Chances are you can hum a tune from a musical you’ve never actually sat down to watch. Songs from old Hollywood films have a way of escaping their source material, turning up in commercials, school concerts, wedding playlists and cartoons. The film itself often gets left behind.
That’s the case with a handful of famous titles, and three stand out. Each one produced music that’s now part of everyday life, yet the movies rarely make it onto modern watchlists.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
The title song is one of the most recognizable pieces of film music ever made, with Gene Kelly splashing through a rain-soaked street. Many people know that single scene from parodies and tributes, though far fewer have seen the whole picture. Directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen, the film is a comedy about Hollywood’s shaky move from silent pictures to sound in the late 1920s.
The story is funnier and sharper than its reputation suggests. It also gives us “Make ‘Em Laugh,” performed by Donald O’Connor, and “Good Morning,” which many viewers recognize without knowing its origin. The American Film Institute has ranked it among the greatest American films, and it placed highly in its lists of the best musicals, so it’s not exactly obscure. It just sits in that odd zone of being praised more often than it’s watched.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Almost everyone knows “Over the Rainbow,” which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Other numbers, like “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “If I Only Had a Brain,” are just as familiar. Yet plenty of people only know the film through clips, references and its famous costumes.
Watching it from start to finish is a different experience. The Kansas scenes are in sepia, and the switch to Technicolor when Dorothy reaches Oz still lands, even for modern viewers. The music was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, and the songs carry the story rather than interrupting it. It’s easy to assume you’ve seen it, since it’s so widely quoted, but many haven’t.
West Side Story (1961)
Songs like “Maria,” “Tonight” and “America” have been covered, sampled and performed countless times. Leonard Bernstein wrote the music and Stephen Sondheim the lyrics, and the story reimagines Romeo and Juliet among rival street gangs in New York. The 1961 film, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake brought fresh attention to the material, and some viewers went straight to that version instead. That leaves the original, with its striking choreography and its Oscar winning performances by Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, unseen by many who know the score well. It’s a heavier, more dramatic film than its catchy songs might suggest, which may surprise first time viewers.
