50 Greatest Musical Numbers In Film History

36. Plastic Jesus - Cool Hand Luke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNtftzGqrmY This is definitely one of the saddest songs featured on this list, and it's not even from a musical. Cool Hand Luke is your standard anti-establishment drama from the 1960s, about a rebellious young man who is sent off to a chain gang. Paul Newman doesn't play the character as someone who has a tendency to wallow in sorrow, but even so, he's pretty shaken up by his mother's sudden passing. He sits alone on his bed, strumming a banjo and warbling the tune his mother used to sing to him as a boy, Plastic Jesus. Paul Newman isn't a professional singer by any means, but it doesn't matter. Audiences aren't fussed about the technical proficiency of his performance, not when they can see the raw emotion in every word he sings.

35. Cheek To Cheek - Top Hat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3RSlUkw9U0 Where would this list be without at least one performance from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, two of the finest dancers film has ever seen? Cheek to Cheek was chosen because of the sheer dreamy romance of the piece, but there were plenty of other contenders, including the finale dance from The Gay Divorcee where they expertly dance over a table and chairs. This number may not be the most technically advanced performance they've ever done, but it's wonderfully sweet and iconic even amongst people who have never seen a single Fred Astaire film. This is a song that reminded people of love and elegance in the middle of the Great Depression, and it's tough to put a value on that.