North Bay Nugget e-edition

Singin’ in the Rain

Arriving at the dawn of television, Singin’ in the Rain (1952) looks back at how an earlier generation of Hollywood made the leap to a new technology — by singing and dancing. And boy, do they get it right!

Set in 1927, silent film stars and onscreen power couple Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) have great celebrity flash but little romantic spark. Both struggle to find their way into talkies. Don may do fine — he is an accomplished song-and-dance man — but Lina’s voice sounds like fingernails down a blackboard. Don takes a shine to chorus girl Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) and looks to pair with the better singer, but Lina isn’t going to be left behind.

The movie shines in so many ways, with the talents of the writing team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green matched superbly with the songwriting genius of Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Songs like “You Were Meant for Me,” “Broadway Melody Ballet” and the title song will have you dancing in the rain, which Kelly does as effortlessly as if there were sunshine in his shoes. Singin’ in the Rain did only so-so at the box office and garnered only two Academy Award nominations, but the movie has aged wonderfully, becoming a perennial favorite. The American Film Institute gave it a No. 1 ranking for best movie musical ever and ranked it the fifth best movie of all time.

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2022-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://eeditionnugget.pressreader.com/article/281689733494115

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