- The most surprising thing about Singin' in the Rain is that it is simultaneously the best musical I've ever seen and a fairly uneven film. Actually, maybe that's the most surprising thing about the musical genre, but it's true nonetheless. When the film is on, it's smart and hilarious. The dancing and physical comedy delivered by Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Cyd Charrise are second to none. But when the film hits one of its multiple lulls, it feels like a ten-minute routine has been padded out to fill a hundred-minute slot. Considering that the film was inspired by a song, that may be exactly what happened.
- The story follows one film studio's transition from silent to talking pictures in the late 1920's. For actors like the silken-voiced superstar Don Lockwood (Kelly), that's no problem. For his glamorous co-star Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), however, serious issues arise. The squeaky-voiced Miss Lamont sounds as though she must have had an extended detour through Brooklyn en route to Hollywood. Her diction is terrible, her singing is atrocious, and she can't even point her mouth at the microphone when it's attached. As a temporary solution, the studio enlists the help of an up-and-coming showgirl named Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) to contribute some essential behind-the-scenes work. Will the talented Miss Selden be content to play second fiddle to Miss Lamont for the rest of her career, or will Miss Lamont's considerable ego throw a wrench in the works?
- The film's first half is generally terrific, as Lockwood pursues the elusive Miss Selden, whose aspirations to high art form an interesting incongruity with her popping out of a party cake. Furthermore, O'Connor's unforgettable pratfalling and somersaulting attempt to "make 'em laugh" accidentally steals the film even from Gene Kelly, which is a real accomplishment. But then we are treated in the second half to an extended film-within-a-film sequence that involves zoot suits, gangsters, and various Broadway distractions. In other words, it has absolutely nothing to do with anything. One gradually concludes that the mantra "gotta dance" should have been replaced with "gotta dance in a manner that is relevant to the rest of the story." Fortunately, the always amusing Miss Lamont eventually resurfaces to get her well-earned comeuppance, so the film at least has the courtesy to end on a high note. Ultimately, I don't know whether to celebrate the fact that Singin' in the Rain contains so many impressive sequences, or to lament the fact that I'll never watch it again without having a finger on the fast-forward button of my remote control.
- There are lots of stories about Donald O'Connor taking ill after his knee-busting performance.
