Singin

Do-do-do-dee-do, do-do-do-dee-do… what a great movie! It’s very easy to see why this is one of the most loved films of all time, there’s a sense of infectious fun that ribbons all the way through it from beginning to end that has helped it stand up a good fifty-plus years after it’s initial release. It’s a credit to the cast and crew that the film comes off so effortlessly – ‘Singin' in the Rain’ was reputed to be a very taxing and exhausting shoot for all (especially with perfectionist workhound Gene Kelly keeping his eagle eyes on all proceedings). I watched this film for the first time only last night and I was absolutely delighted by it – and I’m not one to use the word ‘delighted’ liberally.

‘Singin' in the Rain’ is set in the late 20s, when silent films were about to be completely supplanted by the advent of sound. Gene Kelly plays the silver-tongued opportunist-turned screen superstar Don Lockwood, a man who has made his name on the back of his physical prowess in an age of screen dominated entirely by body language. His leading lady is the ditzy prima-donna Lena Lamont (Jean Hagen), his supposed love interest on and off the screen – thanks to studio publicity and much to Lockwood’s chagrin. The two are gearing up for another big silent blockbuster when ‘The Jazz Singer’ is released and the age of sound-cinema arrives. They must get with the times or be left behind, only Lamont’s speaking voice may pose a problem… meanwhile, Lockwood has become smitten with a struggling young actress, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), who disparages his acting ability.

The story isn’t really all that important – it’s pretty much just an opportunity for the filmmakers to parody and pay tribute to the silent era’s end. The problems the superstars of the silent era faced are excellent material for the fun comic exploitation that fuels this wonderful film, and if there’s only one reason to watch ‘Singin' in the Rain’ it’s for the musical numbers… everything in between is a triumph in that it manages to be entertaining and not feel like dead air but the musical numbers here are the be all and end all. My favourites would be ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’ and ‘Fit as a Fiddle’. It’s frantic and mind-bogglingly physical numbers like these that put recent musicals (‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Chicago’) to shame and remind that it’ll take some very special talent if the genre is ever to be revived properly.

Anyway, if you’re a lughead like me and haven’t seen this yet then I highly recommend it. If you’ve already seen it, well, you don’t really need me to tell you how great it is!

TRIVIA: A lot of the musical numbers were written before the script, and the script was tailored around them.

The rain was a mixture of milk and water, so that it would show up better on film.

Donald O’Connor almost collapsed after doing the legendary wall-scaling sommersaults.

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