Singin' in the Rain. 1952. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen.

(8/?/00-8/17/00)

I was very tired when I saw this and the sound was turned so low that I couldn't hear all of it and what I could hear too concentration.

I didn't enjoy Singin' in the Rain as much as An American in Paris. One reason for that is that I don't think that Don Lockwood is as appealing a figure as Jerry Mulligan--although the scene in which Gene Kelly dances to "Singin' in the Rain" is unquestionably his signature scene. (And boy, was that rain one helluva downpour!) Debbie Reynolds didn't have the charm of Leslie Caron and Donald O'Connor was just a little too frenetic for my taste, especially in his solo number "Make 'Em Laugh."

"Moses Supposes" also struck me as kind of silly; perhaps I just wasn't in the mood. That happens.

It's not a favorite of mine, but Singin' in the Rain is a very enjoyable nostalgic piece about Hollywood's changeover to sound. It has a wonderful character in Lina Lamont--a silent film star who has a dreadful, wretched voice. Lina is vain, stupid and unequivocally ruthless. She believes the fan magazine publicity about Don being in love with her, yet has no scruples whatever about preventing Betty (Debbie Reynolds' character) from having her chance at stardom. She is mean-spirited to the core, yet I somehow felt sorry for her at the end when she goes too far and is revealed as a fraud before a large audience.

One of my favorite moments is when Lina gets hit in the face with a pie which was intended for Lockwood. It made me laugh out loud. It was also wonderful to hear wonderful old songs like "You Are My Lucky Star" and "All I Do Is Dream of You." I wasn't that impressed with the big surreal dance number "Gotta Dance." This obviously bore no relation to early Hollywood musicals. And this kind of elaborate "jazz ballet" (for lack of a more precise description), which was a hallmark of the Arthur Freed-produced MGM musicals, is just not as interesting to me as a more simple routine which advances the story. As an example, I'm thinking of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing to "Isn't This a Lovely Day to be Caught in the Rain?" These elaborate, surreal "ballets" just don't do it for me.

But I very much enjoyed the attempts to record Lina Lamont's voice (they can't get her to understand that she has to speak into the microphone) and the wonderful finish where she goes too far and they make Debbie Reynolds coverfor her while she sings, but raise the curtain so everyone knows what's really going on.