Director: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
Year: 1952
Country: US
Language: English
I have never been a big fan of the musical, the songs tend to get tedious and completely distract from the main plot. This was certainly the case for West Side Story. It won best picture in the early sixties and it certainly had some great songs, but near the end of the film the songs seemed unnecessary and made the film long and somewhat boring. While The Producers had some hilarious musical numbers, the songs at the end seemed pointless. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's Singin in the Rain has a perfect amount of songs which not only move the plot along but give insight to the character's emotional feelings at that moment.
The year is 1927, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are the most famous on-screen couple in America. In real life Don isn't too fond of Lina, but she's not too bright "Why, I make more money than Calvin Coolidge put together!" and mistakes their imaginary relationship as real. Unfortunately for both stars the silent era is coming to an end, if they wish to keep their jobs and make any money on their film they must adjust to changing times and make a musical. out of their film. Don has an amazing voice, whereas Lina sounds like a squirrel. The producers of the film decide to dub over Lina's voice with the young and talented Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds). Don falls so in love with her that he starts "singin in the rain"/
I love that this film is actually about something historically important to film. The transition from silent to sound and the struggles an actor had during those times. It's about the film industry in a period of dangerous transition. Sure the film simplifies it, it may have been a 12 hour long film otherwise, but every detail shown on screen is quite truthful, Cameras were often held in soundproof booths, great actors were laughed at because they had terrible voices, microphones were hidden in obvious locations. Some film historians would agree that films suffered creative setbacks during this transition period, knowing this it is no wonder Charlie Chaplin refused to transition until 1940.
Donald O\Connor plays Cosmo Brown, best friend of Gene Kelly's character and boy is he memorable. During the "Make Em Laugh" musical number he ran up a wall and completed a somersault, smoking about four packs of cigarettes a day at the time, he had to lay in bed for over a week due to exhaustion because the trick took so much energy to do. Gene Kelly had a mishap on set when he attempted to leap onto a convertible but missed and hit the street. What I'm trying to say is that, Singin in the Rain was a masterpiece that was created by the actors having to reach their physical edge. Debbie Reynolds once said that she practiced the "Good Morning" musical number until her feet bled. It is the incredible commitment of these actors to their art that makes Singin in the Rain even better.
In conclusion, this film is filled with great songs and great dances. The musical numbers are very memorable, you will definitely find yourself humming such imaginative tunes like "Good Morning" and the title song "Singin in the Rain". I found only Rocky Horror Picture Show a more enjoyable musical, but I suppose I have to acknowledge that Singin in the Rain is much more important to the history of cinema. Praise it! 5/5
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