Musical

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - 1952

DIRECTED BY: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

STARRING: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds

GENRE: MUSICAL

PLOT

Don Lockwood is a silent-film actor who has worked to become successful along with the company of his good friend Cosmo Brown. Don’s studio connectshim and his on-screen lover Lina Lamont in real life, much to the angst of Don, as Lina is shallow and childish. The movie Dan and Lina were filming occurred in the time period when films were transitioning from silent to talking. While Don is able to transition smoothly because of his good voice, Lina cannot because of her poor diction and vocal skills. Don eventually meets Kathy Selden, an aspring actress, who is brought in by the studio to dub for Lina’s voice in secret. Dan graudually falls in love with Kathy. Eventually Lina finds out and ensures Kathy gets fired, but later orders her to continue to work uncredited as her own voice. In the last scene, Kathy and Dan are shown kissing.

Significance:

While the title song, “Singin’ in the Rain” had existed before, it became popular due to Gene Kelly’s rendition and charted at #3 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs. It is one of the most successful musical comedies of all time. The choreography, music, and production is considered iconic and has had multiple references in pop culture even today It has also won Academy Award and Golden Globe as well as countless other awards which list is as one of the “Best Movies of All Time” (Rotten Tomatoes, National Film Registry, Sight and Sound)