Your Top 10 Best Movie Musical Performances — Page 5

madcap, I don't know which version of SWEENEY TODD you saw, but it was perfectly clear to me at least that HBC's Lovett was MADLY in love/lust with Sweeney Todd, and was DESPERATELY trying to get him to notice her. She didn't mug for all she was worth, the way Angela Lansbury did, but I'll agree with the poster above who said that each viewing on HBC's performance reveals new shades of character, fascinating little deliveries of dialogue.

Yeah, I wish her singing voice was a little stronger.

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In no particular order:

*Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors): I also give brownie points to Rick Moranis as well. He was such an adorable Seymour in a dark, twisted kind of way!
*Johnny Depp (Sweeney Depp)
*Nikki Blonski (Hairspray)
*Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera): While his singing was far from perfect, I thought he did a fantastic job bringing out the emotions of the Phantom. Just watch his eyes--how passionate are THEY?
*Judy Garland (Wizard of Oz)
*Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park: BLU)
*Amy Adams and James Marsden (Enchanted)
*Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge)
*Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta Jones (Chicago)
*Tony Jay (Hunchback of Notre Dame): I honestly have no idea why this vocal performance wasn't mentioned earlier. His yelling at Quasimodo is so CHILLING!

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Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago
Elijah Kelley in Hairspray
Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
Traci Thoms in Rent (Of course, the originals too, but I thought that she was fabulous)
John Travolta in Grease
Dick Van Dyke in everything he's ever done (ADORE him)
Anne Margret in Bye Bye Birdie
Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (my entire childhood)
Julie Andrews in Sound of Music and Mary Poppins

My ten in no particular order of excellence:
1. Debbie Reynolds - The Unsinkable Molly Brown
2. Alice Faye - Hello Frisco, Hello
3. Ethel Merman - Call Me Madam
4. Dolores Gray - Kismet
5. Gordon MacRae - Oklahoma
6. Doris Day - The Pajama Game
7. Julie Andrews - Thoroughly Modern Millie
8. James Cagney - Yankee Doodle Dandy
9. Judy Garland - The Pirate
10. Rosalind Russell - Gypsy

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I can't believe noone has mentioned Reefer Madness, one of the best movie musicals ever. All of the cast is great in it. I thought Sweeney Todd(the new one) was one of the worst movie musicals I have ever seen. Noone could sing in it!

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10. Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge
9. Kristen Bell, Reefer Madness
8. Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl
7. Julie Andrews, The Sound of Music
6. Rex Harrison, My Fair Lady
5. Joel Grey, Cabaret
4. Hermione Gingold, The Music Man
3. William Daniels, 1776
2. Robert Preston, The Music Man
1. Liza Minnelli, Cabaret

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Bump!

10. Jenifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
9. Topol in Fiddler on the roof
8. Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl
7. Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago.
6. Anne Hatheway in Les Miserable
5. Gene Kelly in Singin in the rain
4. Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music
3. Rita Moreno in West Side Story
2. Ray Bolger in Wizard of Oz
1. Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly.

I'll just rank Julie Andrews' musical roles because I think she was the greatest movie musical performer (controversial opinion, I know)

1. Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins
2. Gertrude Lawrence in Star!
3. Victoria Grant in Victor/Victoria
4. Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music
5. Cinderella in Cinderella (I cheated here, I admit)
6. Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie
7. Lili Smith/Schimdt in Darling Lili

One of the great shames of Julie's career is that she hit her peak just as movie musicals died out. I wish I could list her Amalia, or her Mrs. Lovett, or her Trilby, and most definitely her Eliza and Guinevere, but those are just dreams...

Can't get to 10. But adding in Debbie Reynolds in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown"

Others already mentioned

Julie Andrew in Sound of Music
Liza in Cabaret
Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain
Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago
Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady
Mary Tyler Moore in Thoroughly Modern Miller
Anne Hathaway in Les Mis (shut up. It's my opinion)
Robert Preston in Music Man

There's huge love for Ellen Greene in this list, which is great, but I tend to think Rick Moranis overshadowed her. She's got that enormous, unusual voice, but between Moranis giving his all-time defining performance, and the Canadian comedy feel the whole movie has (consider the talent brought in for the supporting roles. It's a who's who of Saturday Night Live and Second City performers of the 1980), Greene often seems to be in a different movie than some of them.

Here's my top ten: Top Ten movie musical performances outside the mainstream.

Paul Williams as Swan/Satan/Voice of the Phantom in "Phantom of the Paradise."
Frank Oz and Jim Henson as the cast of The Muppets in "The Muppet Movie"
Kristen Bell as Mary Lane in "Reefer Madness"
The Swell Season as Guy and Girl in "Once"
Zooey Deschanel in "Elf" (not a full-blown musical, but a movie with musical elements)
Tevin Campbell as Prince... I mean Power Line in "A Goofy Movie"
Ken Page as Oogie Boogie in "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
Danny Elfman as Satan in "The Forbidden Zone"
Raul Julia as Macheath in "Mack The Knife"
Rik Mayall as King Herod in "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Not in order

* Judy Garland in 'Meet Me in St. Louis'
* Rex Harrison in 'My Fair Lady'
* Julie Andrews in 'The Sound of Music'
* Gene Kelly in 'Singing in the Rain'
* Judy Garland in 'The Wizard of Oz'
* Julie Andrews in 'Mary Poppins'
* Gene Wilder in 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'
* Jennifer Hudson in 'Dreamgirls'
* Audrey Hepburn in 'My Fair Lady'
* Anne Hathaway in 'Les Miserables'

No order!

1) Liza Minnelli in 'Cabaret'
2) Barbra Streisand in 'Funny Girl'
3) Jean Hagen in 'Singin in the Rain'
4) Rita Moreno in 'West Side Story'
5) Judy Garland in 'The Wizard of Oz'
6) Roy Scheider in 'All That Jazz'
7) Catherine Zeta-Jones in 'Chicago'
John Cameron Mitchell in 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'
9) Julie Andrews in 'The Sound of Music'
10) Dick Van Dyke in 'Mary Poppins'

SO many great ones though. I also love Joel Grey in 'Cabaret', Barbra in 'Hello, Dolly', Ellen Greene in 'Little Shop of Horrors', Betty Hutton in 'Annie Get Your Gun'. Too many to name!

In no particular order:

Lesley Ann Warren - Victor, Victoria, Cinderella
Tim Curry - Rocky Horror Picture Show
Bette Midler - The Rose, Beaches
Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl
Hazel O'Connor - Breaking Glass
Robin Johnson - Times Square
Julie Andrews - The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Victor, Victoria
Rick Moranis - Little Shop of Horrors
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
Olivia Newton-John - Grease, Xanadu
Diana Ross - Lady Sings the Blues
Ewan McGregor - Moulin Rouge
The cast of "The Commitments"

Updated On: 5/15/14 at 10:16 PM