India Broadband Forum

just4kix

Singin' in the Rain is a classic musical. It was released in 1952 as a black and white film.

Plot:
Our hero, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), is a hero of the silent films and is basically a singer. He is popular. The studio has started a story of a linkup between Don and the leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Don can hardly tolerate Lina, but Lina has slowly started believing the fake as reality.

One typical evening, Don is about to be engulfed by a hoard of fans. To escape the ordeal, he jumps into the first car he bumps into. It is driven by Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). They start talking. Kathy ridicules Don on his "cinema achievements". Don is extremely surprised and agitated that an ordinary person can put his down so. Kathy claims to a big stage actress and she says that Broadway is bigger than Hollywood.

Don runs into Kathy again very soon at a party. The head of Don's studio, R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell), is trying to impress the crowd on the talking movies ("talkies") and shows a short demonstration of a talking picture. But his guests are unimpressed. Don and Kathy get talking again and Don is slowly started to like Kathy. But when introduced properly by a common acquaintance, Don is extremely amused to find that, for all Kathy's big talks, is just a simple chorus girl. Kathy is embarrassed and furious. She throws a pie at him but it finds the target on Lina's face instead. But Don makes up with Kathy and slowly they start to fall in love.

Meanwhile, a rival studio has just released a "talky". It is a smash hit. R.F. is now left with no option. He must release his latest cinema in the talking format. He already has the technology and expertise as he had shown at the party earlier. It is a question of how.

Don is already a real time singer and is quite good at singing. The question is the leading lady Lina. She is gorgeous and all but her voice is terrible and test prove the casual observations. A test screening is a disaster. In one scene, for instance, Don repeats "I love you" to Lina over and over, to the audience's derisive laughter. Worst of all she has no singing voice at all.

Don's best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), comes up with the idea to dub Lina's voice with Kathy's and they persuade R.F. to turn The Dueling Cavalier into a musical called The Dancing Cavalier. All is set and things progress despite many difficulties. But Lina comes to know about Kathy dubbing for her. She is already jealous of the Don-Kathy romance and now the jealousy turns to hatred.

She is furious and does everything possible to sabotage the romance between Don and Kathy. She becomes even angrier when she discovers that R.F. intends to give Kathy a screen credit and a big publicity buildup. Lina blackmails R.F. into backing down and demands that Kathy continue to provide her singing voice anonymously. As a contract player, Kathy has no choice in the matter.

Don and R.F. are tired of Lina's tantrums, high-handed behaviour, moody fits, etc. But they are also helpless.

The talking is movie is ultimately released. The premiere is a big hit. Audiences are already in love of the gorgeous Lina and now that she is "heard", they are delirious. They insist Lina on a live performance from the movie. A furious Lina insists that Kathy now repeat the on-cinema performance on real life stage. Don and R.F. have little choice in the matter and they somehow convince poor Kathy to accede to the request. Kathy is furious, unhappy and humiliated to tears but agrees all the same. The real life "performance" starts and Lina lip-syncs with Kathy.

But by now, Don, Cosmo and R.F. are tired of Lina and have decided to dump her. Don, Cosmo and R.F. gleefully open the stage curtain behind her. The audience gasps at the deception - an unknown person doing the real singing and Lina flees in embarrassment. When Kathy tries to run away as well, Don stops her and introduces the audience to "the real star of the film." The film ends with Don and Kathy kissing in front of a billboard that says "Singin' in the Rain with Don Lockwood and Kathy Selden."

Critical Appreciation:
I love musicals. Singin' in the Rain is regarded as one of the best musicals ever made. Many may dispute the standings but what is indisputable is the quality of music and the story itself. A simple uncomplicated love story garnished with the perfect music. The movie was remade (and plagiarized) a few times. A great entertainer and a must see.

Rating: 4.5/5

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aashaka_gandhi

sounds like a real good movie....its on my must watch list....

just4kix

I guarantee that.

saurav_k

very good review ... thanks for the suggestion ... i will watch this movie in a few days ... and post my opinions here ...

kirankumargb

sounds interesting, gonna see if i can get a DVD then will see it.

sujithsukrutham

Nice review!!

broadway

I have to say donald o connor had more talent than gene kelly to show in this movie. Hats off to the "good mornin" sequence.