The Great Movie Re-Watch
Directors:
Stanley Donen
Gene Kelly
Writers:
Betty Comden
Adolph Green
Starring:
Gene Kelly
Donald O’Connor
Debbie Reynolds
Jean Hagen
Millard Mitchell
Blurb:
A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.
Thoughts:
I watched this movie last night and didn’t give it the attention it deserves. It’s a great musical with fantastic dance routines and good music. Gene Kelly isn’t as good a singer as some of the others I’ve been watching, but he’s possibly the best dancer. There was a lot of talent in this film.
While Gene Kelly is incredibly talented, he sounds like he was an asshole while working on this movie. He was so mean to Debbie Reynolds that she cried. He later said he was surprised she worked with him afterward, which says a lot. Fred Astaire ended up helping Debbie Reynolds with her dancing, which is so cool.
Easily my favorite part of the movie is the Make Em Laugh number performed by Donald O’Connor. It’s hilarious, and even as a child, I could see the skill it took to execute the moves he did.
Singin’ in The Rain is one of those movies that I can see scene by scene in my mind I’ve watched it so many times. It is easily the best musical I own, even if it isn’t my favorite. Some of the musical numbers last too long for me and don’t have much to do with the parts of the movie I enjoy the most.
It wasn’t a huge hit when it was first released, though it did make a profit. Reviewers seemed to like it, but it wasn’t until later that it reached its current popularity. It is yet another of my movies that has been selected by the US Library of Congress for preservation.
After getting rid of a lot of my older Disney movies, this ended up being the only movie from the 50s that I own.
Next up is Bells are Ringing from 1960.
Dynamite Review 