Revisiting the Movies of 1952: Singin' in the Rain

With the end of the silent film era came the end of many careers, and although recent Best Picture winner The Artist depicts this change in medium as well, it was not the first to do so. Gene Kelly directed and starred in this timeless musical that follows a famous silent film star, Don Lockwood, as he works with his best friend, Cosmo Brown (played hilariously by Donald O'Connor), to remain relevant as sound is added alongside films.

First of all, O'Connor is a comedic genius in this film. His slapstick antics during his song "Make Them Laugh" are memorable and his chemistry with Kelly is on pace, especially during their duets such as "Moses Supposes". Kelly's actor has a false relationship with his constant costar, a diva with a horrid voice (which produces gutbusting results when they do their first "talkie"), which caricatures both old and modern Hollywood relationships, but when a woman with a great voice begins dubbing over for the diva, Kelly begins falling in love with her (played perfectly by Debbie Reynolds) and the best romantic parts of the movie happen between them.

In the end, Singin' in the Rain isn't incredibly deep or moving, but it's 100 minutes of classic fun, music, romance, and one incredibly soaked song. Enjoy!

P.S - If it's not already available at your local library, check out Singin' in the Rain on Amazon to:

1) Rent digitally for $2.99.

2) Buy on Blu-ray for $13.36.

3) Buy on DVD for $7.42.

4) Buy digitally for $9.99.

P.P.S. - Sadly, I have not yet seen High Noon, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ikiru, or The Life of Oharu, so they did not make the cut for best film of 1952.