{"id":49697,"date":"2025-09-19T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=49697"},"modified":"2025-09-17T20:43:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T00:43:17","slug":"the-10-best-musical-numbers-you-may-not-have-seen-but-need-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/19\/the-10-best-musical-numbers-you-may-not-have-seen-but-need-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best Musical Numbers You May Not Have Seen (But Need to See)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to the subject of movie musicals, it always seems like a handful of numbers from classic films are always presented as being the best of the genre. And, to be fair, they deserve that attention. Whether it involves Judy Garland pining to be \u201cOver the Rainbow\u201d or James Cagney giving a new meaning to patriotism with \u201cYankee Doodle Dandy\u201d or Gene Kelly getting happily soaked while \u201cSingin\u2019 in the Rain,\u201d everyone knows these numbers by heart.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019re going in the opposite direction with segments from 10 films that never quite achieved classic status but nonetheless feature larger than life musical sequences that are too much fun.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n\u201cThe Apache Dance\u201d from \u201cDough Boys\u201d (1930)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many film scholars deride Buster Keaton\u2019s early talkies at MGM, but these films (while imperfect) had more than their fair share of inspired moments. One highlight from this output found Keaton doing a violently frenetic Apache dance while dressed in drag. Keaton\u2019s brilliant stoneface reaction to the mayhem enacted on him made the sequence all the more hilarious.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xrKr6o-60Vs?si=8Jam9En0jlFIJnow\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBanjo on My Knee\/Swanee\u201d from \u201cBanjo on My Knee\u201d (1936)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This obscure 20th Century Fox production is notable for a wonderful musical segment with a young Buddy Ebsen doing a song-and-dance number that is followed with Barbara Stanwyck making a surprise turn as his dance partner.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/01mMV6mN1hU?si=uuVZy-28cSdXRPIM\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;What a Rumba Does to Romance&#8221; from \u201cCollege Swing\u201d (1938)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another obscure 1930s flick finds two funny people with very different performing styles \u2013 bombastic Martha Raye and quietly eccentric Ben Blue \u2013 doing a hilarious Astaire-Rogers turn in an otherwise forgettable musical-comedy.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wV2m8oRh_ao?si=TL6WzCCDQ4gB_MM2\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe Sping\u201d from \u201cPanama Hattie\u201d (1942)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This adaptation of the popular Broadway musical was widely considered to be a dud except for the star-making appearance of Lena Horne in her first appearance in an MGM offering. Horne was a gorgeous force of talent in this Caribbean-tinged number, and she is happily joined by the Berry Brothers, an energetic dance trio whose film output has not received the ongoing love that they deserve.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qs_zh1gjQS4?si=orWJXswtAalQu4F7\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cDon&#8217;t Sit Under the Apple Tree\u201d from Private Buckaroo (1942)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This jukebox musical from Universal Pictures offered a wonderfully strange rendition of the Andrews Sisters\u2019 chart-topping hit, with Shemp Howard brought in as the object of some rather unladylike behavior from the sibling trio.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YcyiC79l910?si=jPMW_fndM9JQSNPg\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n\u201cCoffee Time\u201d from \u201cYolanda and the Thief\u201d (1946)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the most notable box office flops from MGM\u2019s Golden Age was this excessively stylish musical that was designed to launch Lucille Bremer to superstardom. That didn\u2019t happen \u2013 no fault of Bremer, whose extravagant dance number with Fred Astaire under Vincente Minnelli\u2019s direction showed that she was a genuine talent who should have gone further at the studio.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gz6jRrObcnw?si=x3Z2mj-NN4RwYSzJ\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n\u201cAm I in Love?\u201d from \u201cShe&#8217;s Working Her Way Through College\u201d (1952)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gene Nelson was one of the most talented stars of the movie musical genre, but he is barely recalled today because most of his work was at Warner Bros., which didn\u2019t produce the sterling works that MGM churned out. As this number shows, Nelson excelled as a singer, dancer, acrobat and comic actor. Outside of his supporting role in \u201cOklahoma!\u201d (1955), he never got the attention he deserved.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/266TsW1QWCE?si=X_tPWYgY5K_0aIB1\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cOnce a Year Day\u201d from \u201cThe Pajama Game\u201d (1957)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another Warner Bros. musical that doesn\u2019t get the love it deserves, this adaptation of the Broadway hit expanded on the stage show with this riotous sequence at a company picnic, with inventive choreography by Bob Fosse and a rare big screen star turn by the talented dancer Carol Haney.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6eg6h7NpjVY?si=-0RmS_A7fPKNxH3L\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n\u201cLet the Punishment Fit the Crime (A More Humane Mikado)\u201d from \u201cThe Cool Mikado\u201d (1963)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This odd British production updated the Gilbert &#038; Sullivan operetta \u201cThe Mikado\u201d to a contemporary setting. It didn\u2019t quite work, although a saving grace was Broadway funnyman Stubby Kaye giving a witty and charming version of an updated riff on one of the most amusing songs in \u201cThe Mikado.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-bPHyr2fFOA?si=MUW36J_uFvmKiZqt\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe Musical Extravaganza\u201d from \u201cWhat a Way to Go!\u201d (1964)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shirley MacLaine teamed with Gene Kelly in this send-up of old-school musical show-stoppers. Kelly is great, of course, but this film offered a much-needed reminder of MacLaine\u2019s talent as a dancer \u2013 too bad she didn\u2019t do more movie musicals. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5y76ctjpOn0?si=Vrst2Q5ak0i1GN21\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to the subject of movie musicals, it always seems like a handful of numbers from classic films are always presented as being the best of the genre. And, to be fair, they deserve that attention. Whether it involves Judy Garland pining to be \u201cOver the Rainbow\u201d or James Cagney giving a new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":49698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1369],"tags":[3833,2107,3609,3832,2771,3836,3203,2780,3835,1868,3834,2000,2159,3610,2319],"class_list":["post-49697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retro-cinema","tag-andrews-sisters","tag-barbara-stanwyck","tag-bob-fosse","tag-buddy-ebsen","tag-buster-keaton","tag-carol-haney","tag-fred-astaire","tag-gene-kelly","tag-gene-nelson","tag-lena-horne","tag-lucille-bremer","tag-musicals","tag-shemp-howard","tag-shirley-maclaine","tag-stubby-kaye"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49697"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49700,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49697\/revisions\/49700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}