Singing in the Rain Essay -- essays research papers

The hit musical "Singin' in the Rain" may possibly be one of if not the greatest musicals of all time. With it's tale of the film world of the mid 1920's and its creative underlining love story between Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), it provokes the interest of someone who would not generally be attracted to a musical. It is a classic masterpiece that set the standards that musical films of today will be judged by. It is a classic performance by the great Gene Kelly and displays outstanding performances by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. As well as starring in this brilliant movie, Gene Kelly teams up with Stanley Donen to make their mark in film history. In my opinion, what set the stage for the level of entertainment that this movie contains is the opening scene. The opening scene set the role of sarcasm in the movie and gave the movie an immediate sense of humor. Four individual parts of movie making come together in this film to create a dynamic opening sequence. The basic principles of sound, editing, mise en scene, and cinematography collectively give this opening sequence a memorable quality that is without match. The opening of Singin' in the Rain takes place at the opening of the new movie "The Royal Rascal" starring Don Lockwood and Lena Lamont. There are famous people all around and their fans are loving every second of it. The fans' faces are full of joy and awe as their favorite actors and actresses enter the large building that will soon be showing the new movie. Soon, the two people that everyone in Hollywood is dying to see, appear in their stretched Rolls Royce and bring the crowd to its feet. As Lockwood and Lamont exit their luxurious ride they are received lovingly by everyone. They walk to the front of the building and are introduced to the crowd. Then the question is posed to Mr. Lockwood, "How did it all begin?" The answering of this question is what my paper will explain. I will attempt to break down the opening scene and show how it all started. By using tools of film such as sound, editing, mise en scene, and cinematography, this paper will show how the scene was made as well. Mise en scene played an important role in this movie as with any other movie. The properties of mise en scene were fully effective in the beginning flashback scene. At the beginning of Don Lockw... ...nd that the superimposed duo were taken from. They proceed to dance for a couple of minutes and when they are finished there is no reaction. There is a cut and we see a point-of-view shot in terms of Don and Cosmo to see that the audience is booing. This is the last scene before they actually get to Hollywood. Singin' in the Rain is the musical that all other musicals should be judged by. It tells a story that only others had dreamed of telling. Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and the great Gene Kelly help give one of the greatest performances of all times in a musical. With the help of superb editing, sound, mise en scene, and cinematography, this film cannot be topped. The fist scene of the movie creates an atmosphere that helps the viewer know that he/she will enjoy this wonderful classic. Throughout the movie there are surprises and fun that makes this a movie that people will want to watch again and again. Gene Kelly said it best when he said, "Dignity, always dignity." That is what this movie has from beginning to end, dignity. The best thing we could possibly do is forget about our worries and just start Singin' in the Rain. Courtesy of Chew (1995) U. of Maryland