Singin in the Rain (1952) Comedy / Musical / Romance Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly Starring Gene

Kelly, Donald OConnor, and Debbie Reynolds

In a time long gone, musicals were the hallmark of grand scale film productions. Carrying over the dazzling movement, formal spectacle, and emotional eloquence (Barsam, Monahan 98) of traditional musical performance that predated the innovation of film, movie musicals were packed with a visual, vivid splendor not seen in other pictures. The over-the-top theatrics and cheer made life seem much more manageable, not to say exhilarating (Wasserstein). Pioneering extended synchronized sound sequences (98) in movies, the musical was the perfect genre to take the torch and run with it. One film to explore the history of these late 1920s sound pictures, while also carving its own significant place in the history of musicals, was Gene Kelly and Stanley Donens Singin in the Rain. Part pseudo history lesson, Singin serves as a shining genre example of a musical as brought to life with all the glitz of a Hollywood production. Signifying a calling card of the musical genre, Singin in the Rain owed its authenticity as a musical less to movies than to Broadway, (Wasserstein) where star Gene Kelly had already earned acclaim. The movie borrowed from vaudeville for comedic numbers like Make Em Laugh, and brought what New York Times writer Wendy Wasserstein referred to as a Broadway know-how approach to movie acting, where slight nuances were used to play to the back row. The movie was both a nod to musicals of the past while also possessing self-awareness as a mild parody of the excessive genre. The cheeriness of its musical numbers never reach unbearable limits because of that self-awareness, keeping a tongue placed firmly in cheek. The narrative of the movie offers an unflattering behind-thescenes look at Hollywoods motion picture industry as a place of egos, fakes, contracts, and broken dreams. But this remains in contrast to the genre-traditional happiness of the proceedings with its lively colors and boisterous song-and-dance performances. In the genre of musical, Singin in the Rain found itself in the more dynamic integrated style of presentation. Here, audiences watched as characters burst into song in everyday situations (Barsam, Monahan 99). A balance act now existed between singing and dancing and conventional dramatic acting. As such, this created the bridge between the obvious inspirations of theater musicals and the medium of cinema. This amalgam created another staple of the musical genre by establishing a stylistic prowess (99) required to move seamlessly from dramatic action to musical whimsy. Using the integrated formula, musicals like Singin in the Rain freed the genre not just from the Broadway backdrop, but it also allowed the musical to apply its unique stylings to a virtually limitless range of stories, characters, and settings (100).

If it hasnt been made clear yet, Singin in the Rain can very much be looked at through the perspective of the genre theory. The movie contains all the beats of a classic musical, and not entirely unintentionally. Writing for the Cinema Journal, Peter Chumo II notes previous analysis over how films like Singin and other musicals of the early 1950s investigate the issue of genre itself. So we can discuss the genre theory present in a film preoccupied with dissecting the very idea of genre. In turn, we can muse the newfound self-awareness in cinema thats become aware of the trappings of genre. How can you escape the recurring themes, situations, setting, character types, and story formula (Barsam, Monahan 81) that define genre conventions? Singin chose to escape them by owning them; reveling in their clichs. A careful eye can see the subtle nods to the inherently regurgitative nature of most genre films. Peter Chumo II outlines a potentially problematic feature of genre films in that these films can come to use the same material again and again. Chumo recalls the scene where Gene Kelly and Donald OConnors characters Don and Cosmo walk past assembly linelike sets (generic jungle film, football movie, western) indicative of the formulaic nature of such filmmaking. Chumo claims Singin in the Rain rebels by having the goal to make the old new again by offering a fresh take on the entirety of the 25-year film-musical tradition. From explicitly referencing The Jazz Singer, the first talkie musical, to featuring a Busby Berkeley-style dance montage, to a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers similar number, and to Gene Kellys own personal style of athletic energy, Singin gives you everything in one film. Its not another musical, its all musicals put together. A medley of styles all merging at the moment when sound films and the musical were born. Wasserstein offers up the trivia that the movies screenwriters, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, were in fact silent-film buffs who crafted the idea of setting the films story in Hollywood at the time when sound revolutionized cinema. Furthermore, Singin in the Rain was based on an existing catalog of songs. So just like it carried the baggage of old genre tropes, the film also had to deal with recycling songs. This all added to a musical desperate to defy convention and feel like a breath of fresh air. This was indeed achieved by what Wasserstein sees as the reflection of America's mid-20th-century optimism in the easy confidence of Gene Kelly, Donald OConnor, and Debbie Reynolds. The actors were likeable, well-versed in the history of musicals, relatable, and infectious with their brightfaced merriment. They understood the genre and found a way to rise above it, escaping and yet embracing being derivative. Singin in the Rain celebrates moviemaking in all its delicious ridiculousness (Wasserstein). It is an easy choice for an American classic, being a standout of one of the six mainstay movie genres while also undermining the calling cards of its own category. What both Chumo and Wasserstein understand is the intelligence of the movie. To just write it off as another musical is the wrong way to go about it. Its got more brains than that, pulling off the feat of satisfying genre expectations with the full knowledge its doing so and spitting out

something brand new in the process. The film takes on a whole level of impressive when you discover how flippant the whole thing really is. It winks at you when it wants to, and then stuns you with the lavish production value and intricate set pieces; the dizzying choreography and costume design. It is a subversive piece of filmmaking that redefines its genre and upholds its cornerstones in a way few films have done. Its why even now students of film can watch it and find a deeper meaning underneath.

Works Cited Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010. Print. 81, 98-100. Chumo II, Peter N. "Dance, Flexibility, and the Renewal of Genre in "Singin' in the Rain"" Cinema Journal 36.1 (1996): 39-54. JSTOR. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. Wasserstein, Wendy. "HOLIDAY MOVIES; After 50 Years, It's Still a Glorious Feeling." Rev. of Movie. New York Times 3 Nov. 2002. The New York Times. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/03/movies/holiday-movies-after-50-years-it-s-still-aglorious-feeling.html?pagewanted=all>.

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