 Writer Ray Bradbury once described the classic musical Singin' in the Rain as a science-fiction movie, because it tells the story of people trying to deal with a new technology -- movies with sound. While that's an interesting interpretation, we're pretty sure that all writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green had in mind was to use the song catalog of Arthur Freed (who produced the movie) and Nacio Herb Brown to poke fun at Hollywood conventions and the panic that Tinseltown found itself in in 1927, when it suddenly realized that actors had to talk as well as act. While Singin' in the Rain -- released this week in 1952 -- is considered by many to be the greatest musical ever made (though, personally, we prefer The Band Wagon and the Warner Bros. and Astaire-Rogers pictures of the 1930s), it can't be denied that it's one of the funniest -- and most fun -- of the major studio musicals of Hollywood's Golden Age. There's not much that's better than seeing Debbie Reynolds making her (more or less) fresh-faced debut, hearing Jean Hagen's squawking at voice teacher Kathleen Freeman, or watching Donald O'Connor run up a wall (in a number that owes more than a little to Cole Porter). Best of all is Gene Kelly (who co-directed the film with Stanley Donen) in that indelible moment on the lamppost (despite the fact that he was ill with a 103-degree temperature and the flu). Watching that scene would make anyone want to find the nearest rainstorm and jump through puddles. Suggested Sites...
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Tuesday, March 23, 2021
What a Glorious Feeling! - March 23, 2010
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