Singin' in the Rain (1952)

 Singin' in the Rain (1952)

In one of the earlier films that Hollywood has made about itself, there is no other adjective that can be used to describe 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain except for delightful. When Gene Kelly stepped outside, oblivious to the rain, to joyfully declare his love for a gal, a big smile arose on my face. This lamppost scene is an iconic scene that every movie lover knows about. I have no idea why it took me so long to see the movie, but better late than never! For one hour and forty-three minutes, I was in a state of joy watching Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds work their magic. Considering this an Arthur Freed production, you are pretty much guaranteed that there will be great music, lavish sets/costumes, and pitch-perfect dance choreography. The music certainly wasn’t new (as most of them were older Freed songs), but the song versions from this movie are certainly the most memorable. When I think about the title song, “Singin’ in the Rain,” I think about Gene Kelly singing it. The successful usage of the songs is impressive in my eyes because they were written two decades earlier, so they were not related to the actual story. Freed just wanted to make a movie that connected the backlog of songs he created. He hired Betty Comden and Adolph Green to be the connective tissue (writing the script) for the songs. 

Freed wanted Stanley Donen to direct and Gene Kelly to star, but they were busy working on the 1951 Oscar-winning An American in Paris. Once their schedules cleared up, they were sent the script. Donen and Kelly were both enthusiastic and began to revise the script with their own inputs. Donen was ready to show off the state-of-the-art Technicolor that still looks impressive today. The production design and costumes were vibrant with the colors as everything is bright and jumps at you on the screen. The sound is also very good and it benefits from being an MGM musical. The songs that were performed were written by Freed decades earlier, right around the time talkies were the new thing in Hollywood, so they made sense to use. Some songs were original such as the Donald O’Connor scene-stealing song, “Make Em’ Laugh.” 

This movie takes place in Hollywood as The Jazz Singer was making rounds as the movie that revolutionized cinema. This changed the acting profession for better or worse. People like Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) are able to adapt because of a vaudeville background. Lockwood and his best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) team up with the gorgeous actress Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) to form a successful acting tandem. When Lockwood escaped from a gaggle of fans, he met an aspiring actress with a beautiful voice, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). Lamont is having trouble with the film transition because of her sharp voice. Lockwood and Cosmo made a decision to dub her voice using Kathy. When Lamont finds out about this, she becomes jealous and angry. The truth will be discovered when Kathy decides to sing for an audience. 

The cast has such great chemistry with one another. In a way, that is surprising because Gene Kelly (who also co-directed the movie) worked the 19-year-old Reynolds very, very hard. She was an inexperienced dancer and she was forced to keep dancing until her feet bled. She became friends with Fred Astaire who taught her how to dance. I think she danced very well especially given who she was dancing with. Donald O’Connor had an intense, complicated sequence during “Make Em’ Laugh,” which is one of my favorite sequences. He was a man who smoked four packs of cigarettes a day and had to be hospitalized because this scene wore him out. Gene Kelly stuns with his flawless choreography. I thought An American in Paris was just a bit overrated, but Kelly was the reason why the film worked. He had a more agreeable story to work with and talented co-stars, but he still was the star of the show with his voice and dancing talents. 

Singin’ in the Rain is a film that ages like fine wine. People discover and fall in love with the film many, many years after it was released. It is a top-tier musical that features lots of A-talent on the top of their game. As a romantic comedy, it is an endearing one with fantastic chemistry between Kelly and Reynolds. Who needs umbrellas when you are celebrating love in the rain? There is such a warmth that Donen and the cast delivers and you instantly feel it. So many musicals and romantic comedies try to emulate this movie. Some come close, many do not. If there is a fault, it has to be predictability. That, however, is a fault of the genre. This is about the best you can get…with the addition of some excellent songs. 

My Grade: A