Review: Singin’ in the Rain

Directed by: Stanley Donen

Written by: Adolph Green & Betty Comden

Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse

Rating: [5/5]

Change inevitably hits every industry where the individuals involved either need to sink or swim with the new tide coming to shore. The rise of talkies in classic Hollywood came as one of those points of distinction, which Singin’ in the Rain documents for a star. A shift the feature displays incredibly well, but also accomplishes the feat of existing as the greatest movie musical ever done due to the sheer athleticism and talent of its cast. 

Following the release of “The Jazz Singer,” Monumental Pictures find themselves in quite the bind of adjusting to moving on from solely producing silent films. With their major upcoming release of “The Dueling Cavelier,” they need star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) to breathe a new life into it by potentially turning the film into a musical. 

Analyzing the history of this iconic feature makes for some fascinating reading if you ever wish to delve into what makes this stand as the greatest musical of all time by many including such a comeback story. You have a tale about a change in Hollywood but done so with a level of zeal and joy that ensures anyone watching cannot bear a huge grin on their face as they watch it because of the pure excellence on display. You have those moments throughout the film where your mouth gets left agape in trying to fully comprehend what you’re witnessing from this cast and the sensational dance numbers they have. 

When looking at each dance number, a review could be written looking into each of them and the sheer difficulty involved in each of them. From Donald O’Connor going absolutely haywire in “Make’em Laugh,” Gene Kelly’s eternally iconic “Singin’ in the Rain,” and the trio’s collaboration in “Good Morning,” each dance sequence displays the greatness we have between the three stars of this movie and the way they can captivate the screen and dance with such pedigree. It becomes one of those instances having seen the film many times where the latest rewatch had me trying to pick up on where any cuts existed to see how long these dance takes lasted. To no surprise very minimal existed showing the degree of difficulty these actors had in putting it all together. 

With each dance number captivating they intend to, the story sits right at the heart of innovation where you have these individuals needing to pivot in a way they have not needed to do for decades. A level of complacency received quite the shake up forcing a whole industry to rethink how they operate. It allows for a complete distillation of what these artists do and the purpose of the entertainment industry. The “Make ‘Em Laugh” sequence gets at the very idea of getting back to the basics of what audience members wants. The line he sings “You can charm the critics and have nothing to eat” feels like quite the attack hilariously enough to people like me. Sometimes all you need to do is slip on a banana peel. 

Amidst everything happening as an industry of the role, this feature also digs into the Hollywood dream done both through showing and telling with Don Lockwood’s journey. He both tells how he began in the industry where he started out his career as a stuntman unafraid to take on any opportunity thrown his way before the big break arrived. Then you also have one of the final dance numbers showing the journey of a young man arriving in the city of angels and trying to get his start along with the pitfalls in his way. This allows this feature to look upon the whole Hollywood system from top to bottom where you have Don Lockwood reaching the zenith from humble beginnings and how that shifts with Kathy Selden’s journey. 

Serving as the villain of the feature we have Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), which certainly comes rooted in misogyny where in a world where studio heads get depicted as good guys, a diva woman actor could be the antagonist. Lina’s characterization certainly does not help when Hagen needs to put on this very unsettling and nasally voice which certainly presented quite the challenge for her to succeed in a world where she would need to speak in her roles and others would need to hear. In a way, you can see the film through her eyes and see a very different story of a woman trying to battle all of these levers raised against her. You can certainly develop some sympathy for Lina but the way she treats Kathy certainly solidifies what makes it easy to root against her. 

As much as this film operates as a movie about a movie, the production design on display here assists in demonstrating the brilliance of the feature as a whole. Each of these sets has characters with some of them operating as actual sets for Monumental Pictures. Thinking of what they built for the title sequence and the working set for “Make ‘Em Laugh” shows the level of detail involved in building out the stage for these actors to then take over when they sing and dance on it. This all culminates as the opportunity to give praise to Gene Kelly, who not only starred as the charismatic Lockwood but also co-directed the feature with Stanley Donen. While much debate still exists on who deserves the majority of the credit as the director, they both undoubtedly contributed behind the camera in crafting something so undeniably special. 

Trying to think of another film ever coming close to the brilliance of this feature boggles the mind because of how much this feature gets every aspect of its story right. With all it does well, it also has this unparalleled exuberance emanating from every single frame. Something so distinct and memorable making it an American classic like no other. Without a doubt, one of my favorite films ever made that completely enchanted me on my first watch and continues to do so every time I have the chance to flip it on.