Dignity, always dignity

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2015)

In his own words Gene Kelly said that this one will last. Not all of them do as films age but Singin in the Rain will stand the test of time.
It is not a perfect film, it does have flaws in its story but it is a gold plated classic and according to Kelly it is all true, these things happened.
He presumably meant the various incidents in Hollywood relating to the transition from silent to sound a subject of the more recent silent film The Artist itself based on the Don Lockwood character played by Kelly in this film but set in an alternate universe where he is washed up when sound arrives not Lina.
Don Lockwood is a song and dance man who worked his way up to be a movie star via being a stuntman along with hyperactive Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) who these days would be regarded as the gay best friend.
Lockwood and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are formidable box office stars and everyone thinks they are an item. In truth he detests her which makes you think that if they have not been together for all these years then who have they been with or were they living like monks?
After a film premiere Lockwood literally drops into Kathy Selden's (Debbie Reynolds) car. She is a wannabee stage actress and he is immediately attracted to her.
On the horizon is talking pictures and this makes (as in The Artist) the stars of today 'has beens' unless they quickly adapt to sound, because the kind of films they have been making so far now look laughably bad.
Worse as they quickly try to make their new film as a talkie, Lina has difficulty talking to a microphone, she has terrible diction making her sound course and common and worse still the dialogue sounds clunky.
After a disastrous test screening which shows Lina up actually as a dumb blonde, Cosmo hatches a plan to have Kathy dub her voice plus add some song and dance numbers.
Don and Kathy fall in love, the studio have plans to promote her as a big star but Lina will not take things lying down but she literally gets the last laugh but this time she is the joke.
This is of course wrapped in some classic song and dance numbers from the legendary Singin in the rain, Make em laugh, Good Morning and a sultry sequence with Cyd Charisse.
It is colourful (I first saw this as a lad on a small black and white television and I always seem to recall it in monochrome) and some of the dancing is fantastic.
Kelly was right, this one will last.