AFI's 100 YEARS OF MUSICALS

the 25 greatest movie musicals of all time LEARN MORE
The American Film Institute proudly curates lists to celebrate excellence in the art form. We believe their greatest impact is to inspire personal, passionate discussions about what makes a great film and why and, also, to chart the evolution of the art form. Since its inception, American film has marginalized the diversity of voices that make our nation and its stories strong – and these lists reflect that intolerable truth. AFI acknowledges its responsibility in curating these lists that has reinforced this marginality and looks forward to releasing new lists that will embrace our modern day and drive culture forward.
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Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden

Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson

Genre: Musical comedy

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Lennie Hayton

West Side Story (1961)

Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn

Directors: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

Producer: Robert Wise

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: Thomas Stanford

Cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp

Genre: Drama, Musical

Production Company: Beta Productions, The Mirisch Company, Inc., Seven Arts Productions, Inc., B & P Enterprises, Inc.

Composer: Leonard Bernstein

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger

Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor

Producer: Mervyn Le Roy

Writer: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, Noel Langley

Editor: Blanche Sewell

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson

Genre: Fantasy, Musical

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

The Sound of Music (1965)

Cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

Directors: Robert Wise

Producer: Robert Wise

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: William Reynolds, Larry Allen

Cinematographer: Ted McCord

Genre: Drama, Musical

Production Company: Argyle Enterprises, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

Cabaret (1972)

Cast: Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem

Directors: Bob Fosse

Producer: Martin Baum, Cy Feuer

Writer: Jay Allen

Editor: David Bretherton

Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth

Genre: Drama, Musical

Production Company: ABC Pictures Corp.

Mary Poppins (1964)

Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson

Directors: Robert Stevenson

Writer: Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi

Editor: Cotton Warburton

Cinematographer: Edward Colman

Genre: Children's works, Musical comedy

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions

A Star Is Born (1954)

Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson

Directors: George Cukor

Producer: Sidney Luft

Writer: Moss Hart

Editor: Folmar Blangsted

Cinematographer: Sam Leavitt, Winton Hoch, Harry Stradling

Genre: Melodrama, Musical

Production Company: Transcona Enterprises

Composer: Ray Heindorf

My Fair Lady (1964)

Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway

Directors: George Cukor

Producer: Jack L. Warner

Writer: Alan Jay Lerner

Editor: William Ziegler

Cinematographer: Harry Stradling

Genre: Musical comedy

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

An American in Paris (1951)

Cast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant

Directors: Vincente Minnelli

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Alan Jay Lerner

Editor: Adrienne Fazan, William LeVanway

Cinematographer: Alfred Gilks

Genre: Musical, Romance

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Johnny Green

Meet Me in St. Louis (1945)

Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor

Directors: Vincente Minnelli

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Irving Brecher, Fred F. Finklehoffe

Editor: Albert Akst

Cinematographer: George Folsey

Genre: Musical

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: George Stoll

The King and I (1956)

Cast: Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno

Directors: Walter Lang

Producer: Charles Brackett

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: Robert Simpson

Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy

Genre: Drama

Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

Chicago (2002)

Cast: Taye Diggs, Cliff Saunders, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Directors: Rob Marshall

Producer: Martin Richards, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Sam Crothers, Bob Weinstein, Dan Gallagher, Michael Milton

Writer: Bill Condon

Editor: Martin Walsh

Cinematographer: Dion Beebe, Peter Benison, Michael Kohnhorst, James Chressanthis, Jens Sturup

Genre: Musical comedy

Production Company: Producer Circle Co.

42nd Street (1933)

Cast: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent

Directors: Lloyd Bacon

Producer: Darryl Zanuck

Writer: Rian James, James Seymour

Editor: Frank Ware, Thomas Pratt

Cinematographer: Sol Polito

Genre: Musical

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

All That Jazz (1979)

Cast: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking

Directors: Bob Fosse

Producer: Robert Alan Aurthur, Daniel Melnick

Writer: Robert Alan Aurthur, Bob Fosse

Editor: Alan Heim

Cinematographer: Giuseppe Rotunno, Dick DiBona

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Musical comedy

Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox , Columbia Pictures

Top Hat (1935)

Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton

Directors: Mark Sandrich

Writer: Dwight Taylor, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor, Karl Noti

Editor: William Hamilton

Cinematographer: David Abel

Genre: Musical, Romantic comedy

Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Composer: Max Steiner

Funny Girl (1968)

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford

Directors: William Wyler

Producer: Ray Stark

Writer: Isobel Lennart

Editor: Maury Winetrobe, William Sands

Cinematographer: Harry Stradling

Genre: Biography, Musical

Production Company: Rastar Productions, Inc.

