3. “Singin’ In The Rain” 1952
MGM Studios
Produced by Arthur Freed
Freed produced more than 40 musicals for
MGM. His unit included Gene Kelly, Stanley
Donen, and Vincent Minnelli.
4. “Singin’ In The Rain” 1952
MGM Studios
Produced by Arthur Freed
Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
Written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Music by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur
Freed
Starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor,
Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard
Mitchell, Cyd Charisse
11. The Technical Dimension
• How do camera work and editing integrate with music and
performance to help tell the story and evoke emotion?
• What part does color play in evoking emotion, defining character, and
setting mood?
• How are dance sequences shot and edited for maximum impact?
• What techniques are used to suggest the style of silent movies of the
time in which the movie is set? Of early sound musicals?
• What style of lighting is used in the movie, and what effect does it
have?
• How do the filmmakers use studio sets and back lots to stylize the
world of the film? To stylize the “Broadway Melody” sequence?
16. The Dramatic Dimension
• How does Don Lockwood change as the movie progresses? What forces are
at work in this change?
• What function does Cosmo serve to the story? Why include the proverbial
“third wheel?” Why is there no love interest for Cosmo?
• Which characters change and evolve? Which remain stagnant? Why?
• What are the impediments to Don and Cathy’s relationship? How are they
overcome?
• How are songs used dramatically and cosmetically to propel the story and
reveal character?
• What function does “The Broadway Melody” serve to the story and
characters?
• How are the plot elements connected and then resolved in the final climactic
scene?
17. The Auteur Dimension
Director Stanley Donen
“On The Town” (1949)
“Royal Wedding” (1951)
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954)
“It’s Always Fair Weather” (1955)
“Funny Face” 1957
“Charade” (1963)
“Moonlighting – Big Man on Mulberry
Street” (1986)
20. The Historical Dimension
1952
• Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom
• Organized baseball has its first African-American umpire
• “I Love Lucy” is the first TV show to be seen in 10,000,000
homes
• Dwight Eisenhower is elected president
• Charlie Chaplin is refused reentry into the United States
• Other movies – “The African Queen,” “The Greatest Show on
Earth,” “The Quiet Man,” “High Noon”
22. The Historical Dimension
1927 – The movies begin to speak, and sing.
http://youtu.be/YMzV96LV6Cc
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/02/
musicians-wage-war-against-evil-robots/
23. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Technical Developments
• The soundproof “ice box” temporarily limits camera movement.
http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro.html
24. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Technical Developments
• A successful color photography system (Technicolor) is
introduced but it not widely used.
25. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• The Big Five studios (majors) included Fox, MGM, Paramount,
RKO, and Warners; and the Little Three included Columbia,
United Artists, and Universal.
26. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• Dominance is fully established for studio production methods,
which included vertical integration, block booking, and the
contract system (which reduced stars’ salaries).
https://picasaweb.google.com/114656905726841638976/MGM?feat=flashalbum#570
0597435138265986
27. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• The Film Program – Cartoons, Travelogues, Newsreels, Novelty
Shorts, Comedy Shorts, Musical Shorts, Coming Attractions,
Features, Double-Features
31. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• American film dominates (up to 80% of the world market),
except perhaps in Japan.
32. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• Under pressure, especially from religious groups, the Motion
Picture Producers and Distributors Association begins to
administer a tough Production Code through an office headed
by Joseph T. Breen.
34. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• 1939
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE60830901D8BA3E&feature=view_all
35. The Historical Dimension
1930-1939 Business Developments
• 1939
http://dadsmovies.blogspot.com/2012/01/1939-montage-part-one-over-there.html
36. The Historical Dimension
• What if anything does the movie say about society in the 1950s?
• What can be learned from the movie regarding the period of time of
its story, in particular relating to the transition from silent to sound
movies?
37. The Genre Dimension
Science Fiction?
As Author Ray Bradbury has pointed out, if you apply the classic
definition of science-fiction as a story in which new and unexpected
technology impacts the lives of characters, then “Singin’ in the Rain” is
science fiction.
38. The Genre Dimension
2012 – A struggling NBC, still reeling from the loss of “Must See
Thursdays” and the Jay Leno Prime Time debacle. places the hopes
of it’s stock holders and the might of its marketing department
behind one new show. And it’s a musical …
http://youtu.be/qtWTAN7ykcw
39. The Genre Dimension
2012 – Why is NBC struggling. Some blame the earlier firing of
Kevin Reilly as entertainment president in 2007. Reilly moved to
Fox and launched a breakaway hit series, and it was a musical …
http://vimeo.com/28788094
40. The Genre Dimension
1927 – “The Jazz Singer” Alan Crosland
Al Jolson
http://youtu.be/j48T9BoKxlI
41. The Genre Dimension
1933 – “42nd Street” Lloyd Bacon / Busby Berkeley
The Great Depression, Sugar Daddies, The Casting Couch,
Inebriation, Attempted Rape, Murder, Sex and Violence
http://youtu.be/SuqJJMSK15U
42. The Genre Dimension
1935 – “Gold Diggers of 1935” Busby Berkeley
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/76736/Gold-Diggers-Of-1935-trailer.html
43. The Genre Dimension
1935 – “Top Hat” Mark Sandrich
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/462008/Top-Hat-Movie-Clip-Isn-t-It-A-Lovely-Day.html
44. The Genre Dimension
1936 – “Swing Time” George Stevens
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
http://youtu.be/mxPgplMujzQ
45. The Genre Dimension
1937 – “Shall We Dance” Mark Sandrich
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
http://youtu.be/Fb-G07i35eE
46. The Genre Dimension
1937 – “Shall We Dance” Mark Sandrich
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
http://youtu.be/sdi6V6dsTKk
47. The Genre Dimension
1955 – “It’s Always Fair Weather” Gene Kelly / Stanley Donen
http://youtu.be/KgAmXb5UZlY
48. The Genre Dimension
1944 – “Anchors Away” George Sidney
Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse
http://youtu.be/LiDeGrtjt2k
49. The Genre Dimension
1961 – “West Side Story” Robert Wise / Jerome Robbins
http://youtu.be/yA_aFprGzyc
51. The Genre Dimension
1964 – “Umbrellas of Cherbourg” Jacques Demy
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/05/16/movies/100000000818582/the-umbrellas-of-cherbourg.html
71. The Genre Dimension
Proposition – All movies are and always have been musicals.
http://filmusik.com/eislers-ghost-or-what-the-devil-is-going-on-in-this-picture/
72. The Genre Dimension
Proposition – All movies are and always have been musicals.
http://filmusik.com/eislers-ghost-or-what-the-devil-is-going-on-in-this-picture/
73. The Genre Dimension
Proposition – All movies are and always have been musicals.
http://filmusik.com/eislers-ghost-or-what-the-devil-is-going-on-in-this-picture/
74. The Genre Dimension
Proposition – All movies are and always have been musicals.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/12/priceless-silent-movie-mu_n_925643.html
76. The Genre Dimension
• What expectations do you have of a musical? How does “Singin’ in
the Rain” meet those expectations, and violate or subvert those
expectations?
• How have musicals changed over the decades?
• In what ways do musicals reflect the mores, attitudes, and fixations of
their eras?
• How do you react when a character in a movie bursts into song? Why
do you react this way?
• How does the factor of verisimilitude play in to the acceptance or
rejection of musicals as a genre?
• Are animated musicals more palatable than live action musicals?
Why?
