarsLeslie ParrishStubby KayePeter PalmerAs Sadie Hawkins Day approaches, Daisy Mae hopes to win the hand of Li'l Abner by catching him in the traditional race.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsJanet LeighJack LemmonBetty GarrettAfter submitting a story of her beautiful sister, a woman assumes her identity to maintain the attention of a playboy publisher.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsRita HayworthFrank SinatraKim NovakJoey 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.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsBing CrosbyGrace KellyFrank SinatraWith 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.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsKathryn GraysonHoward KeelAnn MillerAn 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.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsFrank SinatraShirley MacLaineMaurice ChevalierIn 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.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsFrank SinatraDean MartinSammy Davis Jr.In Prohibition-era Chicago, two rival gangs compete for control of the city's rackets.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy HollidayDean MartinFred ClarkA Brooklyn answering service operator becomes involved in the lives of her clients, including a struggling playwright with whom she begins to fall in love.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsPeter Lind HayesMary HealyHans ConriedA 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.