Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film Singin' in the Rain. Enjoy!
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, in addition to Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse in supporting roles. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies".
Arthur Freed conceived the idea of the film based on the back catalogs of songs written by himself and Nacio Herb Brown. Because many of the songs had been written during the transition from silent films to "talkies", writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green decided that was when the story should be set. When the story morphed into that of a romantic hero with a vaudevillian background surviving the transition period in Hollywood and falling back onto his old song-and-dance habits, Kelly, who was chosen for the lead along with Donen, responded enthusiastically. After a premiere at the Radio City Music Hall, the film was released nationwide on April 11, 1952.
The film was only a modest hit when it was first released. Today it is frequently cited as the greatest musical film and one of the greatest films ever made. It topped the AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals list, ranked as the fifth-greatest American motion picture of all time in its updated list of the greatest American films in 2007, having ranked as the tenth greatest in the original 1998 list, and Kelly's rendition of "Singin' in the Rain" ranked third in their list of the greatest film sings. In 1989, Singin' in the Rain was one of the first 25 films selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
In 2005, the British Film Institute included it in its list of the 50 films to be seen by the age of 14. In 2008, Empire magazine ranked it as the eighth-best film of all time. In Sight & Sound magazine's 2022 list of the greatest films of all time, Singin' in the Rain placed 10th. Previously, it had ranked third in their 1982 list and tenth in their 2002 list.
Plot: When the transition is being made from silent films to 'talkies', everyone has trouble adapting. Don and Lina have been cast repeatedly as a romantic couple, but when their their latest film is remade into a musical, only Don has the voice for the new singing part. After a lot of practice with a diction coach, Lina still sounds terrible, and Kathy, a bright, young, aspiring actress, is hired to record over her voice.
Acting: My favorite title for each of the actors is Singin' in the Rain unless stated otherwise.
Gene Kelly played Donald "Don" Lockwood. His four most notable titles include An American in Paris, On the Town, Singin' in the Rain, and Inherit the Wind.
Donald O'Connor played Cosmo Brown. I actually prefer him over Gene Kelly. He's just as talented, but funnier. His four most notable titles are I Love Melvin, Call Me Madam, Singin' in the Rain, and Curtain Call at Cactus Creek.
Debbie Reynolds played Kathy Selden. The fact that she was hired to play Kathy, the voice dubber for Lina, and then had some of her singing dubbed as well just baffles me. I have nothing against Debbie Reynolds, I quite like her actually, but the decision just seems dumb to me. Her four most notable titles include The Unsinkable Molly Brown, In & Out, Singin' in the Rain, and Tammy and the Bachelor. Halloweentown is my favorite because I watch it every year.
Jean Hagen played Lina Lamont. She's so pretty. Her four most notable titles are The Asphalt Jungle, Adam's Rib, Singin' in the Rain, and The Danny Thomas Show. I haven't seen any of her other work.
Minor roles were played by Arthur Freed, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse, Douglas Fowley, and Rita Moreno.
Technical Aspects: Arthur Freed, the head of the "Freed Unit" at MGM responsible for the studio's glossy and glamorous musicals, conceived the idea of a movie based on the back catalog of songs written by himself and Nacio Herb Brown, and called in Betty Comden and Adolph Green from New York to come up with a story to tie the songs together and to write the script. Comden and Green first refused the assignment, as their agent had assured them that their new contract with MGM called for them to write the lyrics to all songs unless the score was by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, or Rodgers and Hammerstein. After a two-week hold-out, their new agent, Irving "Swifty" Lazar, having looked over the contract, told them that the clause had been entirely an invention of their previous agent, and that there was no such language in the contract. After hearing this, Comden and Green began working on the story and script.
Reynolds's singing in two songs was dubbed by Betty Noyes, one of them when Kathy is shown dubbing Lina Lamont, while her high notes and taps were dubbed in the entire film. Although the film revolves around the idea that Kathy has to dub for Lina's piercing voice, in the scene where Kathy is portrayed recording a line of Lina's dialogue during the movie within a movie The Dancing Cavalier, Hagen's normal voice was used, because it was preferred over Reynolds'. Donen once explained that Reynolds' "mid-western" accent was not right for this one scene, preferring Hagen's natural, cultured speaking voice. (The hypocrisy of this and the point of the movie is just comical to me.)
In the sequence in which Gene Kelly dances and sings the title song while spinning an umbrella, splashing through puddles and getting soaked with rain, Kelly was sick with a 103 °F (39 °C) fever. The water used in the scene caused Kelly's wool suit to shrink during filming. A common myth is that Kelly managed to perform the entire song in one take, thanks to cameras placed at predetermined locations. However, this was not the case; filming the sequence took two to three days. Another myth is that the rain was mixed with milk in order for the drops to show up better on camera; but the desired visual effect was produced, albeit with difficulty, through backlighting.
Donald O'Connor, a four-pack-a-day smoker at the time, had to stay in bed in the hospital for several days after filming the "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence.
Final Thoughts: It's a great musical, one of the best, a foundation of the genre. There's a reason for that. It's because it's just that good. Do some of the sequences go on longer than they need to? Yes, but you get that with every musical. If you haven't already seen Singin' in the Rain, you definitely need to.
My favorite scene was the "Make 'Em Laugh" song and dance scene.
My favorite quote: is "Lina. She can't act, she can't sing, she can't dance. A triple treat." —Cosmo Brown.
Rated: G
Where to watch it: According to Google, Singin' in the Rain is currently available on the streaming services (with subscriptions): HBO Max, Amazon Prime, The Roku Channel, Hulu, and YouTube TV. You can also purchase or rent a digital coy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to. It came with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, too! So that film is also available at the library for you to enjoy.
