9. Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Irwin KostalChitty Chitty Bang Bang
As far as musicals go, I think it’s got the best songs out there. It seems to be a really under-appreciated film, and the Sherman Brothers’ music is absolutely fantastic. ‘Hushabye Mountain’ is just off the chart. Dick Van Dyke’s voice in that is incredible. You’ve got so many good songs, not least of all the theme tune, ‘Posh!’, ‘Toot Sweets’ and ‘Lovely Lonely Man’. Absolutely fantastic! The film’s high drama, it’s got all the stuff you want. I saw it as a kid, and when the car flies off the edge of the cliff there was an intermission there, back in the day. You had to wait until they’d load the reel, and then the car flies.
Because of the nature of things like musicals, they kind of are somewhat formulaic. They’ve got the designated bad guy, the mission to be accomplished and the romantic couple to get together. But Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is just done so well. Tying that all together is how great the songs are and how they move you through the story. It’s a magical piece of work and those tunes stand up there with the best of them. But for me it seems like the film’s never really been on people’s radars.
