Sometimes when you least expect it, a dramatic or comedy film suddenly erupts into a musical number. For the sake of listicle distraction, here are 10 musical numbers from non-musical films that should get you singing along when you least expect it.
“Titine” from “Modern Times” (1936). When Charlie Chaplin faced the dilemma of speaking on film, he did not want to be limited to a single language. Instead, he invented his own with a gibberish gem (sometimes known as “The Nonsense Song”) that he performed in his last silent film.
“Swinging the Alphabet” from “Violent is the Word for Curly” (1938). It’s a shame that the Three Stooges rarely included songs in their films, but at least we have this ditty and its peculiar understanding of how syllables are pronounced.
“Shine on Harvest Moon” from “The Flying Deuces” (1939). I’m sure that some Laurel and Hardy fans will prefer their dance number from “Out West” (1938), but for old-school charm nothing beats Oliver Hardy’s melodious vocalizing and the duo’s distinctive footwork to this early 20th century standard.
“The Charlie Kane Song” from “Citizen Kane” (1941). The song doesn’t have an official name, but it offers a riotous explosion of singing and dancing with no warning. And who knew that Orson Welles could be such an effective song-and-dance man?
“La Marseillaise” from “Casablanca” (1942). Where else but at Warner Bros. could the fate of the free world be determined in a nightclub showdown between singing Nazis and the proud exiles of Europe? And, damn, that Madeleine Lebeau close-up is the ultimate soul-pump.
“Put the Blame on Mame” from “Gilda” (1946). Rita Hayworth’s mock-striptease created such a sensation back in the day that theater owners complained about men who paid to see “Gilda” and sat in their venues all day, watching the film over and over. Hey, can you really blame them?
“Trouble of the World” from “Imitation of Life” (1958). Gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson was only an occasional presence in films, but she earned a place in cinema immortality with her roof-raising vocalizing in the funeral sequence of this classic melodrama.
“31 Flavors” from “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963). The briefest number on our list is a mere 42 seconds, but what a wild bunch of 42 seconds with a manic Dick Shawn and a stone-faced Barrie Chase gyrating to the Shirelles’ ice cream ode!
“Springtime for Hitler” in “The Producers” (1968). Mel Brooks liked to stick musical numbers into his films, but nothing topped this masterpiece of inspired bad taste from his first feature. Heil, baby!
“In Heaven Everything is Fine” from “Eraserhead” (1977). Just when David Lynch’s avant-garde nightmare couldn’t get weirder, along comes the Lady in the Radiator with her one-hit wonder!