Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Directors:

Stanley Donen
Gene Kelly

Writers:

Adolph Green (story) and
Betty Comden (story) ...

Release Date:

11 April 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Singin' Swingin' Glorious Feelin' Technicolor Musical

Plot:

A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Love | Friend | Talkie | Song

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Gene Kelly	...	Don Lockwood
Donald O'Connor	...	Cosmo Brown
Debbie Reynolds	...	Kathy Selden
Jean Hagen	...	Lina Lamont
Millard Mitchell	...	R.F. Simpson
Cyd Charisse	...	Dancer
Douglas Fowley	...	Roscoe Dexter
Rita Moreno	...	Zelda Zanders

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (certificate #15511) (original rating) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Iceland:L | Germany:12 | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G (new rating) (1975) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Originally, Kathy was to sing "You Are My Lucky Star" to a billboard of Don Lockwood after he sang to her in the studio, by way of dramatizing that she was the president of the Don Lockwood Fan Club. The number, sung by Debbie Reynolds and chorus, is restored as an extra on the DVD issued by Warner Home Video. The prerecording can be heard on Rhino's soundtrack CD. Closing the movie is the "billboard duet" of this song by Miss Reynolds and Gene Kelly with a chorus.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During "Moses Supposes", while Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) & Don Lamont (Gene Kelly) are on the bench in front of the window wrapped in the striped draperies, Kelly's mouth movement to the lyrics gets out of sync.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dora Bailey: [broadcasting on radio] This is Dora Bailey, ladies and gentlemen, talking to you from the front of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. What a night, ladies and gentlemen, what a night! Every star in Hollywood's heaven is here to make Monumental Pictures' premiere of "The Royal Rascal" the outstanding event of 1927! Everyone is breathlessly awaiting the arrival of Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

Good Morning

It Ain't Been in Vain for Nothing

Singin' in the Rain is one of the best movies ever made. The film is beautiful, tuneful, and loads of fun. While it pokes fun at Hollywood it also does so with great love. Little bits and pieces of Hollywood lore find their way into this great film and it's a pleasure to get the joke or recognize the real star they're referring to.

The star trio is just perfect: Gene Kelly give a funny performance as the hammy silent actor; Donald O'Connor makes the most of his "second banana" role; Debbie Reynolds is perfect as the ingénue trying to break into films.

The three stars perform many memorable numbers, including Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" classic; all three in the "Good Mornin'" number; O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh"; and Kelly and Reynolds in "You Were Meant for Me." The masterpiece however may be the "Gotta Dance" production number with Kelly and Cyd Charisse—just perfect. Also great fun are O'Connor and Kelly in "Fit as a Fiddle" and "Moses Supposes."

There are of course other production numbers, including the montage that shows Hollywood's race to transition to talkies, a scene that ends in the "Beautiful Girl" number featuring Jimmy Thompson.

Jean Hagen (as Lina Lamont) won an Oscar nomination and steals the film in a classic comedy performance. Also good are Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno, King Donovan, Kathleen Freeman, Mae Clarke, Julius Tannen, and Madge Blake.

The great trick to this film is that while Reynolds is supposedly "lip syncing" for Hagen, it's really Hagen's voice that Reynolds is miming to as in the "I Would, Would You" number. The final miming act is Hagen mouthing "Singin' in the Rain" is really Reynolds. It gets so confusing you can't tell who is lip syncing whose voice.

Lots of Hollywood lore retold in this film. Hagen's Lamont character is a veiled reference to Norma Talmadge, who supposedly failed in talkies because of her New York accent. It's also a reference to Louise Brooks, whose talkie debut in The Canary Murder Case was all dubbed. When Kelly screams "I LOVE YOU" it's a reference to John Gilbert in is talkie debut flop. His Glorious Night. Kathleen Freeman's diction coach character is a reference to Constance Collier, who returned to Hollywood as a coach. And on it goes.

A great film!