near perfect musical brilliance

Rating: 9/10 (10 February 2005)

SPOILERS It was once said that "Everyone loves a musical". Whilst not completely accurate (there are those who just can't get their heads around the genre), there's no denying that the majority of people across the globe love the beauty of a true musical. Often brightly coloured, sometimes with spectacular dancing numbers, and always with a soundtrack to die for, these films have made generations smile for a long time now. The most famous, and perhaps the finest musical ever made, was "Singin' in the Rain". Starring Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor, the film made a dancing heroine out of newcomer Debbie Reynolds, and aside from one irrelevant period where Kelly dances through a 1920s setting, it is the most well constructed and well known musical of it's (and any other) generation.
Don Lockwood (Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Oscar nominated Jean Hagen) are the favourite silent movie couple of Hollywood. Unfortunately though, with the rise of the talking picture, with Lamont's squeaky voice, their days look numbered. That is until Lockwood accidentally meets Kathy Selden (Reynolds), an unknown with a beautiful voice. Now, putting the screen presence of Lamont and the voice of Selden together, Lockwood might just have a way of saving their careers.
Everyone able to watch television will have seen or heard about Gene Kelly's scene in the rain. It's a scene of legendary status, and worthy so. The film itself though is so much more. With songs like "Make 'em Laugh" and "Good Morning", there are more musical gems in this film than you could ever want. All sang by either Kelly, Reynolds or O'Connor, you hear these songs and you find yourself singing them back weeks afterwards. There's just no way to criticise them.
On acting and dancing fronts as well, "Singin' in the Rain" is as good as it should be. Kelly and O'Connor were already dancing geniuses when they agreed to star in this film, but Reynolds was a complete newcomer to the art. This obviously didn't stop her as she not only manages to perform brilliantly, but she more than equals the abilities of the two male leads.
Aside from the three main actors, Jean Hagen is more than worthy of her Oscar performance as the infuriating Lamont. She screeches and grates throughout the entire film, despite the fact that the actress herself actually has an amazing voice (and even ironically provides the voice in the musical that Reynolds is meant to be providing for her). Hagen is the ridicule humour in a film of good intentions. She's the bad guy who everyone likes to see suffer, and she does it exquisitely.
In fact, despite it's slow start, "Singin' in the Rain" would be the finest film of all time, if not for one key flaw.
About two thirds of the way through the film, we are whisked away to a musical number where Gene Kelly is a young talent in New York. Trying to make it big, he dances his way along singing "gotta dance". Eventually, a woman becomes involved, and he makes it big, and all manner of events happen, but we just don't care. The scene is completely irrelevant to the film and does nothing but ruin it's flow. The scenery is too bright, the clothes are ridiculously colourful, and basically the scene feels like it goes on for hours at an end. If they wanted to feature the scene, it might have been tolerable for a tiny period, but by putting the whole piece in, it destabilises the structure of "Singin' in the Rain" and ruins what could well have been the perfect film.
"Singin' in the Rain" is without a doubt the finest musical ever made. It's songs, it's dancing, it's acting, it's cinematography, everything is perfect. That is, except for one woefully inappropriate scene. The film is more than worthy of any praise it might get, but until we witness a version without that scene, it won't quite make it as the greatest film of all time.