Singin' in the Rain (1952)

STARRING: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor

My Rating : ****1/2

I always pick out movies I've heard about, seen or liked. But this one was different. It's a movie that came out before any of my parents were born, a movie that came out five years after India was Independent (not that it has anything to do with the film). Something about the cover and the title was very endearing and appealing. I said, 200 bucks, whats the big deal. I already picked out some pretty crap movies lately and if nothing else, it might just add to my "Crap-Scrap".

I am glad that I picked it up and I must have watched it at least 5 times in the first three days of bringing this one home. Then did I begin my research about this movie. This one is for everyone who enjoys light hearted, wholesome movies.

Starring Gene Kelly, Debbi Reynolds and Donald O Connor, it offers a comical depiction of Hollywood's transition from silent movies to "talkies". The movie is frequently described as one of the best musicals ever made, topping the AFI's 100 Years of Musicals list, and ranking fifth in its list of the greatest American films.

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is a popular silent film star with humble roots as a singer, dancer and stunt man. Don barely tolerates his leading lady, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen in her Academy Award nominated performance), who has convinced herself that the fake romance their studio concocted and publicized is real (talk about publicity gimmicks--they were born way before we were).

Don has a chance meeting with Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), when he jumps into the car she's driving, as he was being chased by over-enthusiastic fans. She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his undignified accomplishments. Don runs into Kathy again at a party organised by the head of his studio. To his amusement and her embarrassment, he discovers that Kathy is only a chorus girl, part of the entertainment.

Furious, she throws a pie at him, only to hit Lina right in the face. Later, Don makes up with Kathy and they begin falling in love eventually.

After the success of the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, the studio decides they have no choice but to convert the new Lockwood and Lamont film, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie. The production is beset with difficulties (most, if not all, taken from real life), by far the worst being Lina's comically shrill voice.

After a disastrous test screening, Don's best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), comes up with the idea to overdub Lina's voice and they convince the studio head to turn The Dueling Cavalier into a musical called The Dancing Cavalier. Kathy is to provide the voice for Lina in the new talkie, without Lina's knowledge. When Lina finds out, she is furious and does everything possible to sabotage the romance. She maliciously demands that Kathy continue to provide her voice in all future films, but remain uncredited.

The end of the movie is nothing we haven't seen before but still, the singing and the dancing, surely makes you wanna go Sing in the rain.

All in all, I'd say it is a gem of a movie and good for everyone who appreciates good cinema. Such movies are no longer made. I suggest you watch this one at the earliest.