Note: This is #28 in my 52 Classic Movies in 52 Weeks challenge for 2009.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not particularly looking forward to the musicals that this little experiment is going to throw at me, but I really enjoyed Singin’ in the Rain. It was charming in a “it was another time” kind of way and actually pretty funny. I don’t think we’d ever see anything like this come out of Hollywood nowadays. Plus I was surprised at how many of the songs I actually knew, like “Make ‘Em Laugh,” “Beautiful Girls,” “Good Morning,” and of course the eponymous number where Gene Kelly runs around splashing in puddles.
The plot centers on Don Lockwood (Kelly), a silent movie star who has to endure the unwelcome and slightly psychotic advances of his fellow star, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), for the sake of maintaining their public image. This despite Lockwood’s growing relationship with the more talented, would-be actress Kathy. But when Lockwood’s studio starts to transition from silent films to “talkies” they hit a series of brick walls in the forms of Lina’s squeaky, irritating voice, her absurd modes of speech, and her complete inability to remember where the sound techs have placed the microphones.
Lina Lamont is played up for a lot of pretty good laughs, as is Lockwood’s side kick, Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor), who ends up stealing most of the scenes he’s in. So the movie really is amusing and genuinely endearing. And as with Swing Time my favorite parts were actually the music/dance numbers. Those people can really move. It just seems funny to me now that “big song and dance number” were part of your basic movie building blocks back then, since they seem to be almost randomly dropped in. It also occurs to me, though, that in 50 years people will look at today’s movies and say the same thing of car chases, shootouts, and gratuitous special effects shots.
Along those lines, it’s also noteworthy that this seems to be one of the earlier color movies, and man did the film makers run with that little piece of technology. Some of the musical numbers were really bright, and the “Broadway Melody Ballet” in particular looked like some giant had vomited an entire box of Crayola Crayons on the wardrobe department. And not one of those little 12 color boxes, either –I’m talking about one of those huge, 96 count boxes with neon green next to bright yellow and sky blue paired with bright purple. It was pretty sensational, but I guess that was the goal.
So, I’d definitely recommend Singin’ in the Rain. It’s really unlike anything I’ve seen in the last few decades. Trailer below.
I’ve loved this film to bits ever since I first saw it about a decade ago. It’s fascinating to see how in the early 1950s, Hollywood had a moment where it was looking inwards at its own history (here and Sunset Blvd.) and the anxiety of actors and actresses being replaced (All About Eve). This is probably specific to a few examples and not a widespread trend, but I think it was a sign of maturity for the medium.
Also, I don’t know if you’re proceeding somewhat chronologically, but the trend in the 1960s is definitely towards huge, lavish musicals with songs and settings that are all integrated into the story, creating a sense of one big cohesive production. Up to and including Singin’ in the Rain, a lot of the song and dance numbers really are just there for the heck of it, and the songs themselves were largely cobbled from existing popular tunes. This is why the “Original Song” Oscar used to mean something – most musical numbers predated the films in which they appeared.
Yeah, I’m proceeding chronologically so it’s interesting to see the trends. It seems like Sunset Boulevard was unlike other “movies about movies” in that it was dark and not too kind while Singin in the Rain and others like it all seem so idyllic and happy and pro-Hollywood. Singin’ pokes a bit of fun at Hollywood, but it’s still a story about people with talent making it big and being happy.
Interesting point about the original musicals.
Moses supposes his toeses are roses but Moses supposes erroneously!
Best song by far! : 0