Singin' in the Rain

Rating:
Summary: The Magic of Gene Kelly
Review: Gene "Gotta Dance" Kelly is the magic behind this wonderful movie. He is fabulous, and is expertly supported by the extremely talented Donald O'Connor, the hilarious Jean Hagan and the fresh and beautiful Debbie Reynolds.

Kelly romps through this delightful and toe-tapping musical which laughs at the difficulties Hollywood experienced in its attempts to transform itself from the days of silent movies to the "talkies". Kelly truly makes you believe that dancing isn't for sissies. I am enthralled by his grace, athleticism and sheer love of dancing everytime I see this film.

The song and dance routines are superb. There's not a bad one in the bunch. I don't know how they did it. It is hard to choose a favorite with such numbers as "Make Em Laugh", "Good Morning", "Gotta Dance", "Moses Supposes", etc., but I must admit that the title song makes me want to go out just "singin' and dancin' in the rain".

Rating:
Summary: Film History Set to Song
Review: This is a film that pleases on all levels. The script done by Adolph Green and Betty Comden never lets down, with the pacing persisting at a high level throughout, the song and dance activity is unceasingly stellar, and the satirical comedy is fascinating.

Satire is one of the toughest forms of entertainment to produce at a workable level, and "Singin' in the Rain" shines as a satirical classic documenting the important pivotal period when silents gave way to talkies. Gene Kelly, who co-directed with Stanley Donen, plays silent star Don Lockwood while vivacious Debbie Reynolds is sweet and determined Kathy Selden, who hopes to break into movies. Quick-witted, fast-moving Donald O'Connor plays Cosmo Brown, film pianist and longtime friend of Kelly's.

Monumental Studio head Millard Mitchell, said to be a spoofy characterization of MGM musical producing giant, Arthur Freed,the producer of "Singin' in the Rain," is in a jam when caught during the critical interim period after Al Jolson's big success in the first film talkie, "The Jazz Singer." Mitchell has a prospective talkie turkey that preview audiences hated with a passion. The quick thinking of Donald O'Connor results in a game plan to turn the turkey into a success before its release.

The reason the film is a prospective bomb is due to Kelly's co-star, played with perfect comedic timing by Jean Hagen, well known to many as Danny Thomas' television wife in the hit series of the fifties, "Make Room for Daddy." Hagen's high-pitched, squeaky voice is totally ill-suited to the new medium. A valiant effort by a voice coach leaves her admitting abject defeat, unable to accomplish the impossible. The new spin is to have newcomer Reynolds, who has a pleasant speaking and singing voice, dub for the impossible Hagen, whose ego and nastiness are in direct proportion to her absence of talent. Her Sadie Hawkins pursuit of Kelly is spurned. Knowing that he loves Reynolds increases Hagen's resentment toward Reynolds.

The film reaches a stirring conclusion as Hagen vindictively attempts to hold studio boss Mitchell captive and make a continuing slave of Reynolds, using her as an unseen and lowly paid force who saves Hagen's career. The fast thinking of Kelly results in a plan carried out in concert with Mitchell and O'Connor, bringing the film to a rousing climax.

The classic "Singin' in the Rain" scene highlighting Kelly's magnificent dancing was a true case of "The show must go on." It was shot on a hot, sultry summer day when the star was suffering with a temperature of better than one hundred degrees. Another standout musical number is the "Broadway Melody" sequence featuring the dancing of leggy, incredibly sexy Cyd Charisse, who would later star with Kelly in "Brigadoon." Other solid numbers are "You Are My Lucky Star" and "You Were Meant For Me."

Rating:
Summary: All I do is dream of you, the whole night through!
Review: Singing in the Rain. One of the best musicals Hollywood has ever given us, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debby Reynolds, and Jean Hegan in what might be the best performances of their lives.

It's about Hollywood it the time when sound pictures were just coming into focus. Enter Don Lockwood, an silent screen star who doesn't take show biz too seriously, and Lena Lemont, who is a beautiful actress but has a high-pitched, screechy voice and has the mistaken idea that Don is heads over heels in love with her, which he is most emphatically not.

Add to that Cosmo Brown, Don's sidekick who is smart as a whip but prefers to be a comedian and Kathy Seldon, a pretty dancer who is tugging at Don's heartstrings.

Then add to all that the fact that sound pictures are all the rage but Lena ruins every one that she's in because of her voice, and throw in some wonderful songs, and you have the makings for a fantastic movie that is well loved made

The songs in this movie are some of the best I've ever heard, including "Make 'em laugh" with Donald O'Connor, "You were meant for Me" with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, and of course, "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly.

When watching the movie, it's almost impossible to realize that it was make just to string together a bunch of songs, and the script was built around them, and that Gene Kelly did the number "Singing in the Rain" with a tempeture of 107.Imagine what it would have looked like with him feeling 100%!

