The story opens at a film premiere in Los Angeles' famous Chinese Theatre. Silent film stars Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) arrive for the opening of their latest film - and Don tells the waiting audience how he and Lina first met. Throughout, Lina remains enigmatically silent. Later, the studio boss announces that their next film will be a talkie - and finally the beautiful Lina speaks, revealing the horrible truth: she has a voice that could strip paint and crack teapots!

On his way to the post premiere party, Don meets Kathie Seldon (Debbie Renolds). She is a wannabe actress - and refreshingly unimpressed by his big screen star persona. Don inevitably falls in love with her - but things don't go quite according to plan. Lina is convinced that her on-screen romances with Don are, in fact, the genuine article.

Filming of Don and Lina's new romance, 'The Duelling Cavalier' is soon halted when it become obvious to all that Lina's voice will ruin it. Don's best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) suggests transforming the film into a musical and dubbing out Lina, using Kathy's beautiful singing voice instead. It seems the perfect solution - but is it a recipe for disaster?

This fabulous musical has possibly one of the best scores of all time. Every song is truly memorable, including: 'All I do is Dream of You,' 'Fit as a Fiddle,' 'You Are My Lucky Star,' 'Broadway Melody,' 'Good Morning,' Make 'em Laugh,' and of course the wonderful title piece 'Singing in the Rain.'

The comedy scenes are a delight; in particular those showing the teething problems with sound-recording and the risible on-screen results are hilarious - especially when the sound goes out of sinc with the film.

Anyone with an interest of Hollywood history knows that these scenes are uncomfortably close to the truth. Even the featured characters: a gossip columnist, exotic femme fatale star, ineffectual studio boss, etc., are based (albeit loosely on real characters). The character of Kathy, (forced by studio bosses to sacrifice her own career to dub the voice of others) might possibly remind many of Marni Nixon, who several years later spent her career dubbing the singing voices of non-singing stars for such famous musicals as 'The King & I' and 'My Fair Lady' - and all without screen credit.

Sound and picture quality on the DVD are greatly superior to the old VHS.
Grab this now - and the next time it rains, you won't be able to resist bursting into song too!


Captures a lovely time in Hollywood history.   May 9, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I won’t lie. As I put the video in the machine I was a little sceptical. I was thinking ‘ come on, grown men bursting into song at the slightest dramatic provocation, I don’t think so.’ However, and I write this with extreme sincerity, it was very good, very very good. In fact my only qualm was that some of the numbers were a little too long.

The film was made in 1952 but is set in the 1920’s, which gives the picture a nostalgic sense of how Hollywood used to be before the watch-hunts and blacklists began. So it can be described as a sort of homage to better times.

In 1927, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are a famous on-screen romantic pair. They are loved and adored by the all. Lina, however, mistakes the on-screen romance for real love while Don sees it for what it really is, an act. Behind the scenes she is seen to be as dim witted as she is beautiful. When another studio puts out a talkie to great success, Don realises that his latest project ‘The Duelling Cavalier’ must be transformed into a musical. However Lina’s voice is not up to par and so the studio decide to bring in help, in the form of Kathie Seldon (Debbie Renolds). Don inevitably falls in love with Kathy…and the rest is history.

Singin’ in the Rain is now considered to be one of the best musicals ever made. It has all the ingredients needed to make a great film. It’s very funny, gritty, fantastical and of course love wins out in the end. What more could you ask for?


Singin' In The Rain-The Greatest Musical   February 17, 2004
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

MGM had a certain gift of knocking outstanding musicals up, but Singin' in the Rain has to be the very best. The partnership of Kelly and Reynolds is mesmerising. The feel good comedy script is expertly helped by Donald O'Connor's character. The film which produced one of the most famous dance scenes in film history is a must buy for any fan of musicals. When it comes to musicals, audiences usually know what to expect, but Singin' in the Rain gives more than what is expected.


This film has it all!   November 7, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is a wonderful introduction to all that was great about the musicals of the 50s and earlier. It has fantastic numbers from the plaintive love song 'You Are My Lucky Star' to the comedic duet 'Fit As A Fiddle' and the hugely ambitious 'Broadway Melody' set piece which demonstrated the range and ability of Gene Kelly's talent.

The film tells the story of the period when Hollywood was making the change from silent films to 'talkies' and it does so by relating the difficulties that some stars had in doing so. For those viewers who know a little of Hollywood history it is amusing to try to recognise the real-life inspirations for some of the characters; the venomous gossip queen, the sultry foreign star, the bumbling studio head and so on. Essentialy though, we never lose sight of the three central characters played by Kelly, Reynolds and O'Connor. This is a musical, love story, comedy and documentary (of sorts) all in one and, as such, it will have something that everyone will like.

Keep an eye out for the 50th anniversary edition on 2 discs as it has an excellent commentary as well as 2 documentaries on musicals in general and the making of Singin' in the Rain in particular.