Film Review
When MGM producer Arthur Freed commissioned writers Betty Comden and
Adolph Green to script a film featuring his back catalogue of musical
numbers from the 1920s and '30s, he could not have imagined that the result
would be one of the most
popular and most highly regarded musicals of all time. Fifty years on,
that film still delights with its exuberant mix of comedy and song and
dance routines, with many of the numbers (such as Gene Kelly's
rendition of the title song) becoming legends in their own right.
No musical is more enjoyable or better choreographed than the timeless
classic that is
Singin' in the Rain.
The man who is most responsible for the success of this film is its
charismatic star Gene Kelly, who co-directed the film and choreographed
its superb dance sequences, including the stunning Broadway Melody
Ballet featuring a guest appearance from the leggy Cyd Charisse.
This latter sequence took two weeks to shoot and consumed a fifth of
the film's 2.5 million dollar budget. Charisse's 25-foot long
veil was kept afloat by three aeroplane engines whirring away out of
camera shot.
Judy Holliday was originally considered for the part of Lina Lamont but
she declined and, at her suggestion, it went to Jean Hagen, her
understudy on the Broadway production of
Born Yesterday. Hagen based
her portrayal of the feather-headed Lina on Holliday's Billie Dawn
character in this play. In the scenes where Debbie Reynolds
appears to dub her, it is actually Hagen who is speaking, in her own
voice. Ironically, most of Reynolds' songs were dubbed by the
singer Betty Noyes.
The film's highpoint is of course the unforgettable sequence in which
Gene Kelly sings and dances the title number in a rain-drenched
street. Remarkably, this entire scene was recorded in a single
take and is both an artistic and technical achievement. Kelly was
sick with a fever at the time he shot this sequence. The actor
Malcolm McDowell transformed this sprightly number into something much
darker when he incorporated it into the rape scene in Stanley Kubrick's
A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Intended as a satire of the panic that beset Hollywood when the movie
industry made the fraught transition from the silent to the sound era,
the film also works as an effective parody of stardom and celebrity
culture, one that continues to resonate. How many of today's
overpaid, over-hyped starlets resemble the bitchy self-obsessed Lina
Lamont? One of the reasons for the longevity of this great film
is that what it has to say about showbusiness is still true, although
its nostalgia element is another key factor in the film's continuing
popularity. The music of the 1920s and '30s has an appeal that
never seems to fade, evoking a less cynical and more carefree age than
the ones that successive generations have had to live through.
For anyone who is in desperate need of a pick-me-up and an instant escape from the
grind of daily life,
Singin' in the
Rain is just the ticket.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
In 1927, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are the toast of Hollywood.
Their numerous films together have made them a national phenomenon and
rumour has it that they are engaged to be married. In truth,
whilst Lina may have a crush on him, Don can barely tolerate his
overbearing co-star. When Warner Brothers' first sound picture,
The Jazz Singer, proves to be a
roaring success, studio boss R.F. Simpson decides that Don and Lina's
next picture will be a talkie. Unfortunately, Lina's shrill voice
does not record well and the film is clearly heading for
disaster. Don's friend and former vaudeville partner Cosmo Brown
has the bright idea of converting the film, a bland historical drama,
into a musical, with Lina's lines dubbed by another woman. Chorus
girl Kathy Selden jumps at the chance to dub for Lina, since she
believes that this will launch her own career in Hollywood. All
they have to do now is convince Lina to go along with this...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.