Of course, every movie has its faults, and this one is no exception, but the good parts make up for the bad ones. But that's just my opinion. You really need to see this movie for yourself, and then you'll know what I'm talking about. But I promise you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: I'm Happy When I Watch This
Review: Who cannot like Singin' in the Rain. It is a musical masterpiece, a love sotry set up against a time of change in movie production. Modern musicals like Moulin Rouge and Chicago have lost the magical touch, they are simply novelties that will die, but Singin' in the Rain will never die. It is purely a classic and should remain untouched and ruined in any way. The story takes place in 1920's, when the "talkie" movies where becoming more and more popular. And, of course, the actors have to look good, right! Well, Don Lockwood, played by Gene Kelly, looks and sounds pretty good, but what about his co-starlette, Lina Lamont. Lina has no talent and her voice sounds like a pull string that was run over by a car. How could the studio use such a bad actress. Fortunately, Don encounters a pretty young lady named Kathy. Kathy has the talent and the perfectly elegant voice that Lina lacks. When the picture the studio is currently working on is turned into a talkie with Lina's bad acting and a ton of terrible sound problems, it is a diaster. Meanwhile, Kathy and Don fall in love and Lina's jealousy is arosed. Kathy, Don, and Cosmo then decide to make the film into a musical with Kathy's voice used to represent Lina's voice. When Lina discovers what is up, she is furious and almost ruins the premier of the new musical. However, there is a happy ending. The music and dancing in this movie is absolutely amazing. The songs are catchy, I sing snatches of them quite often. Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds are absolutely perfectly cast in this movie. My mother, my sister, and I all love this musical. Give it a chance, and maybe you may end up singin' in the rain yourself, with your prasies for this musical.

Rating:
Summary: "Oh What A Glorious Feeling"
Review: Singin' in the Rain is definately one of my favorite musical films of all time. No movie has ever gone into the Hollywood atmosphere to show how movies were made. All the acting is superb. Gene Kelly in this film is truely his best performance, as well as the laugh out loud Donald O' Connor. Debbie Reynolds also plays a sweet innocent perfect character that she was born to play. The music is fast paced and addictive, and unlike some musicals never slows down the pace of the plot line. This is a definate film to see in your lifetime. I highly reccomend this film.

Rating:
Summary: The Magic of Gene Kelly
Review: Gene "Gotta Dance" Kelly is the magic behind this wonderful movie. He is fabulous, and is expertly supported by the extremely talented Donald O'Connor, the hilarious Jean Hagan and the fresh and beautiful Debbie Reynolds.

Kelly romps through this delightful and toe-tapping musical which laughs at the difficulties Hollywood experienced in its attempts to transform itself from the days of silent movies to the "talkies". Kelly truly makes you believe that dancing isn't for sissies. I am enthralled by his grace, athleticism and sheer love of dancing everytime I see this film.

The song and dance routines are superb. There's not a bad one in the bunch. I don't know how they did it. It is hard to choose a favorite with such numbers as "Make Em Laugh", "Good Morning", "Gotta Dance", "Moses Supposes", etc., but I must admit that the title song makes me want to go out just "singin' and dancin' in the rain".

Rating:
Summary: I'm Happy Again . . .
Review: Being raised by my grandmother as much as my mother (and later, my aunt) meant that I got exposed to two different generations of entertainment; Grandma was a punk rocker and Mom was a classical violinist, you see, and . . .

Okay, not really. I learned about rock and roll and modern films from my mother, while my grandmother exposed me to classic cinema and the swing sounds of her 1940's heyday. And I have a lot of treasured memories from my childhood, moreso I think than some others my age, mostly because of that dichotomous upbringing.

One of my most treasured memories from that time is watching Singin' in the Rain, which, along with The Wizard of Oz, is one of the first movies I remember seeing. And of the two, Singin' in the Rain is by far more memorable, and touching, and full of the joy of life.

For the benefit of those who have been living under a rock for the last sixty or seventy years, Singin' is a musical about the coming of sound films to Hollywood, and it features Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, and Cyd Charisse-but its star is Gene Kelly, who in my opinion is the greatest dancer/choreographer who ever graced an American sound stage. Only Jerome Robbins, George Ballanchine, and Martha Graham did more than he did to modernize and Americanize dancing-and of them all, only Kelly brought his sensibilities to the screen before the majority of the country, and then the world. And Singin' in the Rain, which Kelly co-directed with Stanley Donen, is his crowning achievement.

