Singin' In The
Rain
The Facts
Released: 1952
Studio: MGM
Producer: Arthur
Freed
Directors: Gene Kelly and Stanely
Donen
Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald
O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
Script: Betty Comden and Adolph
Green
Of Interest
At this point in her career, it
was decided that Debbie Reynolds' own voice wasn't refined enough for
the role. Betty Royce dubbed her speaking voice. Her singing voice
was Jean Hagen, the actress playing Lina Lamont. In the scenes where
Kathy appears to sing for Lina, it is actually Lina singing for
Kathy. None of this was acknowledged in the credits.
In the "Singin' in the Rain"
scene, black ink was added to the rain to make it show up on film.
The day "Singin' in the Rain" was
filmed, Gene Kelly had a temperature of 103.
Characters
Don
Lockwood
Silent film star Don Lockwood is
engaged to his co-star Lina Lamont, according to the fan magazines.
In reality he has fallen for Kathy Seldon, the only woman who dissed
his movies to his face and caused him to think twice about the fluffy
romance movies he'd been making. The success of "The Jazz Singer"
caused his studio to twitch, so now he's being forced to adapt to
talking pictures.
COSMO
Cosmo (Donald O'Connor) is Don
Lockwood's best friend. They grew up together, went into show
business together, made it big together. Cosmo is the on-set
accompanist for Don's silent films. His wacky comedic style is best
shown in "Make 'Em Laugh", a song modeled after Cole Porter's"Be A
Clown". The "Moses Supposes" bricolage scene also features
Cosmo.
Lina
Lamont
Queen of romantic silent films,
this glamorous beauty couldn't act her way out of a box. She
perpetuates the engagement rumors about Don Lockwood and herself,
still in denial. When her career is at stake, she can be manipulative
and sneaky. Otherwise, she's not the sharpest pencil in the box, and
her diction could use a little help.
Kathy
Seldon
An aspring actress and part-time
cake dancer, she gets her big break when Don and Cosmo recruit her to
be Lina Lamont's voice in The Dancing Cavalier. Kathy is a
talented singer but unknown. The Monumental Pictures studio may force
her to dub Lina's voice for all eternity!
Singin' in the
Rain
This film is a striking
compilation of contradictions. It uses the cinematography of
classical Hollywood cinema, and the new technology of color film to
bring new life to an old genre: the Hollywood film musical. The film
even evokes the film musical's predecessors, such as the stage
musical, the Ziegfeld follies, and vaudeville. The directors, Gene
Kelly and Stanley Donen, even used previously written (and already
popular) material, such as the song "Singin' in the Rain" itself.
Released in 1952 but set in the late 1920s, this film oozes
nostalgia, fron the opening flashback sequence of Don Lockwood's past
to the happy ending proclaimed by the "Singin' in the Rain" billboard
at the very end. However, instead of reproducing the fictional yet
flawlessly solid world typical of classical Hollywood films, this
film goes behind the scenes of early talkies to demystify that
technology. It covers its own technical manipulations in a seamless
and beautiful extravaganza of song and dance, breaking with its own
vow to honesty (no deception) and dignity in the name of
entertainment (and thereby studio profits) in order to ENTERTAIN. By
deceiving its audience, Singin' in the Rain is faithful to its
own story of how films are made. True to its revelations, Singin'
in the Rain is false.
For a great postmodern analysis
and video clips, check out:
Here's a sample
clip:
part_15fps.mov