By Travis Mullis
It’s one of the most recognizable scenes in film history: an energetic Gene Kelly, dressed head to toe in muted gray, umbrella in hand and fedora firmly in place, sings, dances, leaps and frolics in the rain on a boutique-lined Los Angeles street. It isn’t just a passing drizzle but a downpour that would send most people scrambling for the closest car or storefront. It doesn’t seem to bother Kelly in the slightest. He revels in the torrents of falling rain and puddles the way most people soak up the sun on a temperate spring morning. He is joy personified. Why? He’s in love, of course. He has all the silly energy and optimism that come when romance makes every second feel fresh and full of possibility.
Audiences who first saw the scene in 1952 loved it, and now it returns to the big screen once again starting Friday, Aug. 22, at the Independent Picture House.
I had a love-hate relationship with musicals growing up, finding most of them forced and campy. I came to my senses in college, due in large part to Singin’ in the Rain. Its plot didn’t revolve around a town that outlawed dancing, frisky tribal felines or a murderous London barber. Instead, it offered a witty tale of Hollywood’s bumpy transition from silent pictures to talkies.
I know quite a few people who, even in adulthood, cannot stand musicals and refuse to give them another try. I always recommend Singin’ in the Rain to change their minds. Its breezy runtime, healthy doses of charm and humor, believable romance, and sophisticated musical numbers can make a believer out of the most hardened skeptics. It’s a musical for people who say they don’t like musicals.
Onscreen chemistry makes or breaks any movie musical. The casting of Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds, though not a surefire recipe for success at the time, proved to be movie alchemy. The trio infused the film with enough charm to make even the most curmudgeonly filmgoer lean back and smile. Every other aspect of the film was equally brilliant and polished — from the script to the production design to the musical numbers and choreography.
If big musical numbers aren’t your thing, there’s a sweet, believable romance. If romance seems too sappy, well, you get a funny history lesson about Hollywood’s unglamorous move from silent pictures to talkies. On top of that, you get a beautiful film with great cinematography, editing, set design and original music.
In the current era of bloated CGI musical extravaganzas made to push merchandise and please shareholders, Singin’ in the Rain is a reminder of a time when studios were interested in giving audiences straightforward entertainment that stayed with them long after they left the theater. It could be a week or 50 years since you last saw it, but I bet you can still hum the title song at the drop of a rain-soaked fedora. Doo do do do, do do do do do … it’s a glorious feeling, indeed.