A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
It’s hard to know where to start with a movie like “Singin’ in the Rain.” A plot recap would seem unnecessary, so spoiler alerts shouldn’t apply – though if you haven’t seen the film, go out (or stay in) and do so immediately. The recently-released 70th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD + Blu-way + Digital HD makes as good a reason as any.
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor star in this timeless musical. The final print released post-production reminds me of something Richard Dreyfuss told Roy Scheider after “Jaws” came out in 1975 – when the guy directing named Steven Spielberg was still an unproven and largely unknown quantity, Dreyfuss said to Scheider, with his usual boyish buoyancy, “You look good, I look good, everybody looks good.” And so it goes with “Singin’ in the Rain.” A delightful cast with a delightful story and many strong musical numbers – the most iconic and best, of course, being the eponymous title song. Watching Gene Kelly – reportedly nursing a 103-degree temperature during the filming of the scene – dancing and splashing through puddles in the middle of the street and along the sidewalk with such aplomb is simply priceless. Of note, and thankfully, Gene Kelly’s hammy acting style is mainly kept in check – unlike his performance in “An American in Paris,” released a couple of years previous, where his self-important self-awareness is almost too much to take.
While “Singin’ in the Rain” was merely a modest box office hit – unlike “An American in Paris,” which was both a critical and commercial success – its reputation has only grown over the years to the point where it regularly appears on the lists of top movies of all time. Somewhat interestingly and like many other great motion pictures, “Singin’ in the Rain” is a lot of fun. It touches on a critical inflection point in history – in this case, Hollywood’s transition from the silent era to the new world of talkies, enabled by technology. Some readers may not be aware of the inability of more than one silent film star to make the jump to talking pictures, Charlie Chaplain among them. Here, Jean Hagen – adored by audiences when only subtitles relayed the dialog – tries in vain to discard her high-pitched Brooklyn accent paired with an even more marginal set of l vocal abilities. To everyone’s dismay, her efforts are doomed from the start.
Comparisons between “An American in Paris” and Singin’ in the Rain” are natural because of their shared plot devices. Both comprise a story about a man conflicted between two women – but not really – first winning his true love early on, losing her, and finally winning her back again in the final sequence. Come for the wonderfully choreographed dance routines and stay for the compelling characters sure to win your heart.
In addition to the epochal shift in audience preferences from silent to sound (similar to the transition from black-and-white to breathtaking Technicolor), there are references to the perception by many that moving pictures in the early days were lowbrow affairs – as contrasted with the New York stage and its more sophisticated reputation along Broadway.
Yet still, further, the pleasures of “Singin’ in the Rain” are reminiscent of other great movies such as “Casablanca” – even though the themes in the latter were unquestionably deeper and more urgent. Rick Blaine’s straight man (Humphrey Bogart) elicits innumerable – and entirely intentional – laughs from audiences as good or better than any comic actor across the history of cinema. Claude Rains as Captain Renault is no slouch either. As but one example, he solemnly intones how shocked he is to find out that gambling takes place at Rick’s American Bar – just as the croupier hands him his winnings from the evening’s wagers. These rare, great films guarantee a terrific time had by all.
Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, “Singin’ in the Rain” is a treasure to behold. No one can consider themselves a movie buff if they haven’t seen it. Produced at the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, it stands far above its peers. Put colloquially – it just don’t get no better than this.
Now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital HD
