Youtube Videos

The video selections below are song and/or dance numbers from movies I like or are incredible song and/or dance numbers from movies I don’t like that much but nonetheless have an incredible song or dance number. The first dance number is a prime example. Hellzapoppin’ isn’t that great a movie but the swing dance number is one of the best ever put on film. Again what I’m putting up is what’s available on Youtube. It’s song and dance numbers because it doesn’t make sense to me to put up dramatic moments, although I might put up a few classic comedy bits.

Hellzapoppin’

Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers Video

Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers excerpt from the movie Hellzapoppin featuring Frankie Manning (in the Mechanic’s Dungarees) and Ann Johnson. Hellzapoppin’ routine is to the music of Count Basie’s “Jumpin’ At The Woodside.” Two of the musicians are Slim Gaillard and Slam Stewart.

A Day at the Races
Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers

Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers Video

From the movie A Day at the Races. The dancers are Whitey’s Linda Hoppers. Ivie Anderson is the young girl singer who sang with the Duke Ellington band.

My Sister Eileen

Bob Fosse & Tommy Rall Video

From the movie My Sister Eileen. Bob Fosse is the blond dancer. Tommy Rall is the other dancer.

The Affairs of Dobie Gillis

Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, Debbie Reynolds & Barbara Ruick Video

From the movie Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Bob Fosse, Barbara Ruick, Bobby Van and Debbie Reynolds perform some magic in a 1953 movie. Bob Fosse is wearing a sweater and light socks. Barbara Ruick sings the song. The movie’s only available on VHS.

The Affairs of Dobie Gillis

Bobby Van Video

From the movie Affairs of Dobie Gillis,Bobby Van does a nice solo in the 1953 movie. The movie’s only available on VHS.

The Affairs of Dobie Gillis

Debbie Reynolds & Bobby Van Video

From the movie Affairs of Dobie Gillis,OK. No dancing in this number but Debbie Reynolds & Bobby Van do a sweet job singing, All I Do Is Dream of You. If the song sounds familiar, it was also sung by Debbie Reynolds in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Small Town Girl

Bobby Van Video

From the movie Small Town Girl. Bobby Van is the dancer. This movie is currently not available on DVD or VHS. However, a very cool movie with Bobby Van, Debbie Reynolds and Bob Fosse is Affairs of Dobie Gillis which is available on VHS.

Peter Wolf Video

Peter Wolf Video

Peter Wolf, former lead singer of the J. Geils Band, does his take on Bobby Van’s famous dance number from Small Town Girl for the song, Come As You Arefrom the album of the same name.

Swing Time

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Video

From the movie Swing Time. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance to Jerome Kern’s Pick Yourself Up.

Top Hat

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Video

From the movie, Top Hat, one of the greatest musical numbers ever put on film. The song is Cheek to Cheek by Irving Berlin. Ginger’s dress is also famous. The story is that the feathers kept on coming off, requiring the scene to be stopped and reshot. The director, Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire kept yelling at Ginger to put on another dress but she refused. You be the judge of whether she was right. Hermes Pan is the choreographer.

Roberta

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Video

From the movie Roberta is not one of Fred and Ginger’s best movies but it’s a nice dance number to the Jerome Kern tune, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Hermes Pan is again the choreographer.

Roberta

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Video

Another dance number from Roberta . Too Hot to Handle is the song by Jerome Kern. Hermes Pan is the choreographer.

Ship Ahoy

Eleanor Powell & Buddy Rich Video

Ship Ahoy [VHS]is the movie. It’s not yet available on DVD, just VHS. Buddy Rich is the drummer. Bert Lahr (from the Wizard of Oz fame) opens the scene with Red Skelton.

Gold Rush

Charlie Chaplin in Table Ballet Video

Charlie Chaplin doing this famous table ballet dance is part of one of his best movies The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)

The Nicholas Brothers at an Early Age

Nicholas Brothers Video

Fred Astaire called the Nicholas Brothers’ “Jumpin’ Jive” dance sequence in Stormy Weather (see below) the greatest movie musical number ever filmed. George Balanchine called their acrobatic movement ballet, despite their lack of formal training. Mikhail Baryshnikov once said they were the most amazing dancers he had ever seen. This clip is an extra feature on the DVD The Green Pastures. The Nicholas Brothers are not in the movie.

Down Argentine Way

The Nicholas Brothers Video

Down Argentine Way is the movie this dance sequence appears in. It’s a pretty good one.

Stormy Weather

Cab Calloway & the Nicholas Brothers Video

From the movie Stormy Weather–Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers perform “Jumpin Jive.”

Minnie the Moocher

Cab Calloway Video

Performed by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra

Singin’ in the Rain

Gene Kelley Video

From the movie Singin’ in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition)Gene Kelley in one of the most famous film dance sequences of all time, dancing and singing to Singin’ in the Rain composed by Arthur Freed who also produced the movie. Lyrics by Nacio Herb Brown.

Singin’ in the Rain

Donald O’Connor Video

From the movie Singin’ in the Rain Donald O’Connor does his shtick in the number Make ‘em Laugh. Check out Donald O’Connor in Something in the Wind which he made earlier. It’s a very similar dance. The song is composed by Arthur Freed, lyrics by Nacio Herb Brown.

