A One Mann’s Movies review of “Singin’ In The Rain”. (1952, 5*, U).
A recent Everyman ‘Throwback’ showing, “Singin’ In The Rain” was a wonderful and joyful experience to see on the big screen again.
If you are following the new “Movie Bread Club” podcasts (AND IF NOT WHY NOT? IT’S BRILLIANT!) then in episode 5 my daughter, Jenn, turned the tables on co-hosts On and Lee by making them watch a classic film that THEY hadn’t seen before…. and that film was this one! So if you are inspired to watch the film / watch the film again (delete as applicable) after reading my review, then go and listen to the podcast episode after that for insightful comments about things like Technicolor that I wasn’t aware of.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagan) are at the height of their fame in Hollywood, being the stars of a long-running series of silent films. However, with Al Jolson wooing crowds with the first talkie – “The Jazz Singer” – the pair have to make a transition into ‘talking pictures’. There’s only one problem: Lina has a voice that would strip paint at twenty paces!
Certification:
UK: U; US: G. (From the BBFC website: “Very mild comic violence”.)
Talent:
Starring: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley, Cyd Charisse.
Directed by: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly.
Written by: Betty Comden & Adolph Green.
Running Time: 1h 43m.
Review:
Positives:
- The film is a vibrant blast of colour, life, comedy and music. It has an infectious bonhomie about it that always leaves me with a stupid grin on my face. I’d challenge anyone – even musical haters – not to come out of this feeling a bit better about life.
- The film looks terrific, filmed in Technicolor and sparing no expense in terms of sets and costumes.
- The songs are wonderful. Most of them were drawn from the 1920’s and 1930’s songbook of the lyricist Arthur Freed and composer Nacio Herb Brown. However a few new songs – “Make ‘Em Laugh” and “Moses Supposes” – were written specifically for the film by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Roger Edens.
- I’d forgotten that the film was sooooo funny. Lina Lamont is a hilarious character, as she tries and fails to get to grips with the concept of talking into a microphone, much to frustration of director Roscoe Dexter (Douglas Fowley)! Many of Lina’s outbursts, in a suitably squeaky voice, (for example, “Oh Pierre, you shouldn’t have come”, “I Can’t Stand It!” and “Yes, yes, yes! No, no, no!”) have become part of our family vernacular! There are also musical sequences that are hilarious. For example, the “Beautiful Girls” sequence with its tongue-in-cheek fashion parade, vibrant cinematography and clever energy.
- Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds are perfectly cast as the love interests, with Reynolds – not a trained dancer – holding her own in the hoofing stakes (for example, in the joyous “Good Morning”). But it is Donald O’Connor who nearly steals the show as Don’s long-term pal Cosmo Brown. O’Connor has comic timing to die for, most vividly realised in the extraordinary “Make ‘Em Laugh” sequence. The physical comedy he displays when dancing with a mannequin is quite extraordinary, ESPECIALLY when you look for the cuts and realise there are very very few of them! Bizarrely, O’Connor filmed the exhausting routine over several days only for a technical fault in the camera to render the footage utterly useless. The routine landed O’Connor – a heavy smoker – in hospital for a week’s recovery rest before he had to come back and film the whole thing all over again! (Source: Google.)
- There is of course Kelly’s titular classic song and dance, much spoofed over the years (most memorably by Morecambe and Wise). It’s a classic for a reason, expertly delivered: just perfect.
- The “Broadway Melody” sequence has provoked some discussion (see the Movie Bread Club episode I referred to) for being a complete 13-minute break from the story and being little more than a showcase for Gene Kelly’s directing and dancing skills. (Apparently, this article on the “NitrateGlow” blog, suggests that “Arthur Freed was the one who pushed for a big ballet sequence rather than Kelly”, who wanted something much more modest.) But I might be in the minority in personally loving it. It’s the sort of huge-scale song and dance spectacular that was popular in the 1930’s, as the “Broadway Melody” series of films. Apart from occasional nostalgic throwbacks (e.g. the opening titles to “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”; Channing Tatum’s dance sequence in “Hail Caesar”) this type of spectacle is virtually non-existent in today’s movies. The sequence features a balletic dance with Cyd Charisse, whose legs DO actually go on forever! There is also a spoof of George Raft, tossing a coin in his famous gangster roles. (I always though that this WAS George Raft in a cameo, but apparently not!) The sequence ends with Gene Kelly appearing to zoom up from the chorus line, to where the camera is, for a beaming close up: I’m not actually sure how they achieved the shot in the day: simple camera movements and back projection, perhaps?
Negatives:
- My only regret, watching it on the big screen, is that it wasn’t photographed in widescreen format. The ‘Academy ratio’ (1.37:1) is less noticeable when you watch in on the TV, but on the big screen I longed for a widescreen presentation which would have made some of the scenes even more spectacular.
Summary Thoughts:
I may refer in this blog to some films as being “classics”, but there are “classics” and “CLASSICS“! “Singin’ in the Rain” is a cold-stone, bone-fide CLASSIC! It also benefits from being a “U” certificate, that all the family can enjoy watching together. If, like I did, you introduce your kids to this work of art, they will thank-you for life. And if you have never watched it before, what have you been doing with your life??!
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-NJHUasYVA.
Somebody should give an Oscar to whoever cut this trailer together: it is really a brilliant piece of work!
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