'Singin' in the Rain' tops musicals list

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- "Singin' in the Rain" topped the American Film Institute's list of 25 Greatest Movie Musicals in a presentation by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.

The list released Sunday at The Big Picture: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals at the Hollywood Bowl named "Singin' in the Rain," produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1952 and starring dancers Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor and actress Debbie Reynolds, as the most memorable musical film of all time, the film institute reported.

A jury of more than 500 composers, musicians, critics and historians made the selections, including "West Side Story" (2), "The Wizard of Oz" (3), "The Sound of Music" (4), "Cabaret" (5), "Mary Poppins" (6), "A Star is Born" (7), "My Fair Lady" (8), "An American in Paris" (9) and "Meet Me in St. Louis" (10).

Others among the 25 were "The King and I," "Chicago," "42nd Street," All That Jazz," "Top Hat," "Funny Girl," "The Band Wagon," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "On the Town," "Grease," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Beauty and the Beast," "Guys and Dolls," "Show Boat" and "Moulin Rouge!"

The orchestra, directed by John Mauceri, played excerpts from each musical, many accompanied by movie scenes projected on the Bowl's big screens.