Classic MGM Musical Of Hollywood Silent Movie Hijinks

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2008)

Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are silent movie stars in Hollywood in 1927 when all of a sudden the talkies come in, and unfortunately Lina can't sing or dance and sounds like a balloon exploding. Don, with the help of his friends Cosmo and Kathy, hatches a crazy plan to turn their new picture into a musical success despite Lina's shortcomings ...
There are certain untouchable movies the Establishment informs us we must like. I agree with some of these choices (Citizen Kane, The French Connection) and disagree violently with others (Gigi, Kramer vs. Kramer). Singin' In The Rain falls somewhere in the middle; I like and admire it, but I don't quite see what all the fuss is about. It has great dancing, some good songs (the majority of which were not written for the film), is very well made and keeps you chuckling. But for me it's not the greatest musical of all time and it's not Kelly's best movie, or even his best musical (that's An American In Paris). It's real strength I think is in the variety of dancing. Rather than either the big glamorous ballroom numbers or good-natured hot-cha-cha hoofing, it has almost every conceivable type of number; a romantic waltz, a crazy tune, a tap duet, a vaudeville stroll, a three-way jitterbug around the house, a big Broadway folie, even a ballet sequence. All of these are terrifically staged and expertly performed - the title song (originally from The Hollywood Revue Of 1929) is of course one of the most famous moments in cinema, but I prefer the zesty Moses Supposes shenanigans and the showstopping Good Morning number with all three leads in top-notch form. The film also has great art direction by MGM's design genius Cedric Gibbons, and the gentle satire of Hollywood's transition from silents to sound is nicely done, particularly by co-star Hagen (who actually dubbed herself in the scene where Reynolds is dubbing her). However, something just doesn't tickle me the way it should about this movie (and many other fifties musicals) - I dig the dancing but the romantic and melancholic aspects always seem phoney to me and pad it out. It keeps coming up with interesting moments though, like the vampy dance Charisse does or just about all of O'Connor's slapstick. It's good entertainment, but I can't help wondering if those who rate it so highly really admire it as much as they say they do. Written by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. Bizarre trivia - there are fascinatingly weird references to this movie in two science-fiction classics; A Clockwork Orange and Alien.