The Band Wagon (1953)

Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant

Directors: Vincente Minnelli

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Editor: Albert Akst, George White

Cinematographer: Harry Jackson, George Folsey

Genre: Musical comedy

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Adolph Deutsch

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston

Directors: Michael Curtiz

Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis

Writer: Robert Buckner, Edmund Joseph

Editor: George Amy

Cinematographer: James Wong Howe, Sol Polito

Genre: Biography, Musical

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Composer: Leo F. Forbstein

On the Town (1949)

Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett

Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden

Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson, Harry Stradling

Genre: Musical comedy, Romance

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Lennie Hayton

Grease (1978)

Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing

Directors: Randal Kleiser

Producer: Robert Stigwood, Allan Carr

Writer: Bronté Woodard, Allan Carr

Editor: John F. Burnett

Cinematographer: Bill Butler

Genre: Musical comedy

Production Company: Allan Carr Enterprises, Inc., Stigwood Group, Ltd.

Composer: Charles Fox

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Cast: Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn

Directors: Stanley Donen

Producer: Jack Cummings

Writer: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Dorothy Kingsley

Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Cinematographer: George Folsey

Genre: Musical comedy, Romance

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Gene de Paul

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Producer: Don Hahn, Howard Ashman

Editor: John Carnochan

Genre: Musical

Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures , Silver Screen Partners IV

Guys and Dolls (1955)

Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra

Directors: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Producer: Samuel Goldwyn

Writer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Editor: Daniel Mandell

Cinematographer: Harry Stradling

Genre: Musical, Romantic comedy

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp., Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Inc.

Show Boat (1936)

Cast: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger

Directors: James Whale

Producer: Carl Laemmle Jr.

Writer: Billie Burke

Editor: Ted Kent , Bernard Burton , Maurice Pivar

Cinematographer: John J. Mescall

Genre: Comedy-drama

Production Company: Universal Productions, Inc.

Composer: Victor Baravalle

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo

Directors: Baz Luhrmann

Producer: Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Fred Baron

Writer: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce

Editor: Jill Bilcock

Cinematographer: Donald M. McAlpine, Steve Dobson

Genre: Musical, Romance

Production Company: Bazmark Films

1. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden

Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson

Composer: Lennie Hayton

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

2. West Side Story (1961)

Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn

Directors: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

Producer: Robert Wise

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: Thomas Stanford

Cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp

Composer: Leonard Bernstein

Production Company: Beta Productions, The Mirisch Company, Inc., Seven Arts Productions, Inc., B & P Enterprises, Inc.

3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger

Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor

Producer: Mervyn Le Roy

Writer: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, Noel Langley

Editor: Blanche Sewell

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

4. The Sound of Music (1965)

Cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

Directors: Robert Wise

Producer: Robert Wise

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: William Reynolds, Larry Allen

Cinematographer: Ted McCord

Production Company: Argyle Enterprises, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

5. Cabaret (1972)

Cast: Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem

Directors: Bob Fosse

Producer: Martin Baum, Cy Feuer

Writer: Jay Allen

Editor: David Bretherton

Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth

Production Company: ABC Pictures Corp.

6. Mary Poppins (1964)

Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson

Directors: Robert Stevenson

Writer: Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi

Editor: Cotton Warburton

Cinematographer: Edward Colman

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions

7. A Star Is Born (1954)

Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson

Directors: George Cukor

Producer: Sidney Luft

Writer: Moss Hart

Editor: Folmar Blangsted

Cinematographer: Sam Leavitt, Winton Hoch, Harry Stradling

Composer: Ray Heindorf

Production Company: Transcona Enterprises

8. My Fair Lady (1964)

Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway

Directors: George Cukor

Producer: Jack L. Warner

Writer: Alan Jay Lerner

Editor: William Ziegler

Cinematographer: Harry Stradling

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

9. An American in Paris (1951)

Cast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant

Directors: Vincente Minnelli

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Alan Jay Lerner

Editor: Adrienne Fazan, William LeVanway

Cinematographer: Alfred Gilks

Composer: Johnny Green

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

10. Meet Me in St. Louis (1945)

Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor

Directors: Vincente Minnelli

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Irving Brecher, Fred F. Finklehoffe

