Singing in the Rain appreciation thread

[TomStockholm]

Got stuck in front of the oldies film channel a couple of nights ago and got engrosed in Singing in the Rain for the first time in years.

What a magnificent film it is!!!

I can't think of many of the musicals of the period that have stood the test of time as well as this one has.

And the dance routines are just amazing.

Is there anyone here with experience of tap who has an opinion on the technical excellence of Gene Kelly, Debby Reynolds and Donald O'Connor? Is it all just done with clever editing or did O'Connor really batter himself to a pulp when he did "Make em Laugh"?

[AmateurScientist]

It is a great movie, and generally I am not fond of musicals. This one is superlative, and it has a good story and dialogue too.

The cast was one of the best at the time, and Kelly, O'Connor, Reynolds, and Judy Holliday each was already or soon to become a superstar.

AS

[TomStockholm]

Originally posted by AmateurScientist
It is a great movie, and generally I am not fond of musicals. This one is superlative, and it has a good story and dialogue too.

The cast was one of the best at the time, and Kelly, O'Connor, Reynolds, and Judy Holliday each was already or soon to become a superstar.

AS

I quite like musicals, but usually because I find them quaint in the way that they have dated. Singing in the Rain seems still to have a real edge to it, despite its age.

Maybe it has something to do with the story around it, this whole thing of the end of the silent movie and everything, coupled to the tunes and the dancing that does it.

I was thinking of the only other musical that I really think still holds its own as a film in its own right and that is Cabaret. There it is even clearer that the contrast of the music and the atmosphere of Berlin in the early 30s gives the film edge.

All the others seem to me to be set pieces for the numbers to be constructed around.

[hgc]

Originally posted by TomStockholm
...

Is there anyone here with experience of tap who has an opinion on the technical excellence of Gene Kelly, Debby Reynolds and Donald O'Connor? ...Actually it's more amazing when you consider that Debbie Reynolds was not really a dancer, and that she was able to look great anyway. All the sounds of her taps in the movie are dubbed with Gene Kelly's feet.

[TomStockholm]

Originally posted by hgc
Actually it's more amazing when you consider that Debbie Reynolds was not really a dancer, and that she was able to look great anyway. All the sounds of her taps in the movie are dubbed with Gene Kelly's feet.

Is that true? Amazing.

A bit ironic when you think the storyline of her dubbing the other actresses songs because she couldn't sing...

A bit of an in joke maybe... :-)

[Glory]

Originally posted by TomStockholm
Is there anyone here with experience of tap who has an opinion on the technical excellence of Gene Kelly, Debby Reynolds and Donald O'Connor? Is it all just done with clever editing or did O'Connor really batter himself to a pulp when he did "Make em Laugh"?

Donald O'Connor did sustain injury while filming that sequence but it was minor. He did not beat himself to a pulp but there was no clever editing or tricks used in that scene. He really did all those stunts and did run up the walls. In many ways, while not being the innovator that Gene Kelly was, O' Connor was the better dancer. His technique and grace were unsurpassed.

I adore this film. The performance of Jean Hagen as Lena "I make more money than Calvin Coolidge, put together!" Lamont is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. They even found a way to use Syd Cherisse, although she had to dance with her Knees bent the whole time because she was taller than Gene Kelly.

It's a peice of brilliance.

Glory

[azidhak]

Aahh singing in the rain... As I've never seen it I have to say that my fondest memories was Malcolm McDowells "dancing":D :p
Haakon

[a_unique_person]

I liked it, and the way it has held it's own. The talent is fantastic from the whole cast.

Donald O'Connor was great in that film "The Court Jester" as well.

[Zep]

Trivia: The raindrops used in the "Singin' In The Rain" dance routine originally did not show up on film because they were pretty much transparent until they splashed on the ground. So they added milk to them to make them show on film, hence their whitish appearance.

Apparently that film stage stank abominably for weeks afterwards...

[RonSceptic]

A clasic, no doubt about that.

I didn't realise that the song 'Singing In The Rain, was and old standard many years older than the film itself. I know this because I picked up a 78 of a big band doing the song, which was recorded in the late twenties.

I had just assumed that the song was written for the movie. I guess someone loved the song and decided to name the movie after it.

[Denise]

I love that movie! But, I must admit, I hated the part with the dancer in the red dress? Can't quite remember it, but the woman with short black hair. Very annoying.

[Glory]

Originally posted by Denise
I love that movie! But, I must admit, I hated the part with the dancer in the red dress? Can't quite remember it, but the woman with short black hair. Very annoying.

That woukd be the "Broadway Melody" ballet with Syd Cherisse. Not everyone's cup of tea I'll Grant you.

Glory

[SteveW]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Another bit of trivia: In the Singin In The Rain number, Gene Kelly's taps were not loud enough so in post production they got Gwen Verdon and Rita Moreno to tap in a bucket of water for the sound effects.

And I was at a party once and got to actually dance sith Cyd Charisse; she was still a gorgeous woman in her 60's.

[Glory]

Recording taps in post production was par for the course both then and now. It is far more unusual to record the taps using ambient microphones on the set as the dancer is being filmed. Sound equipment back then simply could not pick up the taps adequately against the playback of the music.

