For one of my February life goals, I aim to watch a movie off our IMDB list everyday.  We're starting with a classic...

Title: Singin' in the Rain

Year Released/Rating: 1952

Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

Directed By: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

Written By: Adolph Green, Betty Comden

Genre: Musical

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: We own it

Trivia:

• Gene Kelly insulted Debbie Reynolds for not being able to dance. Fred Astaire, who was hanging around the studio, found her crying under a piano and helped her with her dancing.
• For the "Make Em Laugh" number, Gene Kelly asked Donald O'Connor to revive a trick he had done as a young dancer, running up a wall and completing a somersault. The number was so physically taxing that O'Connor, who smoked four packs of cigarettes a day at the time, went to bed (or may have been hospitalized, depending on the source) for a week after its completion, suffering from exhaustion and painful carpet burns. Unfortunately, an accident ruined all of the initial footage, so after a brief rest, O'Connor, ever the professional, agreed to do the difficult number all over again.
• Donald O'Connor admitted that he did not enjoy working with Gene Kelly, since Kelly was somewhat of a tyrant. O'Connor said that for the first several weeks he was terrified of making a mistake and being yelled at by Kelly.
• Cyd Charisse had to be taught how to smoke for her vampy dance sequence.

Summary: A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

Review: This is definitely one of my absolute favorite musicals.  It has such great scenes, not the least of which is the title song.  I really love the comedic scenes with Lina Lamont.  And Cyd Charisse's vampy dance in Broadway is just to die for.  The storyline in this one is actually quite good.  It's not like some of the old musicals where characters and story just don't exist in favor of flashy musicals.  Of course, this one still has some of those flashy musical numbers.  It's a must see...

Best Bits: 

• Lina Lamont: Gee, this wig weighs a ton! What dope'd wear a thing like this?Rosco: Everybody used to wear them, Lina. Lina Lamont: Well, then everybody was a dope.
• Cosmo Brown: Lina. She can't act, she can't sing, she can't dance. A triple threat.
• Don Lockwood: Now Lina, you've been reading all those fan magazines again! Now look Lina, you shouldn't believe all that banana oil Dora Bailey and the columnists dish out. Now try to get this straight: there is nothing between us. There has never been anything between us. Just air. Lina: Oh, Donny, you don't mean that.
• Cosmo Brown: The new Don Lockwood. He yodels, he jumps around to music. Don Lockwood: The only problem is once they release this movie, no-one's gonna want to see me jump off the Woolworth building into a damp rag.
• Don Lockwood: Cosmo, call me a cab. Cosmo Brown: OK, you're a cab.