SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, ETC.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

Singin’ in the Rain (1952, Arthur Freed) belongs to a genre of musicals where the story is a thin excuse for musical performances. The plot in Singin’ is about the transition to sound movies in Hollywood, and the Hollywood angle provides cover for a constant stream of song and dance performances. By ignoring realism it can introduce modernity into a period movie-within-a-movie. At other times the real life of star Gene Kelly is the pretext for the song and dance number: Kelly is happy, and dances while Singin’ in the Rain.

Color in Singin’ adds visual sparkle to the exuberance of the performances. They fit together perfectly. Stars, Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly (and the general culture), are at war with stodginess or with a black and white world. The priggish speech coach (to promote appropriate diction for the transition to sound movies) is pilloried, and one of his exercises is turned into an irreverent blast. The result is the infectiously rhythmic, “Moses Supposes Erroneously.” Color enhances a cameo performance by Cyd Charisse (partnering with Kelly), where the entire scene is bathed with a red glow. Charisse’s sinewy twists, turns and extensions are nothing short of erotic. Energy and sensuality merge. Debbie Reynolds, with her blue skirt just above the knees performs acrobatic rolls and tumbles, while dancing delightfully, and I ignore Kelly and O’Connor while keeping my eyes on her.

Another movie I saw next day, “Strike up the Band,” 1940 (with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland), used Rooney’s school band as a pretext for (“unrealistic”) song and dance numbers. But while it was pulsing with energy, it lacked both the formal structure that uplifts black and white movies, while lacking the polish and glamour of later color musicals. The 1950’s is a sensuous splurge, where color adds to the range of sensuous experiences. And Singin’ In The rain, though not my favorite musical, is widely considered as one of the very best of this form.