I have heard many different accounts as to who provided extra taps for whom in "SITR". Gwen Verdon's name has come up before but I have never heard of Rita Moreno's involvement. How good is your source on that? I don't intend argument. I would very much like to know the truth of the matter and so far have encountered only myth, rumour and a aprocophylia(did I just make up a word?).

Glory

[alfaniner]

Anybody have the recent special edition DVD? Now I'm interested in buying it. But I always want to know how special the "special" features are.

[hgc]

Hooray for "Singing in the Rain." While so many musicals are so friggin' lame, this movie stands out as a masterpiece. It doesn't grow old; it's just as entertaining today as it must have been when it was first released. Originally posted by a_unique_person
I liked it, and the way it has held it's own. The talent is fantastic from the whole cast.

Donald O'Connor was great in that film "The Court Jester" as well. Thanks for bringing this up, AUP. This is a reminder for me to bump up the funniest movie thread, since that is a really, really funny movie.

[Sandy M]

Love it, especially "dear" Lina Lamont ("..an I CAAAAN'T stan'em!")
While the whole film is delightful, she is particularly wonderful (wonderfully awful?)

I think it would be reasonable to assume that Rita Moreno may have "redubbed" the taps, since she had a minor part in the movie.....

Debbie Reynolds was SO young when it was made - I think 19, 20? I've read that she was terrified of screwing up the dance numbers.

Esther Williams, in her bio, states that SHE didn't find working Kelly all that pleasant an experience (Take Me Out to the Ball Game).

[hgc]

Some good Singing trivia to be found here (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0045152/trivia) in imdb.com, as relates to many of the points above.

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Glory
Donald O'Connor did sustain injury while filming that sequence but it was minor. He did not beat himself to a pulp but there was no clever editing or tricks used in that scene. He really did all those stunts and did run up the walls. In many ways, while not being the innovator that Gene Kelly was, O' Connor was the better dancer. His technique and grace were unsurpassed.
If any of you watched "The Full Monty", you saw a hilarious tribute to this dance. One of the "strippers" ('Lunchbox') auditioned by trying to run up the wall like Donald O'Conner. Of course, he fell flat on his face.

[Ove]

What can i say that hasn't been said? LOVE THAT MOVIE. Donald did in fact collapse after the routine. That is why there is the only cut in the scene from he dissapears behind the sofa in the end and then to he appears again. The whole rest of the scene is one take.

I saw a special about the movie recently and the fun part was that they wanted a dance number for Donald and the writer said "it should be something like "Be a Clown", from Gene's earlier picture. So, the composer went away and came back with "Make 'em laugh". They are stunningly alike but somehow they were never sued for plagiarism (it ain't the same composer). :D

The 5 min. in it where they try to record Lina's voice live on the set are amongst the funniest ever recorded on celluloid.:D :D :D


:roll: :roll: :roll:

[SteveW]

Originally posted by Glory
Recording taps in post production was par for the course both then and now. It is far more unusual to record the taps using ambient microphones on the set as the dancer is being filmed. Sound equipment back then simply could not pick up the taps adequately against the playback of the music.

I have heard many different accounts as to who provided extra taps for whom in "SITR". Gwen Verdon's name has come up before but I have never heard of Rita Moreno's involvement. How good is your source on that? I don't intend argument. I would very much like to know the truth of the matter and so far have encountered only myth, rumour and a aprocophylia(did I just make up a word?).

Glory

I remember reading that both of them were involved and in that Rita Moreno was in the picture, it made sense.

[Sandy M]

Donald O'Connor in The Court Jester...????

Is that some other movie, because the Jester movie I recall is the one with the late, great Danny Kaye..

"The vessel with the pestle, the flagon with the dragon, the chalice from the palace. etc...."

[Boo]

Of all of Gene Kelly's movies it is my second favorite. My favorite is "American in Paris".

I do have a favorite scene that hasn't been mentioned yet and that is the diction class. I had to do tongue twisters as a child for speech therapy. To this day I can recite "Moses supposes his toeses are roses....." from memory in its entirity, regardless of my state of sobriety (or lack there of:D ).



Boo

[jj]

Well, Singin' in the Rain gets to compete with Court Jester, with a close second/third to Rocky Horror in my own book.

Yes, they are quite different...

[Silicon]

Originally posted by RonSceptic


I didn't realise that the song 'Singing In The Rain, was and old standard many years older than the film itself. I know this because I picked up a 78 of a big band doing the song, which was recorded in the late twenties.

I had just assumed that the song was written for the movie. I guess someone loved the song and decided to name the movie after it.

All of the songs were written in that era. Producer/Lyricist Arthur Freed and composer Nacio Herb Brown wrote the story of the movie around their old hit songs from the 20's and 30's. They had written them for the original MGM musicals of that era, and took their best hits to make Singin' in the Rain in 1952.

Fit as a Fiddle and Moses Supposes were the only two new songs written for Singin' in the Rain.

[SteveW]

Just about all the tunes in the movie were old ones. The first dance number with Debbie Reynolds can be heard in A Night At The Opera (with Chico on the piano).

[Glory]

I love the fact that they used old songs. It made it the only musical ever which explains how all the characters can break into song and all know the right words to sing and harmonize correctly. In most musicals characters just naturally start singing a duet without any discussion of what they are going to sing. It always seems so contrived.

Glory