2023-09-06 21:18:56
by Maurizio Porro
In 1952 this musical which later became a cult told the story of the end of silent cinema
One of Hollywood’s shocks was the transition from silent to sound that cut short the careers of actors unfamiliar with dialogue, such as John Gilbert. «Singing in the rain», 1952, directed in pairs by two aces like Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, is precisely the story of this transition.
Festive, vital, brilliant, inventive, the musical evokes real characters, pays homage to Busby Berkeley, offers an affectionate parody to the boastful silent stars. Because we are in 1927 and it is about recording the voice of stars Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont for the first time, with problems with microphones and synchronization. With the clucking voice of the ditzy and blonde protagonist (Jean Hagen) how can you do it? The caressing voice of Kathy Selden is used, who will dub the actress, transforming a film about swordsmen into a film of words and music. Eventually there is a snag, but MGM knows how to extricate itself.
The miracle of sound is the basis of this popular (not immediately, little by little) musical boasting historic numbers, where Donald O’Connor’s acrobatics sparkle and the romantic athleticism of Gene Kelly dancing in love with a lamppost below the rain becomes cult: the scene was shot in a day and a half between black sheets to cover the light. The 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds is the other discovery of the musical who has sensational threesomes, not to mention the solo by O’Connor for which it seems that the force of gravity does not exist, she seems to dance like a cartoon. Most of the songs were already known, two pieces were composed for the occasion, “Moses” and “Make ’em laugh” with the words of the great screenwriters, Comden and Green. The number with Cyd Charisse Broadway melody was then added and put on the DVD while the title song is quoted by Kubrick in A Clockwork Orange and became an independent musical in London in the 80s: today it is a piece of universal cinema.
Singing in the rain, by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952, Sky channel 307, 5.15 pm
September 6, 2023 (change September 6, 2023 | 21:18)
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