Items18The creator’s order
  1. 1Top Hat (1935)Top Hat (1935) 7.7/10 on IMDbReleased Aug 29, 1935The Cheek to Cheek number, Top Hat (1935) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers glide through Irving Berlin's song in one unhurried routine, with Rogers in the ostrich-feather gown that famously shed feathers during the dance; watch for them drifting off it. The film predates most grandparents, but the…0
  2. 2Singin' in the Rain (1952)Singin' in the Rain (1952) 8.3/10 on IMDbReleased Apr 10, 1952The title number, Singin' in the Rain (1952) Gene Kelly splashing through puddles with an umbrella is about as cheerful as a few minutes of film gets, and it needs no knowledge of the story. It works especially well with someone for whom a whole film is hard going, because the pleasure is all in…0
  3. 3Coronation of Elizabeth IICoronation of Elizabeth IIBBC television coverage of the coronation, June 2, 1953 For many families this was the day they first watched television, often squeezed into someone else's living room: more than half the viewers watched in the homes of friends, and around 20 million people in Britain saw it. Richard Dimbleby's…0
  4. 4Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyBorn Jan 1, 1935First appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, September 9, 1956 About 60 million viewers tuned in, with the actor Charles Laughton introducing him because Sullivan was recovering from a car crash. Elvis sang Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog, and the cameras showed him head to toe; the famous waist-up…0
  5. 5Panorama (1953)Panorama (1953) 7.0/10 on IMDbFirst aired Nov 11, 1953The spaghetti harvest report, April 1, 1957 Three minutes of a family in Switzerland picking spaghetti from trees, narrated with complete seriousness by Richard Dimbleby. Hundreds of people phoned the BBC afterward, some wanting to know how to grow their own. It earns a laugh every time, and it…0
  6. 6The BeatlesThe BeatlesBorn Jan 1, 1957The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964 Their first appearance on the show was seen by about 73 million people, and the screaming studio audience is half the fun. They played All My Loving, Till There Was You and She Loves You. This is the clip most likely to bring out where someone first heard the…0
  7. 71966 FIFA World Cup final1966 FIFA World Cup finalBBC coverage of the World Cup final, July 30, 1966 Geoff Hurst's hat-trick against West Germany and Kenneth Wolstenholme's "they think it's all over... it is now" make up one of the most quoted moments in British sport, and the match drew a British audience of more than 32 million. The highlights…0
  8. 8Sandie ShawSandie ShawBorn Jan 1, 1947Puppet on a String at the Eurovision Song Contest, Vienna, April 8, 1967 Singing barefoot, Sandie Shaw won the contest for the United Kingdom for the first time, with more than double the points of the runner-up. The song is catchy enough for a sing-along, and the scoreboard at the end adds a…0
  9. 9Blue Peter (1958)Blue Peter (1958) 6.5/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 16, 1958Lulu the elephant in the Blue Peter studio, 1969 A young elephant relieves herself on the polished floor, treads on John Noakes's foot and drags her keeper through the mess while Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves try their best to carry on. Few clips get a room laughing faster, and the fun is…0
  10. 10Apollo 11Apollo 11Television coverage of the first Moon landing, July 1969 Around 16 million people in Britain watched the landing, and the BBC and ITV stayed on air through the night to cover it, the country's first all-night television. The grainy black-and-white pictures of the first steps on the lunar surface…0