Overlooked Movie Marathon 2: Singin' in the Rain (1952)

During the time that I was watching Singin’ in the Rain, I was saying on Twitter how I had never seen it before.  People were shocked.  They were appalled.  How could I have never seen one of the greatest musicals ever put on film?  They demanded I watch it as soon as possible.  That made me laugh a little bit because they were saying that while I was watching the movie.  The only way I could have seen it sooner was if I had watched it before saying I hadn’t seen it.  If I had done that, I would be a liar.  I try to be a person of my word, so lying would be wrong.  I was watching it as everybody was telling me that I should watch it.  That made me laugh almost as much as the movie itself.

As many people told me, Singin’ in the Rain is one of the more popular classic musicals.  It was released in 1952.  It starred Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood, a Hollywood actor in the late 20s as films were transitioning to talkies.  Along for the ride with him are his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor), aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), and lead actress Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen).  They sing lots of songs, dance a bunch, and have a mostly good time.  It’s fun to watch, and I’m glad to have now watched it.  I know I’ve said that a lot in this marathon already, but I truly am glad to be watching these movies.

I’m not sure what I expected, going into this movie.  Singin’ in the Rain was a movie that I had heard good things about, and I knew that the song Singin’ in the Rain was performed in it.  I mean, that’s obvious.  Why wouldn’t that song be in it?  It only makes sense.  I didn’t know how many other recognizable songs were in it, as well.  As I was watching the movie, song after song came on and I knew them all.  Well, maybe not all of them.  Some of the songs aren’t as popular as others.  That’s the case with any musical.  There were one or two that I didn’t know.  But with songs like Good Morning and Make ‘em Laugh, it’s hard not to know a lot of the songs in Singin’ in the Rain.  They are good songs that are performed well in the movie with great dances to accompany them.  Much like the previous movie in the marathon, Fantasia, the musical numbers were a feast for both the eyes and ears.

What really hits Singin’ in the Rain out of the park is the comedic elements of the story.  I’ve seen musicals that take themselves too seriously, or focus much more on the romantic elements of the core story than everything else.  It is difficult for me to engage in these types of films.  To me, music should make things more fun.  Yes, there are exceptions.  I’m not sure that Jesus Christ Superstar should be a “fun” story.  But it has other things going for it.  Exceptions aside, music should bring some joy to a musical.  Melodramatic music that only brings the mood down in a musical.  Happy musicals work better, for me at least.  Singin’ in the Rain embodies this attitude by mixing the music with comedy to great effect.  The comedy only adds to the delight of experiencing the musical.  I like when musicals are able to bring in a sense of comedy, even if it’s only to the smallest amount, when they aren’t trying anything out of the ordinary.  Singin’ in the Rain is a straight forward story without any (okay, there’s one) fantastical elements.  It uses the comedy to heighten what it has going for it, and it works perfectly.  This is a funny movie filled with glee.  It’s spectacular.

This is a movie that grows on me the more I think about it.  You might be able to tell that from the last paragraph, which is me gushing over how much I love it and blindly ignoring a lot of other musicals that dispute the point I’m making.  I’m not going to get rid of that paragraph because I stand by the fact that I like fun musicals more than serious ones, in most cases.  There are always exceptions, but to list them off would be pointless.  I’m writing about Singin’ in the Rain, a movie that I adore.  If you are like the me of last week and haven’t watched the movie, you should postpone anything else that you are doing and watch it.  It is well worth the watch not only for the movie itself, but for all of the influence it has upon other things.  It has inspired a lot and will likely inspire much more for many generations.  This is a movie as important to the history of film and the invention of film itself.  Okay, perhaps not that much, but it’s still important.

As you can tell, I liked Singin’ in the Rain.  Will it be the top movie of the marathon?  Who knows?  I can tell you that it’s a good movie that will be in the running.  I’m loving this marathon and I’m excited to continue.  The next movie in the marathon is Tokyo Story.  Honestly, I didn’t even know this existed until the most recent Sight and Sound poll thing.  It’ll be interesting to watch this movie that I know almost nothing about.  I’ll have a post for it up within the next few days.  See you then.