55. Hair (1979)

Music and politics mix in this screen adaptation of the hit anti-Vietnam stage show from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest director Milos Forman. Claude (John Savage) is a soldier on his way to 'Nam, who falls in with a bunch of NY hippies, whose opposition to America's involvement in the war provides the inspiration for a bunch of classic tunes and often moving drama. Particularly notable for its "horse ballet" by mounted police in Central Park, its LSD trip fantasy sequence and, of course, the nudity.

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54. On The Town (1949)

Three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin) visit New York with 24 hours' leave, dancing feet and itchy tonsils. In reality they'd probably leave with a hangover, a bad tattoo and an STD, but this is pure innocent fantasy, and all the better for it. The three cheeky chappies pick up girls and sing and dance their way through evocative landmarks in the 'wonderful town': Noticeably filmed outside the confines of a studio, this is some spectacle, with charming characters and each routine choreographed to perfection.

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53. Cinderella (1950)

Disney, while sticking to the particulars of the most famous rags-to-riches story of them all, also introduced a host of delightful new characters for their cartoon adaptation, such as Lucifer the evil cat, and fat Gus and thin Jacques, a pair of Laurel and Hardy-like mice. These combine with the fantastically characterised wicked Stepmother and Ugly Sisters to produce a hugely enjoyable version of a classic tale. And, of course, there's the fabulous 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' song and cute creature dance routine...
Image copyright: Disney.

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52. Carmen Jones

An all-black reworking of Bizet's Carmen with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Harry Belafonte - whose voice was dubbed along with most of the other principles' - is GI Joe, who femme fatale Carmen Jones (Dorothy Dandridge), a parachute-maker in this version, has her eye on. A boxer (standing in for the original toreador) comes into the equation. Of course it all ends tragically, and Bizet's music, if not Hammerstein's lyrics, rules the day.

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51. Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

A Julie Andrews vehicle about a 1920s farm girl who recreates herself as a modern city woman, and then decides that she must marry her boss to be happy. Her friendship with aspiring actress Carol Channing is threatened when her boss starts to take a liking to the scene stealer. Squeaky clean stuff, with lots of dancing to keep musical fans happy.

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