Singin' in the Rain (1952)

#10 on Original, #5 on Anniversary, #16 on Laughs, #1 on Musicals, #16 on Passions

Recently thanks to TCM and Fathom Events, I was able to see this film on the big screen.  There is something so amazing about seeing a movie you love, in a theater full of people who also love that film.  I always forget how funny this film is. I’ve seen it so many times, that I know all the punch lines…and the dialogue….and some of the movements the actors make. Whatever. Don’t judge me.

 But being in the movie theater setting, I really paid attention to the dialogue, and little things, like props and the looks on some of the actors faces. It was like direct injecting the funny back into watching it. I hope never to lose it again, because the film is so enjoyable.

Plot recap if you don’t know:  Set in the late 1920s, a new menace is coming to Hollywood: talking pictures.  Will the silent film stars Lockwood and Lamont be able to make the transition successfully? 

The casting in this film is right on. Gene Kelly has a great balance of arrogance at the start of the film, and he can play humble by the end just as well; Jean Hagan is great as the dumb blond starlet; Donald O'Connor pulls off funnyman sidekick, without venturing off into goofy unbelievability. And Debbie Reynolds has a perfect amount of wide eyed innocence, while still being clever when she needs to be.

I think the only bad thing about this film is the editing. There are some really obvious cuts where the scene does not line up, or it repeats from a close up.  And in the middle of a gorgeous dance number, that annoys me every time.  Other than that? It is just an all around great film. 

I think this musical made so many lists, but particularly #1 on the Musicals list, because it is so accessible throughout the entire thing (and awesome).   “An American in Paris” (which is #9 on the musicals list, and often I hear from people could be #1) is fantastic, but the ballet at the end, I find, can turn people off.  But Singin in the Rain is so much easier for anyone to enjoy and understand, even if you don’t usually like musicals and dance.  There are places where you feel more like you are watching a comedy, or a romance, not a musical. And then the musical numbers come, and Bam! You can’t help but be in awe of strength and grace of Gene Kelly, or the commanding presence when Cyd Charisse comes on the screen for one dance number.  Or the ball of energy that is Donald O’Connor. How could a viewer not smile and enjoy it? 

(I  could do a whole post on just the musical numbers alone. I think I will. So, enjoy the overview post!)

Favorite Quote

Lina Lamont: What do they think I am? Dumb or something? Why, I make more money than - than - than Calvin Coolidge! Put together!

[Also, I had a really hard time picking a favorite quote for this one, there are too many great lines!]