Singing, Dancing, and Talkies

Though it is usually categorized as a musical, the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain has all of the elements of a classic romantic comedy film. Co-directed by Stanley Donen and song and dance man Gene Kelly, the film is a great example of a Hollywood movie that parodies Hollywood as well as the politics of falling in love on a Hollywood set.

Don Lockwood (Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are the on-screen romantic duo of Lockwood-Lamont, whereas off stage, they detest each other. When Hollywood suddenly goes from silents to talkies, studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) decides the next Lockwood-Lamont should be a talkie. Unfortunately, Lina talks like a sqwaking bird not a swooning starlet. Enter Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds), a young actress who is struggling to make it but can sing, dance, act, and is the head of the Don Lockwood fan club, unbeknownst to Don himself. Don and pal Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) conspire to have Lina's parts dubbed over by Kathy, but when Lina and friend Zelda Zanders (Rita Moreno) feel threatened by Kathy's presence, they attempt to ruin the whole scheme. Don has to prove his love for Kathy and Lina's sham in the midst of several colorful and catchy musical numbers.

The acclaim of this film is known far and wide. Singin' in the Rain is a definite must see for any film fan, buff, or viewer. Time voted it one of the 100-Must See Films of all time. It was on Entertainment Weekly's list of 10 Best Films and #8 on Empire Magazine's list of 500 Greatest Films of All Time. It made severeal AFI lists including #1 Musical, "Singin' in the Rain" as #3 song, #10 in the 100 Years...100 Movies List, and #16 in 100 Years... 100 Passions.

For a review and history of the film, you can look here at the mardecortesbaja blogspot. Roger Egbert's review of the film can be found here and a review from decentfilms.com can be found here. Noripcord.com has also done a review, as has leftfieldcinema.com.

For more information on the film, you can check out this page at filmsite.com or you can read this hypertextual reading of the film, thanks to Project Muse.