SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

Singin' in the Rain


MGM, 1952, Color, 103 minutes, ****

Premiere release March, 1952

General release April, 1952

"What a glorious feeling!" An exhilarating and fast-moving musical comedy, Singin' in the Rain is the most popular of all Hollywood musicals. A lavish production directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, it's a gentle parody of Hollywood's frantic transition to the "talkies" during the late '20s. Jean Hagen won high praise for her portrayal of Lina Lamont, a silent movie queen whose unappealing voice nearly forces her producer (Millard Mitchell) to scrap their new film. Lamont's leading man is Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) but he croons the romantic "You Were Meant for Ma" to aspiring singer Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds). Donald O'Connor is in his best comic form in "Make 'Em Laugh." The famous title song is one of Kelly's most inspired routines, and Cyd Charisse's elegant dancing intensifies the excitement of the film's finale. With Kelly at his liveliest, a Comden and Green screenplay, unforgettable music and lavish routines, Singin' in the Rain has "just about everything you could ask for in a musical" (Saturday Review).

Produced by: Arthur Freed

Directed by: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

Story and Screen Play by: Adolph Green and Betty Comden

Suggested by the Song "Singin' in the Rain"

Musical Direction: Lennie Hayton

Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

Musical Score: Lennie Hayton and Nacio Herb Brown

Songs: Lyrics by Arthur Freed, Music by Nacio Herb Brown

Orchestrations by: Conrad Salinger, Wally Heglin and Skip Martin

Vocal Arrangements by: Jeff Alexander

Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell

Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Jacque Mapes

Costumes Designed by: Walter Plunkett

Hair Styles Designed by: Sydney Guilaroff

Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle

Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer

Director of Photography: Harold Rosson

Special Effects: Warren Newcombe, Irving G. Ries

Color by Technicolor

Technicolor Color Consultants: Henri Jaffa, James Gooch

Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan



Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Jean Hagen) and Best Score - Musical (Lennie Hayton)



Ranked 5 in the AFI's Top 100



Cast: Gene Kelly [Don Lockwood], Donald O'Connor [Cosmo Brown], Debbie Reynolds [Kathy Selden], Jean Hagen [Lina Lamont], Millard Mitchell [R. F. Simpson], Rita Moreno [Zelda Zanders], Douglas Fowley [Roscoe Dexter], Cyd Charisse [Dancer], Madge Blake [Dora Bailey], King Donovan [Rod], Kathleen Freeman [Phoebe Dinsmore], Bobby Watson [Diction Coach], Jimmy Thompson [Male Lead in "Beautiful Girls" Number], Dan Foster [Assistant Director], Margaret Bert [Wardrobe Woman], Mae Clarke [Hairdresser], Judy Landon [Olga Mara], John Dodsworth [Baron de la May de la Toulon], Stuart Holmes [J. C. Spendrill, III], Dennis Ross [Don as a Boy], Bill Lewin [Bert], Richard Emory [Phil], Julius Tannen [Man on Screen], Dawn Addams, Elaine Stewart [Ladies in Waiting], Carl Milletaire [Villain], Jack George [Orchestra Leader], Wilson Wood [Rudy Vallee Impersonator], Dorothy Patrick, William Lester, Charles Evans, Joi Lansing [Audience], David Sharpe, Russ Saunders [Fencers], Patricia Denise, Jeanne Coyne [Girl Dancers], Bill Chatham, Ernest Flatt, Don Hulbert, Robert Dayo [Male Dancing Quartet], David Kasday [Kid]



Musical Program: [0:00] Singin' in the Rain (excerpt sung by Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds leading into titles); [0:00] Overture: "You Are My Lucky Star" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:05] Fit as a Fiddle (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly); [0:23] All I Do Is Dream of You (sung and danced by Debbie Reynolds and Girls Chorus); [0:27] Make 'em Laugh (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor); [0:34] Hollywood Montage (I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin' / Wedding of the Painted Doll / Should I?) (sung and danced by Chorus); [0:35] Beautiful Girl (Sung by Jimmy Thompson with string of Chorus Girls); [0:42] You Were Meant for Me (sung by Gene Kelly, danced by Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds); [0:48] Moses (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly); [1:01] Good Morning (sung and danced by Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor); [1:07] Singin' in the Rain (sung and danced by Gene Kelly); [1:13] Would You (Betty Noyes dubbing for Debbie Reynolds making a prerecording for Lina Lamont, a few bars sung by Jean Hagen); [1:15] The Broadway Ballet (sung by Gene Kelly and Chorus; danced by Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse and Chorus); [1:34] Would You (short reprisal by Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds); [1:39] Singin' in the Rain (sung by Debbie Reynolds dubbing for Lina Lamont, joined by Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor); [1:41] You Are My Lucky Star (sung by Gene Kelly and Betty Noyes dubbing for Debbie Reynolds and Chorus)