10 Best Musical Numbers In Film

In the history of musical movies, there is no single song so intrinsically linked to the genre than Singin' in the Rain. While The Sound of Music may have the most iconic shot, Singin' in the Rain has the most iconic single sequence.

And it all rests on the charm of Gene Kelly, and several thousand gallons of water.

Odds are even if you have a passing knowledge of musicals you are familiar with this song. It's easy to say something is iconic, but much harder to say why. Perhaps its the unflappable cheeriness of the song, or how it defies the cinematic stereotype of only dramatic or sad events happening in the rain. Or maybe moviegoers have always had a strange appetite for watching celebrities get soaked to the skin.

This is one film where the uninterrupted cinematography serves a deliberate purpose - to showcase how not even the rain can stop the enthusiastic tap dancing of Gene Kelly - even if it is a bit laughable that we can hear any clicking through the rivers of water.

Hopefully the reason for this song's lasting impact is NOT its use in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. A great film, sure, but one hopes it didn't taint the memory of such a classic song.