Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Singing in the Rain is a classic song from a classic movie which I must have hummed quite a few times while walking through the rain, but I had never seen the movie. As it has a spot in the IMDB top 250 it was enough reason to see it.

Singin’ in the rain is set at then end of the twenties, when Warner Bros was the first to release a successful movie with sound, The Jazz Singer. Other studios needed to keep up. Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen are Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, two actors who have become stars during the silent era of movie. The current movie they are working in is picked to be the first movie their studio will add sound to.

It doesn’t take long for them to find out that making a movie with sound is very different from making a silent movie. It results in a very (unintentional) funny test screening.
The studio has to think of something to make the movie a success and after a brainstorm session they have the brilliant idea of turning the film into a musical. The only problem with that is that Lina Lamont’s voice is very annoying, forcing them to also find a solution for this.

Singin’ in the Rain is a musical, a genre which I normally do not watch as I don’t enjoy them (the only one I liked is Moulin Rouge), but I was impressed by Singin’ in the Rain. If you were to look at my dictionary and search for the word “movie magic” this would be a film that would be mentioned as an example. It really is a pleasure to watch in every aspect.

The story might be quite simple, but it’s effective enough to make all the songs coherent. These songs were already written before the script was made, but you would not know this when watching it.
There were two songs which impressed me most. The first one was Make’em Laugh in which Donald O’Connor displays a spectacular performance. It is a very impressive dance scene with lots of humor. The second classic scene is of course the one where Gene Kelly is dancing in the rain. Despite not feeling too well he still decided to do it, something you will not notice and it’s a joy to see.

Besides the great songs there are other things that give this movie a special kind of magic. It’s a Technicolor film and the colors are so vibrant that they almost leave the screen that to the beautiful wardrobe. After watching it, you’d almost contemplate going to the dentist as there are more colors than in a candyshop. Everyone seems to be laughing, which makes it a perfect movie for these rainy days in autumn.

I guess I’ve made it pretty clear that I enjoyed this movie. With a nice story, excellent singing and dancing, humor and wonderful colors you won’t be surprised that I consider this to be a classic. I highly recommend it if you are into musicals or are looking for a movie to brighten up your day.

Score: 10