Singin' In the Rain (1952)
Director: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O' Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Strength: Story, Musical pieces, Dance numbers, Acting
Runtime: 103min
PLOT: In 1927, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamot (Jean Hagen) were one of the most popular onscreen duos. After the enormous success of the first talking picture The Jazz Singer, R.F. Simpson decides to convert the next Lockwood and Lamont film The Duelling Cavalier into a talking film. Don has the perfect voice for the songs but Lina has trouble with the dialect despite her best efforts. To save the movie, R.F, Cosmo and Don decide to dub her using Kathy's voice, who Don had met while escaping his fans. While working on the movie, Don falls in love with Kathy. Upon finding this out Lina gets furious and blackmails the studio in keeping Kathy in the shadow to dub her in future productions. Eventually, the truth is revealed when Lina faces no choice but to sing to the audience.
REVIEW: This musical film is without a doubt one of the most joyful movies ever made. In 1952, Kelly and O'Connor were established actors but Debbie Reynolds was a fresher with five previous small roles. Nonetheless, they nailed each and every dance numbers in the movie and performed incredibly. O'Connor's Make 'em Laugh is still considered as one of the most amazing dance sequences ever filmed. Kelly in the Singin' in the Rain number showed what a glorious feeling it is to fall in love. He doesn't mind getting wet as he is besotted with romance.
The climax ingeniously uses strategies to take down Lina and celebrate the fresh-faced Kathy. Later, Kathy and Don kiss in front of a billboard for their new film Singin' in the Rain. As corny as it was, it was just perfect! Dance numbers, music pieces, storyline, acting; everything reflected originality. As entertaining it was to watch, the movie was not just limited to music and romance, it showed a crucial transition of the industry where it transitioned from silent to talking movies. Considering the effort put behind making this movie and the themes it represented, Singin' in the Rain has established itself as a definitive classic since its release more than 60 years ago.
Reviewed by Shamma Shawki Arpita
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