Singin' in the Rain (1952) : Classic Movie Hub (CMH)

8.73 out of 10 stars from
1209 users

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Director(s)	Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Producer(s)	Arthur Freed, Roger Edens (associate uncredited)
Top Genres	Comedy, Musical, Romance
Top Topics	Dance, Fame, Romance (Comic), Show Business

Featured Cast:

See Full Cast

Donald O'Connor
(as Cosmo Brown)

Debbie Reynolds
(as Kathy Selden)

Singin' in the Rain Overview:

Singin' in the Rain (1952) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly and produced by Arthur Freed and Roger Edens.

SYNOPSIS

Perhaps the finest screen musical of all time is a particular treat for classic movie fans as it portrays the frantic period when Hollywood's pictures learned to talk. But this is no dry history lesson: it moves with a nimble grace through flashbacks and a romantic storyline while featuring a selection of the best Freed-Brown numbers from MGM's musicals of the preceding two decades. The silver-screen characters from the late '20s include matinee-idol Kelly and his silent diva leading lady Hagen, whose voice ensures that she won't make the transition to sound, and fresh-faced Reynolds as an aspiring actress and singer who wins Kelly's heart with her voice and good nature. The justly famous numbers include Charisse's slinky "Broadway Ballet" and, of course, Kelly's exuberant stomp through the title song. Other musical numbers include: "You Were Meant for Me," "Make 'Em Laugh," "You Are My Lucky Star," and "All I Do Is Dream of You."

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Singin' in the Rain was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

Academy Awards 1952 --- Ceremony Number 25 (source: AMPAS)

Award	Recipient	Result
Best Supporting Actress	Jean Hagen	Nominated
Best Music - Scoring	Lennie Hayton	Nominated

BlogHub Articles:

1001 Classic Movies: Singin' in the Rain

By Amanda Garrett on Jan 9, 2017 From Old Hollywood Films

Singin' in the Rain (1952), starring Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly, is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. Each Monday, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 series and reviews of earlier films covered go here). January's theme is movie... Read full article

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)

By FlickChick on Aug 2, 2014 From A Person in the Dark

Since my slavish devotion to Lina Lamont is well known to anyone who might have stumbled by here in the past, I simply had to include Singin’ in the Rain as part of the Hooray for Hollywood series. I can’t help viewing this film as a musical counterpoint to Sunset Boulevard; sort of... Read full article

CMBA Blogathon: Fabulous Films Of the 50s: Singin' In the Rain

By Vanessa Buttino on May 19, 2014 From Stardust

CMBA Blogathon: Fabulous Films Of the 50s: Singin' In the Rain Believe it or not, this is now the FOURTH time I've had to re-start this blog post. Singin' In the Rain is one of my all-time favourite classic films and yet I can't seem to put pen to paper - or in this case, fingers to keys -... Read full article

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

By FlickChick on Jan 22, 2014 From A Person in the Dark

2014 is the year A Person in the Dark celebrates films about my favorite place - Hollywood! Singin' in the Rain When "Singin' in the Rain" was released in 1952, silent films had been a thing of the past for only 24 years or so. Probably more than half of those in the audience remembered them... Read full article

CMBA Film Passion 101 Blogathon: "Singin' in the Rain"

By David on Dec 3, 2013 From The Man on the Flying Trapeze

I was 10 years old when I remember seeing Gene Kelly for the first time, and I was not impressed. It was 1967, and Kelly was the star of a musical TV version of "Jack and the Beanstalk," and he was just so ... so ...smarmy. I felt like he was talking down to me, and I was 10! Besides, I was much ... Read full article

See all Singin' in the Rain articles

Quotes from

Don Lockwood: [while filming a love scene] Why, you rattlesnake! You got that poor kid fired.
Lina Lamont: That's not all I'm gonna do if I ever get my hands on her.
Don Lockwood: I never heard of anything so low. Why did you do it?
Lina Lamont: Because you liked her. I could tell.
Don Lockwood: So that's it. Believe me, I don't like her half as much as I hate you, you reptile.
Lina Lamont: Sticks and stones may break my bones...
Don Lockwood: I'd like to break every bone in your body.
Lina Lamont: You and who else, you big lummox?

Kathy: Are you sure it's all right? Being seen with me?
Don Lockwood: You mean lofty star with humble player?
Kathy: Not exactly, but for lunch don't you usually tear a pheasant with Miss Lamont?
Don Lockwood: Kathy, all the stories about Lina and me are sheer publicity.
Kathy: Oh? It certainly seems more than that. From all those columns in the newspapers and articles in the fan magazines...
Don Lockwood: You read the fan magazines?
Kathy: I pick them up at the beauty parlor or the dentist's office, just like anybody.
Don Lockwood: Really?
Kathy: Well... I buy four or five a month.
Don Lockwood: Four or five...
Kathy: But anyway, to get back to the point, you and Miss Lamont do achieve a certain intimacy in all your pictures...
Don Lockwood: Did you say *all* our pictures?
Kathy: I guess if I think about it I've seen eight or nine of them.
Don Lockwood: You know I remember someone saying, "If you've seen one you've seen 'em all".
Kathy: I said some awful things that night, didn't I?
Don Lockwood: No. I deserved them. But I must admit I was hurt by them. So hurt in fact that I haven't been able to think about anything but you ever since.

Don Lockwood: Are you doing anything tonight, Miss Lamont?
[she shakes her head "no"]
Don Lockwood: Well's that's funny - *I'm* busy.

Facts about

Many real-life silent-film personalities are parodied, especially in the opening sequence. Zelda Zanders - the "Zip Girl" - is Clara Bow, the "It Girl". Olga Mara is Pola Negri, and her husband, Baron de la Bonnet de la Toulon, is a reference to Gloria Swanson's husband, the Marquis Henri de la Falaise de Coudray.

The rain consisted of a mixture of water and milk so it would show up better on film but it caused Gene Kelly's wool suit to shrink.

Like Lina Lamont, when sound films arrived, many silent screen actors lost their careers because their voices didn't match their screen personas. The most famous example is silent star John Gilbert. However, it wasn't the sound of his voice that killed his career; it was the rumored behind-the-scenes backstabbing (speeding up of his voice by sound technicians, on direct orders from someone with an agenda) and the ridiculously florid lines he had to say. The lines that Gene Kelly's character speaks in "The Dueling Cavalier" are based on the types of lines that killed John Gilbert's career. Gilbert's actual lines as a mock Romeo in the "William Shakespeare Scene" in The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an example of this.

Featured Cast: See Full Cast

Gene Kelly(as Don Lockwood)

Donald O'Connor(as Cosmo Brown)

Debbie Reynolds(as Kathy Selden)