Editor: Albert Akst

Cinematographer: George Folsey

Composer: George Stoll

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

11. The King and I (1956)

Cast: Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno

Directors: Walter Lang

Producer: Charles Brackett

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: Robert Simpson

Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy

Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

12. Chicago (2002)

Cast: Taye Diggs, Cliff Saunders, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Directors: Rob Marshall

Producer: Martin Richards, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Sam Crothers, Bob Weinstein, Dan Gallagher, Michael Milton

Writer: Bill Condon

Editor: Martin Walsh

Cinematographer: Dion Beebe, Peter Benison, Michael Kohnhorst, James Chressanthis, Jens Sturup

Production Company: Producer Circle Co.

13. 42nd Street (1933)

Cast: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent

Directors: Lloyd Bacon

Producer: Darryl Zanuck

Writer: Rian James, James Seymour

Editor: Frank Ware, Thomas Pratt

Cinematographer: Sol Polito

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

14. All That Jazz (1979)

Cast: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking

Directors: Bob Fosse

Producer: Robert Alan Aurthur, Daniel Melnick

Writer: Robert Alan Aurthur, Bob Fosse

Editor: Alan Heim

Cinematographer: Giuseppe Rotunno, Dick DiBona

Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox , Columbia Pictures

15. Top Hat (1935)

Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton

Directors: Mark Sandrich

Writer: Dwight Taylor, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor, Karl Noti

Editor: William Hamilton

Cinematographer: David Abel

Composer: Max Steiner

Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

16. Funny Girl (1968)

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford

Directors: William Wyler

Producer: Ray Stark

Writer: Isobel Lennart

Editor: Maury Winetrobe, William Sands

Cinematographer: Harry Stradling

Production Company: Rastar Productions, Inc.

17. The Band Wagon (1953)

Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant

Directors: Vincente Minnelli

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Editor: Albert Akst, George White

Cinematographer: Harry Jackson, George Folsey

Composer: Adolph Deutsch

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

18. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston

Directors: Michael Curtiz

Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis

Writer: Robert Buckner, Edmund Joseph

Editor: George Amy

Cinematographer: James Wong Howe, Sol Polito

Composer: Leo F. Forbstein

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

19. On the Town (1949)

Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett

Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen

Producer: Arthur Freed

Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden

Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson, Harry Stradling

Composer: Lennie Hayton

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

20. Grease (1978)

Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing

Directors: Randal Kleiser

Producer: Robert Stigwood, Allan Carr

Writer: Bronté Woodard, Allan Carr

Editor: John F. Burnett

Cinematographer: Bill Butler

Composer: Charles Fox

Production Company: Allan Carr Enterprises, Inc., Stigwood Group, Ltd.

21. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Cast: Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn

Directors: Stanley Donen

Producer: Jack Cummings

Writer: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Dorothy Kingsley

Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Cinematographer: George Folsey

Composer: Gene de Paul

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

22. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Producer: Don Hahn, Howard Ashman

Editor: John Carnochan

Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures , Silver Screen Partners IV

23. Guys and Dolls (1955)

Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra

Directors: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Producer: Samuel Goldwyn

Writer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Editor: Daniel Mandell

Cinematographer: Harry Stradling

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp., Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Inc.

24. Show Boat (1936)

Cast: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger

Directors: James Whale

Producer: Carl Laemmle Jr.

Writer: Billie Burke

Editor: Ted Kent , Bernard Burton , Maurice Pivar

Cinematographer: John J. Mescall

Composer: Victor Baravalle

Production Company: Universal Productions, Inc.

25. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo

Directors: Baz Luhrmann

Producer: Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Fred Baron

Writer: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce

Editor: Jill Bilcock

Cinematographer: Donald M. McAlpine, Steve Dobson

Production Company: Bazmark Films

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