Wow! That's a great Song..Hey Wait that's a Great Movie Too!
Submitted by jgandcag on Mon, 09/16/2002 - 02:04
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- 1. High Noon I am actually not sure the Tex Ritter song is called High Noon (it could be Do not Forsake Me) but this has always been my favorite title song. I still think High Noon is one of the best movies ever for using music to propel the story.
- 2. Cabaret A truly stunning song. The message, the music and the delivery are just perfect. It is almost impossible not to sing along.
- 3. Oklahoma Like Cabaret it is almost impossible to not sing along with this song. Everything that was right about these lavish musicals can be found in this song.
- 4. A Hard Day’s Night A great movie. A great song. The essence of this lists intentions.
- 5. Easter Parade An Irving Berlin classic sung by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. What more could you ask for?
- 6. Funny Face Fred Astaire again. Though he certainly did not have a voice to match his dancing prowess, Astaire was perfect for these songs. This one and the next one Gigi are are two of my wife's favorites.
- 7. Gigi Gigi is actually my wife's favorite movie and I once did a very bad thing and told her some of the rumours about Maurice Chevalier's ...umm... tastes. I still do not think she has forgiven me.
- 8. Singin In The Rain This is actually here more for the scene in the movie where the song is sung as much as the song itself. It is one of the greatest presentations of pure joy ever put on film. Anyone in the beginning of a love affair who can not understand that statement probably is not really in love.
- 9. Stormy Weather This one is all about the song. One of the all time great ballads sung heavenly by Lena Horne.
- 10. The Ballad Of Thunder Road If this were an SAT question and you looked at the titles in this list and were told which one does not belong. This would certainly be the right answer. A questionable great song and a questionable great movie but the gravelly voiced Mitchum somehow just works for me.
- 11. White Christmas Bing, Vermont and Christmas. A christmas tradition that actually earns its place in our folklore
- 12. The Wizard Of Oz If you love this movie I would recommend you splurge and buy the big box DVD presentation they did a couple of years ago. It is well worth it and you can fall in love with this movie and this song all over again.
- 13. Yankee Doodle Dandy Jimmy Cagney just nails this performance. He brings his manic nature to his performance of George M. Cohan and his singing of the title tune
- 14. Rio Bravo Dean Martin is one of my favorites and his performance in this movie and the title tune is one of his least under appreciated touches of greatness.
- 15. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance I do not know how many times I have seen this movie but I barely remember if the song is played during the movie but I do love the song. It has the right touches of melodrama, pathos and emotion you find in almost all of Gene Pitneys best songs. Pitney is one of my favorite rockers found in the time between Elvis and the Beatles.
The premise behind this list is great title songs for movies. The requirements include it has to be a great song and it has to be a great movie too. it has to be the the title of both the movie and the song. It should be that the song has some real relevance to the story of the movie. Instrumentals are not allowed. They should have their own list.
These are off the top of my head and I will comment on all the songs eventually. I will add more as I think of them. These are definitely weighted toward older movies but I suspect some folks can help me out with the newer stuff.