The film centers around Don Lockwood (Kelly), silent movie star and one half of the team of Lockwood and Lamont-Lamont being Lena Lamont, played by the era's platinum blonde queen of ditz, Jean Hagen. The story is nominally a satire about how talking pictures changed the way film was made-but really, let's be honest. The story, as good as it is, and as funny as it is, is just an excuse to get to the superb song-and-dance numbers included here: "Ready for Love," the first of two fantastic pairings with O'Connor; "All I Do (Is Dream of You)," a showcase for then-unknown Debbie Reynolds; "Make 'Em Laugh," O'Connor's delightful, hysterical showstopper; "Good Morning, Good Morning," a thrilling trio dance with Kelly, O'Connor, and Reynolds; and so many other moments, it's difficult to list them all here because it would literally take me hours-but here's a couple more anyway:

There's the "Moses" dance with O'Connor and Kelly, a driving, percussive swingtime number that showcases both dancers to the best of their abilities. Watching the two trading steps, as the music becomes faster and more manic, is truly thrilling.

There's the "Broadway Ballet" sequence, the culmination of Kelly's dream-sequence ballets in films like On the Town and An American in Paris. It's an epiphany of dance, an exciting, sensual journey through the life and times of a Broadway hoofer that features exquisite art direction, cinematography that is every bit as well-choreographed as Kelly's dancing-and best of all, it has Cyd Charisse, with her scowling face and mile-long legs, in some of the most heartstoppingly gorgeous dancing I have ever seen in my life. The ballet climaxes the film in fantastic fashion-and does it so well, in fact, that the film's actual denouement seems almost anticlimactic.

Then there's "Singin' in the Rain" itself-a winning, classy, classic number, overbrimming with high spirits and Kelly's love of life. The sheer genius of Kelly, in the rain, with an umbrella, singing Arthur Freed's simple but elegant love song, twirling and splashing and spinning (and above all, smiling), gets me every time. There is a wonderful, childlike abandon in what Kelly achieves in this scene. Leonard Bernstein once called it "a reaffirmation of life," but it's more than that. In a way, "Singin' in the Rain" is life, the best part of life; its magnificence, its majesty, its magic, its humor and sadness, and the beauty there is to be found in the simplest things. That alone makes Singin' in the Rain worth watching . . . because in the end, that's everything, isn't it? I know for me it is; Gene Kelly at his best-and in this film he is not just at his best but at his peak-is an encapsulation of everything that is good in life.

Kelly himself said it best: "That's what you do up there. You dance love, and you dance joy . . . and you dance dreams."

How can you go wrong with something that good?

Thanks, Grandma, for sharing it with me.

Rating:
Summary: The Grand-daddy of Them All
Review: Where to start? Simply put, Singin' in the Rain is the premiere "integrated" musical in cinema history -- embodying the very best of Hollywood's post-war optimism, imagination and talent. Many other musicals come close, but none quite as comprehensively captures the essence of the genre as does SitR. When folks say "they don't make 'em like they used to," SitR is the type of film to which they're referring. Anyone having even a passing interest in this quintessentially American art form simply must have this film in their collection.

Technically, Warner has provided us with an outstanding Special Edition of Singin' in the Rain. As for the feature quality, the transfer is, in a word, magnificent ("Glorious Technicolor," for sure), and the remastered audio is a sonic delight. As for extras, the feature disc contains a commentary track hosted by Debbie Reynolds that is well worth visiting, as well as some clips from the earliest "talkies" playing off of the feature's plot. For me, the crown jewel of the extras provided with this SE is the documentary located on disc 2, which concerns itself with the films emnating from MGM's Arthur Freed Unit, and the people responsible for those efforts. If you haven't yet developed a taste for the integrated musical, this documentary is virtually guaranteed to stoke the fires of interest.

Since the release of the SitR SE, Warner has continued to lavish loving attention upon its Special Edition releases and, in my opinion, now sets the standard for studio catalog releases. Although I'm always excited to see new catalog releases from any studio, it is the Warner releases (SE or not) that set me to drooling. SitR is a top-notch SE and of tremendous historical importance. There is not a single reason to pass up this wonderful set.

Rating:
Summary: One Of My Favorite Musicals
Review: There are so many qualities of this movie which make it entertaining. For one thing it seems to bring out the best in most of the members of the cast. This is particularly true of Jean Hagen and Donald O'Connor who turn in stellar performances. Of course Gene Kelly is always in top form.It also helps that SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is a good story for movie buffs about the transition from silent films to talkies. The strong supporting cast includes Debbie Reynolds, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse and Rita Moreno.

The singing and dancing had to be superb due mostly to the enormous talent available to the directors who were Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Donen also directed SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. Surprisingly SINGIN' IN THE RAIN received only two Oscar nominations which were for Best Supporting Actress (Jean Hagen) and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Rating:
Summary: "You are my lucky star"
Review: From the very beginning this is a movie to behold. By far though the best musical #'s are

"I"m singin in the Rain"
" The broadway Melody Ballet"
" Good Mornin"
"Gotta Dance"

And a couple others. I watched this in high school
and loved it, then found it at Costco this morning and had to buy it! I still love it! Watchable over and over again,
a treasure to keep for years. My kids kids will
watch this if I'm still alive!

Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds light up the screen with their beautiful acting and singing. This is a wonderful musical!

~Jennifer~