I don't even know where to start with this one! Possibly one of the funniest, loveliest, most enchanting movies ever made, and that, in great part, is a testament to its star, director and choreographer, Gene Kelly. Gene was an athelete (he wanted to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he discovered in his youth that girls went for the guys who liked to dance!), and his incredible athleticism is very apparent in two of his best movies, Singin' In The Rain and an American In Paris.
But for all its grandeur and beauty, "Paris" simply can't top "Singin'!" Singing in the Rain is the story of the difficulty studios and actors had converting from silent movies to talkies. Gene plays Hollywood heart throb, Don Lockwood. His voluptuous and beautiful leading lady, Lena Lamont, has just one little problem...she has a voice that would peel paint. Monumental Pictures not only has to overcome the technical difficulties of the new fangled talking pictures equipment (like somehow getting the words to line up with the pictures), but they must also deal with Lena's hideous voice.
Gene's skill as a dancer is showcased in this film in the Broadway Melody section in which he incorporates every style of dance into one routine -- ballet, tap, jazz, modern. This is extremely difficult to do because most dancers are trained in one discipline and their muscles were only prepared to handle one style. Gene was a master of them all, and it shows in this scene.
But the show stopper is, of course, Gene's "rain dance." If you haven't seen it, run out and rent it -- or buy it if you can't find it! And watch that leap up onto the lamp post! Plyometrics for sure! Gene was very ill during the filming of the rain dance, but you certainly can't tell.
The other gem of the movie is the now largely forgotten child star, Donald O'Connor. Bing Crosby once said of O'Connor, "There's nothing he can't do!" And O'Connor was, indeed, a marvel. He was the Mickey Roony of Universal Studios and was sadly locked into that studio (which at the time only produced B movies). By the time he grew up and was finally able to start making a name for himself, the Musical era was over, and Donald was relegated to the talk show circuit. He did manage to get another great film under his belt, however -- Call Me Madame, with the great Ethel Merman.
You will wonder when you watch Donald in action (especially in the "Make 'Em Laugh" number in Singin') if he was really human! An incredibly versatile, impossible agile, and marvelously gifted actor, dancer, acrobat.
