A loving fantasy tribute to Hollywood’s transition from the silent era to the talkies, the movie follows dashing leading man Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) as he attempts to make a movie called the “Dueling Cavalier.” Unfortunately, the once silent film is forced into being a talking picture and Don’s beautiful costar, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) has a voice like nails on a chalkboard. As Don and his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Conner) attempt to solve the problem, Don also falls in love with the beautiful ingenue Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds).
There are few movies as utterly joyous as Stanley Donen’s 1952 movie musical Singin’ in the Rain. On the one hand it’s a look at Hollywood history in a way only the dream factory could tell it. Part of its humor is the fact that it’s making fun of the filmmaking history of Hollywood, like when Don tells a story about his origins as an actor. The scene plays the reality of him and Cosmo struggling while he narrates a heroic story about him becoming a star through “dignity. Always dignity.” The movie even pokes fun at the serious history of actors struggling to make their voices palatable for talkies. In this case, Hagen’s (should have been Oscar winning) performance as Lamont. She’s the typical selfish, vain Hollywood star, but Hagen’s comic timing and squeaky voice makes her the perfect fantasy villain.
The entire cast is impeccable, particularly Hagen’s villain and the perpetually snarky O’Conner as Cosmo. They act as the noise that surrounds the lovers, Don and Kathy. Reynolds was famously candid throughout her life about her clashes with Kelly, who she deemed as a perfectionist, but you can’t tell at all on-screen. Reynolds’s wide eyes and optimism make Kathy the bright ray of sunshine needed in the perpetually dour and transactional Hollywood landscape of the feature. Kelly, himself acting as makeshift choreographer and co-director, plays Don with such panache. You can see his Don Lockwood potentially running the studio someday.
Director Donen, aided by Kelly himself, has a fantastic sense of storytelling, in that the plot feels completely ancillary to the beauty on the screen. And that isn’t just the beauty of Kelly and crew, but Walter Plunkett’s fantastic costumes and Randall Duell and Cedric Gibbons’s set design. (A sequence of dancer Cyd Charisse in a green dress alongside a stylized Hollywood set remains one of the most breathtaking images captured in film.) The audience is less wrapped up in the machinations of Hollywood as they are Don and Kathy falling in love, ironically set against Don “setting the mode” using Hollywood techniques like fans and matte paintings. The quintessential dance number performed to the title song is less a declaration of love and more showcasing Kelly’s fantastic choreography and Harold Rossen’s cinematography. This culminates in the movie’s third act, “Broadway Melody,” an extended performance sequence that beautifully shows a movie within a movie. (It also sets the stage for Kelly’s other extended ballet sequences, most famously in 1954’s An American in Paris.) Editor’s Choice, Highly Recommended.
Which public library collections should include Singin’ in the Rain?
Singin’ in the Rain is a vital part of the American cinematic canon and public libraries should carry it for its historical significance and entertainment value. It can be included in curated themes looking at the History of Hollywood, Essential Filmmaking, or tributes to the works of Kelly, Reynolds, or director Stanley Donen. The movie is perfect for all ages, making it worth including in collections aimed at classic films for young children. It being a musical means it can also be paired in categories aimed at the intersection between music and cinema.
What academic subjects or media education courses would benefit from this film?
The film supports various subjects including Hollywood history and the musical. Instructors teaching music composition could use this, as well as filmmaking classes aimed at classic film techniques or the silent era transition to sound. This can also be played concurrently with documentaries on Hollywood in the 1920s or with primary source books like Kevin Brownlow’s The Parade’s Gone By.
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