Q:Build a movie plot around this: What does Kathy throw at Don? A cake.
A:
Don Lockwood (Kelly) is a popular silent film star with humble roots as a singer, dancer and stuntman. Don barely tolerates his vain, shallow leading lady, Lina Lamont (Hagen), though their studio, Monumental Pictures, links them romantically to increase their popularity. Lina herself is convinced they are in love, despite Don's protestations otherwise.At the premiere of his newest film, The Royal Rascal, Don tells the gathered crowd an exaggerated version of his life story, including his motto: "Dignity, always dignity." His words are humorously contradicted by flashbacks alongside his best friend Cosmo Brown (O'Connor).Gene Kelly dancing while singing the title song "Singin' in the Rain"To escape from his fans after the premiere, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden (Reynolds). She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his "undignified" accomplishments as a movie star. Later, at a party, the head of Don's studio, R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell), shows a short demonstration of a talking picture,[a] but his guests are unimpressed. To Don's amusement, Kathy pops out of a mock cake right in front of him, revealing herself to be a chorus girl. Furious at Don's teasing, she throws a real cake at him, only to hit Lina right in the face. She runs away. Don is smitten with her and searches for her for weeks. Lina tells him while filming a love scene that she had Kathy fired. Don finally finds Kathy working in another Monumental Pictures production. She confesses to having been a fan of his all along.After a rival studio has an enormous hit with its first talking picture, The Jazz Singer (1927), R.F. decides he has no choice but to convert the next Lockwood and Lamont film, The Duelling Cavalier, into a talkie. The production is beset with difficulties, but by far the worst is Lina's grating voice and strong New York accent. An exasperated diction coach tries to teach her how to speak properly, but to no avail. The Duelling Cavalier's test screening is a...