by Julian Spivey

Singin’ in the Rain is Hollywood’s musical masterpiece.

The film, co-directed by Stanley Donen and actor/singer/dancer Gene Kelly, is the story about the introduction of the talkie film to Hollywood during the silent era of the 1920s.

The movie is one that works on many levels. It is a musical, comedy and love story, but it also works on another level as it satirizes the film industry in general in much the same way Billy Wilder’s film, Sunset Boulevard, had two years earlier.

Don Lockwood, played by Kelly, and Lina Lamont, played by Jean Hagen, are Hollywood’s greatest silent duo.

However, when The Jazz Singer becomes the movie industry’s first film with sound, there is a race against time for them to re-edit their silent film, The Dueling Cavalier, into the musical The Dancing Cavalier.

When Lina’s shrill voice doesn’t go over well, Lockwood comes up with the idea to dub all her lines with movie-star hopeful Kathy Selden, played by the young Debbie Reynolds. Lockwood falls in love with Selden, and Hollywood’s greatest musical turns into one of Hollywood’s greatest love stories.

Singin’ in the Rain was written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. They wrote the entire script primarily around songs that were used previously.

In fact, all but two songs, “Fit as a Fiddle” and “Moses Supposes,” were used in previous films.

The song that the movie takes its name from was used in the film Hollywood Revue of 1929.

The highlight of Singin’ in the Rain is without a doubt the scene where Gene Kelly tap-dances and splashes through rain puddles while twirling his umbrella and singing the movie’s title song. His character is so in love that not even the rain can dull his tremendous mood.

The scene has been mimicked numerous times in film, most notably during the rape scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange.

Another highlight of the movie is the casting of Donald O’Connor in the role of Lockwood’s best friend, Cosmo Brown.

Brown, quite possibly the greatest sidekick character in film history, brings immeasurable humor to the film and virtually lights up every scene he is in.

The film’s dance and musical sequences are done in a way that is fascinating for even those movie lovers who are not fans of the musical.

Kelly’s dance technique is uninhibited and athletic as opposed to the suave and proper dancing of another great film hoofer Fred Astaire. Kelly essentially redefines the art of dancing in Singin’ in the Rain.

Singin’ in the Rain is an almost flawless movie, with the only low point seeming to be the Broadway Melody Ballet dance sequence with Cyd Charisse, that, while beautiful, does not seem relevant to the rest of the movie.

The American Film Institute named Singin’ in the Rain the fifth greatest film of all time, a much deserved honor for this Hollywood gem.