A Weekend of Rainy Musicals
For those who’ve been telling us that the movies have been a little heavy lately, here’s a huge, heaping dose of cinematic joy and optimism.
Singin’ in the Rain was born of modest circumstances. It’s a jukebox musical filled with 20-year-old tunes that were never hits, most of which had been featured in numerous other musicals. But sometimes, magic happens, and Singin’ in the Rain is undeniably magical.
There are a million stories connected with the making of the film—Debbie Reynolds’ dancing (and much of her singing) was dubbed in, Gene Kelly danced the legendary title song with a 103-degree fever, Donald O’Connor had to be hospitalized for exhaustion after his ultra-manic take on “Make ‘Em Laugh,” the movie itself was just a modest hit and nowhere near the sensation of Kelly’s previous film, the Oscar-winning An American in Paris—but the fact is that Singin’ in the Rain has a very strong case as the greatest musical ever created within the Hollywood system. Everything about it just works.
Roger Ebert: “A transcendent experience and no one who loves movies can afford to miss it.”
Pauline Kael: “The most enjoyable of all American movie musicals.”
American Film Institute: The #1 musical of all time.
And yes, Kelly and O’Connor and Reynolds are all fabulous, but Jean Hagen—as the vain and vicious Lena Lamont—gives perhaps the greatest comedic supporting performance ever in a musical. And that’s just one more great thing about Singin’ in the Rain.