Singin’ in the Rain

Gene Kelley, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor Video

From the movie Singin’ in the Rain Gene Kelley, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor show how to make an audience feel good. The song is Good Morning composed by Arthur Freed, lyrics by Nacio Herb Brown.

Something in the Wind

Donald O’Connor Video

From the movie Something In the Wind Donald O’Connor entertains Deanna Durbin with a dance to the song I Love a Mystery. The dance became the basis for the number Make ‘em Laugh in Singin in the Rain a few years later.

Call Me Madam

Vera Ellen & Donald O’Connor Video

From the movie Call Me MadamDonald O’Connor and Vera Ellen do it as beautifully and as romantically as it can be done. The tune is It’s a Lovely Day Today by Irving Berlin.

Yes Sir That’s My Baby

Donald O’Connor Video

Donald O’Connor sings and dances in a great tap dance number from the movie Yes Sir That’s My Baby which is very hard to find. The choreographer is Louis Da Pron who did a lot of work with Donald O’Connor in his movies.

Private Buckaroo

Donald O’Connor & Peggy Ryan Video

Donald O’Connor and Peggy Ryan have small parts in this dance sequence. The main credits are to the Jivin’ Jacks and Jills. Private Buckaroo is one of Donald O’Connor’s first movies. Harry James and his band play the music.

Words and Music

Cyd Charisee & Dee Turnell Video

Cyd Charisse and Dee Turnell do a fun ballet number from the movie Words And Music. Both are in dark red costumes and for some unknown reason Cyd Charisse is wearing make-up that gives her skin a slightly darker tone. The movie is a Hollywood version of the life of Lorenz Hart who was part of the song writing duo of Rogers and Hart. Words and Music is not a great movie but the musical numbers are plentiful and excellent.

Wonder Man

Vera Ellen Video

This tap extravaganza, including tap dancing on her toes, is from the Danny Kaye movie, Wonder Man. Vera Ellen is one of the best dancers Hollywood ever showcased and this number proves it. Wonder Man is a very funny movie, one of Danny Kaye’s best, but hard to find. However, it is worth looking for.

Happy Go Lovely

Vera Ellen Video1

Vera ellen Video2

Happy Go Lovely was made in England in 1951, so it’s not a big budget Hollywood production but David Niven and Vera Ellen have good chemistry and the plot is charming and Vera Ellen’s dancing is always special. It’s definitely worth watching.

White Christmas

Vera Ellen & Danny Kaye Video

From the movie White ChristmasDanny Kaye and Vera Ellen dance to the song, The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing.

Knock on Wood

Danny Kaye & Diana Adams Video

From the movie Knock on Wood. Unfortunately, this movie isn’t available on DVD or VHS, so the video quality is very poor. The beautiful ballerina is Diana Adams who danced for Balanchine in the 1940’s and 50’s. The ballet is a spoof of the ballet sequences in the opera Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin.

Excuse My Dust

Sally Forest Video

From the movie Excuse My Dust. Another movie among the missing in terms of DVD and VHS release. However, the movie is NOTHING like this dance number. The movie is a comedy starring Red Skelton. The dance is a fantasy sequence. Sally Forrest, the great dancer in this number, is in the entire movie as an actress but this is her only dance number.

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Russ Tamblyn and Yvette Mimieux Video

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm was a movie made by George Pal in Cinerama in 1962. The movie consists mainly of three Grimm fairy tales. This clip is from “The Dancing Princess.” It starts with Russ Tamblyn wearing a “cloak of invisibility” long before Harry Potter ever heard of it. The movie’s not yet available on DVD.

The Fastest Gun Alive

Russ Tamblyn Video

A western with a great, athletic dance sequence by Russ Tamblyn. Athletic dancing was his speciality and you can see he’s very good at it. The movie stars Glenn Ford and it’s a pretty good western. The Fastest Gun Alive is available on Amazon as a Video on Demand download. You may be able to find a copy on VHS at your library. Not yet released on DVD.

Carousel

Jacques D’Amboise and Susan Luckey Video

From the movie Carousel. The sequence stars Jacques D’Amboise and Susan Luckey. Jacques D’Amboise was a principal dancer with Balanchine. The musical is by Rogers and Hammerstein.

Blast from the Past

Brendan Fraser
Video

From the movie Blast From the Past. Brendan Fraser dances to the song Mr Zoot Suit by the Squirrel Nut Zippers (other current groups have done the song in a very similar manner).

White Christmas

Vera Ellen & John Brascia Video

From the movie White Christmas Vera Ellen in the dance number Abraham music by Irving Berlin. The guy is John Brascia.

Russian Nike “Just Do It” Ad: Ballerina vs Hip Hop

Ballerina vs hip Hop Video

The music is Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances which was made into a hit song: Stranger in Paradise. The dancers are Mariya Vinogradova (ballet) and Anastsiya Soboleva(Hip Hop). To check out a scene from the actual opera/ballet, as well as a spoof of the opera/ballet, check out Knock on Wood way down below.

Center Stage

Center Stage Video1

Center Stage Video2

From the movie Center Stage.

Hazel Scott–great jazz & classical pianist

Hazel Scott

From the movie The Heat’s On, starring Mae West. This is an excellent collection of movies but they are in NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import – United Kingdom.