by David C. Terr

#33 <<    #34    >> #35

Title: Singin' in the Rain

Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen

Release Date: Mar. 27, 1952

Running Time: 103 min

Genres: Comedy, Musical, Romance

Commentary
Singin' in the Rain is a classic MGM musical from the 1950s which takes a nostalgic look at the early days of Hollywood in the 1920s. The songs are superb as well as the singing and dancing, especially Gene Kelly's rendition of "Singin' in the Rain". The story is also quite entertaining. My only criticism of this movie is that I think the 13-minute rendition of "Broadway Melody Ballet" toward the end is too long and doesn't really fit in with the rest of the picture, although once again it involves some superb singing, dancing, and cinematography.

Plot Summary
Singin' in the Rain takes place in Hollywood in the late 1920s, at the time the first talking pictures were released. The plot concerns the transition from silent to talking pictures and how the industry deals with the changes, in particular pertaining to actor Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and his leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Don and Lina have a very bad relationship in real life, though in the public eye they act like they're in love. Don meets Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) and the two end up falling in love. Once his studio decides to start making talking pictures, Lina's horrible high-pitched voice threatens his career. However, his friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) comes up with the brilliant idea of dubbing Kathy's voice for Lina's. Once Lina gets wind of this, she threatens to sue unless Kathy works full-time dubbing her voice without the public finding out. Kathy threatens to quit, but in the end she and Don have the last laugh.

Music
The songs in Singin' in the Rain are mainly old songs used in earlier MGM musicals, mostly composed by Arthur Freed and Nachio Herb Brown. Songs include the following:

• "Fit as a Fiddle" (Don and Cosmo)
• "Make 'em Laugh" (Cosmo)
• "Moses" (Don and Cosmo)
• "Good Morning" (Don, Gene, and Kathy)
• "Singin' in the Rain" (Don)
• "Would You" (Kathy)
• "Broadway Melody Ballet" (Don and Company)

Movie Clips

Here's the original trailer.

Here's Donald O'Connor's performace of "Make 'em Laugh".

Here's a clip of "Good Mornin'".

Here's a clip from Gene Kelly's famous performance of the title song.