There are (minor?) spoilers ahead for Singin' In The Rain. If you haven't seen it, please do so.
So, I just watched Singin' In The Rain, and I now know what all the fuss was and is about, and why people consider it to be the best movie musical ever conceived. While the love story at the heart of this movie (no pun intended) isn't overly original, the songs, the staging, the choreography, the cinematography and well, pretty much everything else in this movie, is superb. I'll have to see it again to not only confirm its 'goodness', but to catch all the details I may have missed.
It's safe to say, however, that I loved it.
I think this is partly because of the film's never-ending charm. Happiness, sadness and all other emotions are conveyed through delightfully playful song and dance numbers in a highly engaging 1950s musical style. The carefully crafted sets and camera work, the vaudeville-like talent of its stars (particularly showcased in Donald O'Connor's Make 'Em Laugh) - all work harmoniously and give the film an incredible sense of energy and enthusiasm.
Not to mention the hilariously entertaining over-the-top acting in the 'films-within-the-film', making fun of and exaggerating the acting of silent movies. Hell, the acting outside the 'in-universe films' can be very silly and scenery-chewing when it wants to be, and it's wonderful for it.
But beneath this richly coloured, lighthearted, rose-tinted coating of Hollywood-Broadway paint lies a cynicism that remains starkly fresh, even in the modern world. Most people today are now well aware of the underbelly that existed and continues to exist within the Hollywood-Broadway culture. We now know just how vicious and cruel it could be and how your chance of being a star is worse than your chances at winning the lottery.
After all, the most basic premise of Singin' In The Rain, outside of the love story, is a film studio attempting to make the transition to sound in film. A transition played partially for comedy, true. But the lead actor within this studio, Don Lockwood, in a scene with his friend, Cosmo and his lover, Kathy, wonders if he's really washed up and his career as an actor is over - just from one bad film. A film from a studio struggling to comprehend and use sound effectively (without being a laughing stock).
Surreptitiously, the film reminds us of just how quickly an actor's, or anyone working within the entertainment industry's, career can end.
The film being a musical, however, the gang solves their problem rather quickly, of course - with their idea to turn the hilariously terrible, sound-botched Duelling Cavalier into a romp of a musical ride: The Dancing Cavalier - leading into our next song: Good Morning.
But it's those hints at reality that gives the film its edge and sets it above other musicals.
There's even one moment near the beginning of the film that stands out as pretty dark for a movie musical. An audience member watching Don's co-star, Lina Lamont, says: "She's so refined...I think I'll kill myself." It comes out of nowhere, it's not what I would expect from a film made in 1952 and it's the funniest line in the whole movie.
But these cynical undertones weren't the only thing that made me fall in love with Singin' In The Rain.
This is a screenshot from what is, in my opinion, the most stunning segment of the whole film. Essentially, Don is explaining to his studio head the last song for their musical revision of The Duelling Cavalier. The film transitions to a dream sequence of what this song would be like - and it is gorgeous. Colours pop, lights dazzle, and the camera work and choreography is at its most bombastically thrilling. Broadway Melody is Singin' In The Rain's magnum opus, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's finest work. If Singin' In The Rain shines in its underlying themes, then Broadway Melody is a supernova of visual pleasure that weaves this pessimism into its visually-driven narrative deftly. It truly embodies the phrase 'Every frame a painting'.
There's a feeling of place, size and scope - darkness giving way to a neon spectacle. A dreamland, drawing people of all colours, shapes and sizes.
The hustle and bustle of the city, people frozen in time, as Gene Kelly's character looks around in bewilderment.
He, after some difficulty, finds an agent. He meets like-minded people in a bar who just "gotta dance", and soon enough, finds a potential significant other. She is taken, however, by another.
But he has no time to stop - he is whisked away by his agent.
From there, he climbs his way through the ranks of performers, but to his surprise: he sees his love again.
He imagines a bare, Dali-like dreamscape where they dance together as one, in sync with each others movements and passions.
When they complete their dance, this dreamscape disappears and he approaches her eagerly...
...But it appears she no longer cares for him, maybe doesn't even recognize him.
Upon his realisation, we see a coin in her right hand turned over to face the camera - the same coin which the man who took her from him had.
She dismisses and walks past Kelly's character to this man, breaking Kelly's heart.
