Singin' in the Rain - (1952) - Silent movie stars Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are faced with the end of their careers as the age of the talkie dawns. Lockwood's acting style doesn't work in the new age and Lamont's voice was made for silents (and silence). With the help of Lockwood's boyhood pal Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) and ingenue Kathy Selden (Debby Reynolds) they find a way to turn a silent turkey into a musical smash.
This is arguably the greatest movie musical of all time. This is a movie that was actually built around the singing and dancing. The story is just an add on to tie all the important bits together. This show carries it's own store of legend. Kelly's tyrannical direction, the iconic "Singin' in the Rain" sequence was done in a single take with Kelly suffering from a 100+ degree temperature, Reynolds dancing so hard she burst a blood vessel, O'Connor having to rest for three days following the "Make 'Em Laugh" routine only to be told that it had to be re-shot in its entirety.
Great songs, great dancing, just enough story. For me the greatest joy out of this show is the performance of song and dance great Donald O'Connor. I first ran across him watching old movies on Saturday and Sunday afternoons as a kid. For me he will always be linked with Francis the Talking Mule. Which is really an awful legacy for such a great performer. Kelly is his usual athletic self dancing, Reynolds holds her own (which is impressive for a 19 year old with so little dance experience that Kelly criticized to the point of tears. It was Fred Astaire who helped her make the grade in the movie as a favor to the youngster) plus there's Cyd Charisse in the obligatory "high art" dance section. Makes me think of the "Choreography" bit in "White Christmas".
In the end the singing and dancing is more than enough. This was a movie that is so much more than it's legend. Given how high that legend stands, that's saying quite a bit. Rating - ***** Must See
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