Cabaret is at the top of the list for a reason. There has never been a more successful adaptation of a Broadway musical. Adaptation is the key word: this was a complete rethinking of the stage show. It proved that musicals could effectively tackle even the most serious of topics. Sizzling hot dance routines. Pitch-perfect performances by all. Winner of eight well deserved Academy Awards.

The best of the four versions of this story committed to film. Long, but not a wasted frame. Very moving.

The unfilmable stage show reimagined as a perfect film musical.

Gorgeous period piece. The last great original film musical.

The single most famous musical number ever committed to film. Jean Hagen is a hoot. And Cyd Charisse, tiny part, but....wow!

Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons singing and dancing? It shouldn't work, but it does, and marvelously well at that. While some people feel the obviously artificial sets detract, I think they perfectly complement the highly stylized dialogue and musical idiom.

Watch this side by side with the earlier John Huston version for a lession on the do's and don'ts of musical film-making.

The best of Rodgers and Hammerstein on film. Those seconds when the music swells just before Anna and the King break into their polka in "Shall We Dance"...possibly the single most romantic moment on film. And all he does is put his hand around her waist!