Kelly leaves, unsure, beaten. But he comes across another hopeful who's "gotta dance".
And with a shrug, Gene Kelly gives in once more to the Broadway Melody, for better...or for worse.
All that, from a couple of stills.
Broadway Melody is a complex story of emotions, of ups and downs, told through action and facial expressions with little to no dialogue or song lyrics.
There is so much more to unpack in this segment, and in the rest of the movie...but that's a post I'll leave for another time, perhaps.
For now, I leave you with some of the stills I took from Broadway Melody. I hope this post and these stills will, at least, make you consider checking this movie out. And if they don't...
After all, the most basic premise of Singin' In The Rain, outside of the love story, is a film studio attempting to make the transition to sound in film. A transition played partially for comedy, true. But the lead actor within this studio, Don Lockwood, in a scene with his friend, Cosmo and his lover, Kathy, wonders if he's really washed up and his career as an actor is over - just from one bad film. A film from a studio struggling to comprehend and use sound effectively (without being a laughing stock).
Surreptitiously, the film reminds us of just how quickly an actor's, or anyone working within the entertainment industry's, career can end.
The film being a musical, however, the gang solves their problem rather quickly, of course - with their idea to turn the hilariously terrible, sound-botched Duelling Cavalier into a romp of a musical ride: The Dancing Cavalier - leading into our next song: Good Morning.
But it's those hints at reality that gives the film its edge and sets it above other musicals.
There's even one moment near the beginning of the film that stands out as pretty dark for a movie musical. An audience member watching Don's co-star, Lina Lamont, says: "She's so refined...I think I'll kill myself." It comes out of nowhere, it's not what I would expect from a film made in 1952 and it's the funniest line in the whole movie.
But these cynical undertones weren't the only thing that made me fall in love with Singin' In The Rain.
This is.
This is a screenshot from what is, in my opinion, the most stunning segment of the whole film. Essentially, Don is explaining to his studio head the last song for their musical revision of The Duelling Cavalier. The film transitions to a dream sequence of what this song would be like - and it is gorgeous. Colours pop, lights dazzle, and the camera work and choreography is at its most bombastically thrilling. Broadway Melody is Singin' In The Rain's magnum opus, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's finest work. If Singin' In The Rain shines in its underlying themes, then Broadway Melody is a supernova of visual pleasure that weaves this pessimism into its visually-driven narrative deftly. It truly embodies the phrase 'Every frame a painting'.
By the way, skip ahead to the next heading if you want to figure out the 'story' of the stills below for yourself.
There's a feeling of place, size and scope - darkness giving way to a neon spectacle. A dreamland, drawing people of all colours, shapes and sizes.
The hustle and bustle of the city, people frozen in time, as Gene Kelly's character looks around in bewilderment.
He, after some difficulty, finds an agent. He meets like-minded people in a bar who just "gotta dance", and soon enough, finds a potential significant other. She is taken, however, by another.
But he has no time to stop - he is whisked away by his agent.
From there, he climbs his way through the ranks of performers, but to his surprise: he sees his love again.
He imagines a bare, Dali-like dreamscape where they dance together as one, in sync with each others movements and passions.
When they complete their dance, this dreamscape disappears and he approaches her eagerly...
...But it appears she no longer cares for him, maybe doesn't even recognize him.
Upon his realisation, we see a coin in her right hand turned over to face the camera - the same coin which the man who took her from him had.
She dismisses and walks past Kelly's character to this man, breaking Kelly's heart.
Kelly leaves, unsure, beaten. But he comes across another hopeful who's "gotta dance".
And with a shrug, Gene Kelly gives in once more to the Broadway Melody, for better...or for worse.
All that, from a couple of stills.
Broadway Melody is a complex story of emotions, of ups and downs, told through action and facial expressions with little to no dialogue or song lyrics.
Now, as memorable and iconic as this is:
Nothing will ever beat this in my book:
There is so much more to unpack in this segment, and in the rest of the movie...but that's a post I'll leave for another time, perhaps.
For now, I leave you with some of the stills I took from Broadway Melody. I hope this post and these stills will, at least, make you consider checking this movie out. And if they don't...
...What's wrong with you? Go see it, anyway! That's if you didn't mind me spoiling the film a bit in this post. Hey - I warned you, didn't I?
THE STILLS
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