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"Singin' in the Rain"

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Although actually a 'made for movie' musical rather than a stage musical, "Singin' in the Rain" certainly earns a place in my tribute to the classic musical.

Boasting the talent and choreographic genius of the legendary Gene Kelly, partnered with famous Hollywood hoofer, Donald O'Connor, "Singin' in the Rain's" song & dance numbers are as wonderfully entertaining as any found in any theatrical production.

This MGM movie was released in 1952 as a true movie musical. This genre soon saw the trend shift to re-makes of Broadway musicals rather than original movie musicals. In a musical it is customary for the characters to break into song & dance in place of much of the dialogue found in non-musical formats. With the strength of such a strong cast, the musical element of this film shines. Three of Hollywood's biggest stars, Kelly, O'connor and Debbie Reynolds fill the lead roles along with many wonderful co-stars.

The story,(scripted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green), on which the movie is based, revolves around Hollywood's manic shift from silent movies to the new 'talkies'. The comic plot of "Singin' in the Rain" introduces a leading lady (Lina Lamont character) who posseses one of the most shrieky, nasal voices with a lower class New 'Yawk' accent. To avoid the obvious failure of a film starring an actress with such an annoying voice, the film in the story is to be turned into a musical with another girl (Kathy Seldon character) dubbing the voice.

This results in the perfect solution...a successful film; that is, however, until the hoax is revealed. But, in true Hollywood style, the Kathy Seldon character's beautiful voice is not used merely behind the scenes as she is discovered and offered her own career. (On an ironic note: Debbie Reynolds, who played the Kathy Seldon character in the film, did not do the singing as the plot indicates. It was Jean Hagen, the Lina Lamont character in the film, whose accomplished vocal talents were actually used.)

The most famous offering from this film is, without a doubt, Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" number. Who hasn't seen at least that part of the film at one time or another, or at least viewed one of the numerous posters or pictures of said number? (The average cost for a poster of this famous scene is $10.00 US).

Canadian figure skater, Kurt Browning, skated a version of the "Singin' in the Rain" musical number with surprisingly entertaining results in a television special on CBC tv. It almost made one imagine they were viewing a young Gene Kelly on figure skates.

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