Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Directed by: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | 99 minutes | comedy, romance, musical | Actors: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Cyd Charisse, Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno

The musical lover will feel like a kid in a candy store when watching ‘Singin’ in the Rain’. The many song and dance numbers are unforgettable in their romance, sensuality, humor, exuberance, and simply in their craftsmanship. The dance numbers alone make the movie worthwhile, but there’s even more to enjoy.

During the film, you get to see a piece of essential film history, namely the transition from silent film to sound film, also known as a “talkie” at the time. We see the opposition that the development provoked, and the difficulties that the sound recordings caused. The film world of the 1920s is shown in an amusing way; constantly with a wink. In one of the funniest scenes in the film, we see Dina, Don’s superficial, unsympathetic co-star, having trouble speaking into the microphone, after which it is fixed in different places: in a plant, on her chest, on her shoulder. This to the horror of the person who records (and listens) the sound in a separate sound booth. In addition, Dina has a cringing voice, and is therefore extremely unsuitable for the sound film, which in turn offers many possibilities for comic scenes.

Humor is a strong point of the film. Besides the clever, ironic script, the good interpretations are responsible for this. Jean Hagen is hilarious as the simple, appearance-oriented shrew Dina, but also Debbie Reynolds as Kathy and Donald O’Connor as Cosmo. They both have their own character and (comic) interaction with Kelly, who is the impressive centerpiece of the film.

The (love) story itself is rather meager, but this should not spoil the fun. It is the dance and song numbers that are central, and ultimately give the film its great strength. Apart from the song ‘Beautiful Girl’, which is a bit static and takes the momentum out of the film, the songs are all successful. The energy and inventiveness that speak of it make you wonder and give the idea that you are participating in it yourself.

There’s the song “Make ’em laugh” – which is actually a remake of Cole Porter’s “Be a clown” – in which Donald O’Connor’s acrobatics and facial expressions are so elastic that you feel like you’re watching a cartoon character (from Chuck Jones) is watching. He runs into walls and flips them off; he can also fold his face in ways that would make Jim Carrey almost jealous. It also features an extended sequence that depicts what part of the movie (in the movie) would look like. Kelly here plays a novice dancer who wants to make it on Broadway and becomes more and more successful. At one point he encounters a gangster sweetheart (Cyd Charisse), with whom he performs a tantalizing dance. The scene has rightly been called one of the sexiest moments in film history by the film magazine Empire. And then of course there’s the title track “Singin’ in the Rain”, which is so famous for a reason. Beautifully filmed, choreographed, performed, and moreover it is credible in terms of content and reflects a mood in which we all (want to) find ourselves sometimes. The carefree and cheerful splashing around in puddles is something we would probably like to do, but that adults normally don’t dare to do.

As a cynic you have little interest in this film – sweet, romantic, and excessively happy scenes are more the rule than the exception – but if you are open to a portion of cheerfulness and romance, and also want an interesting insight into the film world from the late twenties, then this song in the rain is an absolute must.