The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support Forums*8:00 PM -- Singin' in the Rain (1952)
1h 43m | Comedy | TV-G
A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound.
Director: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'connor, Debbie Reynolds
Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Jean Hagen, and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Lennie Hayton
TCM
Stargleamer
(1,990 posts)bdamomma
(63,917 posts)for posting.
MuseRider
(34,115 posts)and recording for later....baking a birthday cake.
I love this one. I know everyone loves Gene Kelly but even as a little kid I loved Donald O'Conner. Both together is just a darned treat.
elleng
(131,044 posts)Just spotted Cyd Charisse.
Duppers
(28,125 posts)Only 19 when cast to play the film, Debbie Reynolds lived with her parents and commuted to the set. She had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. and ride three different buses to the studio; sometimes, to avoid the commute, she would just sleep on the set.
For the "Make Em Laugh" number, Gene Kelly asked Donald O'Connor to revive a trick he had done as a young dancer, running up a wall and completing a somersault. The number was so physically taxing that O'Connor, who smoked four packs of cigarettes a day at the time, went to bed (or may have been hospitalized, depending on the source) for a week after its completion, suffering from exhaustion and painful carpet burns. Unfortunately, an accident ruined all of the initial footage, so after a brief rest, O'Connor--ever the professional--agreed to do the difficult number all over again.
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0045152/trivia
Even knowing this truth about Gene Kelly has not spoiled the clip of him singing "Singing in the Rain" while dancing down the street with the umbrella. It's one of my all time favorite pick-me-up tunes. So happy & well done. 💕
MuseRider
(34,115 posts)Some handle it well, others not so well. It is a sad story but then again I doubt there were very many sets where the women were not pushed around a lot by the men. At least in this case it was about dancing.
I really knew nothing in particular about Gene Kelly. I can, like you, still respect his talent and really dislike him for acting that way but it does add color to these people we love to watch.