The simple truth is, nobody gave a hope in hell to this film when it was proposed for the big screen. The idea of this most-beloved musical, with Howard Keel as Adam and Jane Powell as Millie, was almost dead before it got off the ground. But it was absolutely impossible not to love each and every frame, up to and unequivocally including Stanley Donen's direction and brilliant terpsichore by the likes of Matt Mattox (sometimes known in the dance world by those who stood behind him as he taught in class as Butt Buttox), Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall and Jacques D'Amboise. An early film appearance by Julie Newmar (then Newmeyer) didn't hurt either.
17. Oliver! (1968)
By the late 1960s, the entire notion of the movie musical was all but forgotten save for a couple of notable recent examples. And though the Broadway show was a qualified hit when it premiered a few years earlier, Lionel Bart had been almost completely dismissed as a legitimate force in theatrical composition of music and lyrics (who, after all, would have stretched the word "where" over five syllables?). Nonetheless, this film proved not only a powerhouse when it emerged but managed to snag the Oscar for Best Picture. And why not? The "Who Will Buy?" sequence remains a feat of cinematic wizardry unto itself.