FILM CHALLENGE: 32) Singing In The Rain

32) Singing In The Rain

Director: Stanley Donan and Gene Kelly

Year: 1952

Plot Summary: In 1927, the former stuntman Don Lockwood becomes a successful actor with the company of his best friend Cosmo Brown forming a romantic pair with the actress Lina Lamont. In the period of transition from silent movies to talking pictures, Don accidentally meets the aspirant actress Kathy Selden while escaping from his fans and fall in love for her. Lina has troubles with the sharp tune of her voice, and Cosmo and Don decides to dub her, using Kathy's voice, to save their movie.

Singing In The Rain isn't just a musical; it's also a celebration of the genre that captured audiences worldwide. While people always categorise it with the likes of My Fair Lady and The Sound Of Music, I'd say it's most comparable to Cinema Paradiso as they are both a nostalgic, romantic look at the history of movies.

This is the first time I've watched the film, despite it being a classic, and was surprised to find that this was a huge part of the storyline. All I'd really associated the film with before was Gene Kelly dancing in the rainy street with an umbrella on the light posts. But Singing In The Rain does a marvellous job at capturing the rise of the musical through the experiences its four main characters. The character of Lina Lamont is especially important as she represents how Hollywood was forced to change with the invention of talking pictures; her voice wasn't perfect despite her beautiful looks and fame, so she had to be replaced. Think of her as a prequel to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.

However, aside from the interesting history lesson on musicals, Singing In The Rain is also a film that has everything anyone could want from a movie. It's funny, it's poignant, it's uplifting, it's dramatic and it's as full of life as any picture that has been made since. Watching it, you can see exactly why the movie was such a phenomenon when it was released. Even the dance sequences - which, admittedly, I take very little interest in usually - are amazing, and Gene Kelly completely lives up to his reputation in every way.

Sure, it doesn't quite end in the same fashion that it started, but Singing In The Rain is a lovely film and without a doubt the best musical that has ever been committed to screen.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 1 comment