Singin' in the Rain on the Big Screen

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN ON THE BIG SCREEN

Went to the theatre with my dad yesterday evening to see TCM's one day theatrical release of Gene Kelly's classic musical Singin' in the Rain. Incredible fun. Gene Kelly's dancing was amazing, Debbie Reynolds was gorgeous, Donald O'Connor was perfect as the sidekick to Gene Kelly, and Jean Hagen was a great as the shrill, annoying Lina Lamont.

The dancing was great but between the dancing, Donald O'Connor's perfect vaudevillian slapstick, and Cyd charisse's long, gorgeous, sexy legs its very easy to forget about scenes such as the wonderfully shot "You Were Meant for Me". Compared to the title song "Singin' in the Rain", "Good Mornin'", "Make 'Em Laugh" and "Moses Supposes" there is very little dancing but the music, Gene's singing, lighting, and the amazing camerawork make it in my opinion an under-appreciated highlight of the movie.

But it is a comedy, which means there is laughter. A whole lot of it. I haven't laughed this much in a theatre in a long time. Funniest scene: The preview showing of "Dueling Caveliers" where the studio learns about the perils of filming with sound. Could not. Stop. Laughing.

Now, I suppose I have to put one of the big energetic dance scenes which have helped propel the movie to the top of many people's Best Musicals lists. this is a tough decision but I'll go with "Good Mornin'".

Why?

Because I think this scene should be shown to film students the world over. The camerawork is simple and never distracts from the dancing with non-stop cuts and clever movements (I'm looking at YOU Moulin Rouge!). The camera is there to capture the dancing, the editing is done only when needed. The purpose of the scene is to show off the dancing skills of Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds not the skills of the cameramen or the editor which means the cameramen and editor did their jobs right. Especially the editor. The less you notice the editor's work on the movie, the better.
Everything is focused on letting you see the incredible and energetic dancing of Debbie, Gene, and Donald. Anyone can cut like a maniac with lots of crazy shots at different angles to give a scene energy, but to do something like this takes skill.
Both in front of and behind the camera.

So here it goes! Good Mornin'!