This weeks post modern film history course takes us back to 1950’s America and the American movie studios vain attempts to deal with that “new fangled” invention, the idiot box, er, I mean television. What an marvelous time it was to have been an movie fan- with gimmicks such as 3-D movies, cinerama and cinescope films entering the landscape. I mean when was the last time Hollywood had reinvented the movie going experience? Was it Imax? Or was it movies shot on digital flim that makes the movie look bad on the silver screen, but looks really great on you home dvd player?

It’s ironic that the plot of this weeks movie deals with one of the most revolutionary movie advances ever, the introduction of the talking movie and a fictional studios attempt to become successful in this new medium. Unlike the other films I have reviewed in this film history series, Singing In The Rain is actually a film that I have seen before, albeit I was eight years old and I didn’t care for it at the time, because like most children of the 80’s, I had the mistaken assumption that if it wasn’t violent, then it must be no good. (I admit it: I was pretty damn stupid in my youth.)

Everyone knows the now iconic sequence of the film where Gene Kelly dances on a city street in the rain singing the theme song of the film, I think it’s a shame that the equally brilliant Donald O’Connor “Make Them Laugh “dance sequence isn’t held in such high regard. Or how about the similarly mind blowing ”Good Morning to You” dance sequence with Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor? Let’s not forget the “diction coach” song and dance routine either!

The most wonderful sequence of the film, I believe was the day dream  segment of the Broadway Melody where Gene Kelly sees the gangster moll in the casino and is instantly taken away to a dream landscape where the gangster moll is wearing that long white sheer scarf that billows throughout the entire screen. (These days that billowing scarf would’ve been rendered in cgi, out of sheer lazyness sadly enough.)

Singing In The Rain is also, sadly enough, a movie that couldn’t be made today. Not that Hollywood isn’t capable of creating a spectacle on the same scale, but the movie industry has been so corrupted by bitter cycnicism that a old fashion movie musical with a touch of that old faded Hollywood Magic wouldn’t be taken seriously by today’s jaded audiences. A modern remake would focus heavily on Gene Kelly’s characters sarcastic wit and little else. sigh.

next week on the syllabus: Indian cinema and Pather Panchali!

jareddriskill