Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Premise: Two silent film stars, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), make the transition from silent films to talkies, relying on Don’s strength as a song and dance man. Unfortunately, Lina has a voice that could peel paint. Don’s beautiful and talented girlfriend, Cathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds), steps in “just this once”. Don’s best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor), does all the music for his movies.

I know, I know, this picture definitely defies the “April doesn’t do classics rule.” But, let’s be honest: how many of you have actually seen this entire movie? And how many of you only know that classic dance and song sequence, “Singin’ in the Rain”? That’s what I thought. (If you haven’t seen that scene, you should check it out. Or Kurt Browning’s version that he did for one of his shows. Even on skates, it’s amazing. Browning did always have the best footwork, anyway.)

The reason I bring this movie up is that it displays a level of showmanship that simply doesn’t exist anymore. Honestly, watching O’Connor go through “Make ‘Em Laugh” or, yes, Kelly “Singin’ in the Rain”, well, that just doesn’t happen anymore. I think the raging success of Chicago represents the public’s desire to return to the glamour and glory of the MGM musical. There’s this scene in Simple Irresistible (a terrible movie) where Sean Patrick Flannery compares the floor of the restaurant he’s creating to an MGM musical. It’s black and white with curvy stripes, kind of like a subdued zebra pattern. He calls it magical. He’s right. MGM musicals were magical.

Directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly and writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green made them magical. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I once heard Baz Luhrmann say that a truly good movie takes you out of your seat, inserts you in the film, and, at the end of it, you can take a little piece of it with you. I absolutely believe that. Musicals like this one have a way of floating you out of your life and problems, and, if only for a little while, giving you a sense of pure innocent joy. They’re just so uplifting to watch.

Here’s a fun fact: Reynolds wasn’t even a dancer until Kelly selected her to be in the picture. That’s nuts! She’s so great. And, sadly, she’s the only one of the four I mentioned still alive. Hagen didn’t make that many pictures, but she is probably the most talented one here. It’s a tough one to call, the competition being so stiff.

Today, we get ourselves so caught up in drama, bathroom humour, and convoluted plotlines. Sure, I love new movies as much as classics, and I truly believe that we are, to a certain extent, missing out on something that they held so tightly to back then. I wish I knew how to recapture it.

And about that new link. Gabriel Yared wrote the original score for Troy. Click on the link, then “News”, then “The Score for Troy” to hear extracts from his powerful and moving score. You can also read about what happened with the scores.