Tag Archives: singin’ in the rain

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN 70th ANNIVERSARY

Gene Kelly dazzles during unforgettable solo scene in classic MGM musical Singin’ in the Rain

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952)
AMC Kips Bay 15, Regal Union Square 14, AMC Empire 25, other NYC theaters
Sunday, April 10, and Wednesday, April 13, $18, 4:00 and/or 7:00
www.fathomevents.com
www.tcm.com

The MGM musical Singin’ in the Rain is one of the all-time-great movies about movies, in this case focusing on the treacherous transition from silent films to talkies. In honor of its seventieth anniversary — it opened at Radio City Music Hall on March 27, 1952 — Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies have teamed up to present special screenings across the country, including in such NYC theaters as AMC Kips Bay 15, Regal Union Square 14, and AMC Empire 25. As a bonus treat, there will be commentary before and after the film by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.

It’s the mid-1920s, and the darlings of the silver screen are handsome Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and blonde bombshell Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). They’re supposedly just as hot offscreen as on, as Don explains to radio gossip host Dora Bailey (Madge Blake, later best known as Aunt Harriet on the Batman TV series) at their latest Hollywood premiere, but in actuality the debonair Don can’t stand the none-too-bright yet still conniving Lina. After accidentally bumping into Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), an independent-thinking young woman who claims to not even like the movies, Don is soon trying to chase her down, determined to get to know her better. Meanwhile, studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) decides he has to capitalize on the surprise success of the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, by turning the latest Lockwood-Lamont movie, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie, with initially disastrous results, threatening to bring everything and everyone crashing down.

Cyd Charisse joins Gene Kelly for fantastical Broadway Melody ballet in Singin’ in the Rain

While all the elements come together beautifully (although things do get a little too mean-spirited in the end), this is Kelly’s film all the way, his smile and charm dominating the screen as only a genuine movie star can, so to see him playing a movie star merely doubles the fun. (It’s hard to imagine that Howard Keel was supposedly the first choice to play the role.) Curiously, Singin’ in the Rain was nominated for only two Oscars, with Hagen getting a nod for Best Supporting Actress and Lennie Hayton for Best Musical Score.

THE CONTENDERS: LA LA LAND

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling sing and dance up a CinemaScope storm in Damien Chazelle’s LA LA LAND

LA LA LAND (Damien Chazelle, 2016)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Wednesday, January 4, $15, 7:30
Series runs through January 12
Tickets: $12, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days
212-708-9400
www.lalaland.movie
www.moma.org

Call it Blah Blah Bland. La La Land, writer-director Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Whiplash, is an overwrought tribute to the old-fashioned romance musical, a genre homage that lacks the energy and chemistry of the films that it directly evokes, including the Hollywood classics Singin’ in the Rain, Funny Face, and An American in Paris, Jacques Demy’s French favorites The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, and Chazelle’s own 2009 black-and-white indie musical, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. (Look for a billboard of Chazelle’s debut that passes by quickly.) In La La Land, Emma Stone stars as Mia Dolan, a studio barista with dreams of becoming a successful actress; Ryan Gosling is Sebastian Wilder, a down-on-his-luck jazz pianist with dreams of opening his own club. The film opens with a fabulous number on a Hollywood freeway, as hundreds of men and women in a traffic jam get out of their cars and sing and dance, announcing that it’s “Another Day of Sun.” It’s also the first of several awkward, accidental meet-cute scenes between Mia and Sebastian before they get involved with each other. Chazelle, a drummer, knows the source material well, as do composer (and Chazelle’s Harvard classmate) Justin Hurwitz, lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, A Christmas Story, the Musical), and So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Mandy Moore. Mary Zophres’s costumes are thoroughly delightful, as is David Wasco’s production design, bathing the film in bright, eye-catching primary colors. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren (American Hustle, The Hundred-Foot Journey) shoots the film in throwback CinemaScope, with the musical numbers done in a single take.

La La Land also features Rosemarie DeWitt as Sebastian’s kind but pushy sister, J. K. Simmons as a restaurant manager who hires Sebastian to play Christmas songs on piano, Finn Wittrock as Mia’s handsome but boring boyfriend, and John Legend as a jazzman who offers Sebastian the chance to play in a real band. Chazelle overmanipulates some alternate-universe twists, a fantasy scene in the Griffith Observatory from Rebel without a Cause makes no sense, and Stone and Gosling are not exactly Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Of the two — who’ve previously costarred in Crazy, Stupid Love and Gangster Squad — Stone avails herself significantly better; it’s impossible to stop gazing at her big, puppy-dog eyes, which continually dominate the screen. La La Land has its share of lovely, clever moments, but it never quite comes together, like a jazz song filled with great improvised solos but just doesn’t know how to end. La La Land is screening January 4 at 7:30 in MoMA’s annual series “The Contenders,” which consists of films the institution believes will stand the test of time; the festival continues through January 12 with such other 2016 works as J. Clay Tweel’s Gleason, Amir Naderi’s Monte, and James Schamus’s Indignation, followed by a discussion with Schamus. (La La Land is also currently playing at AMC Empire 25, Regal Union Square Stadium 14, Cinépolis Chelsea, and AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13.)

GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR — FROM GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE AND BEYOND: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

Gene Kelly dazzles during unforgettable solo scene in classic MGM musical SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Saturday, June 20, 5:00, and Thursday, June 25, 4:30
Series runs through August 5
Tickets: $12, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
212-875-5601
www.moma.org

The 1952 MGM musical Singin’ in the Rain is one of the all-time-great movies about movies, in this case focusing on the treacherous transition from silent films to talkies. It’s the mid-1920s, and the darlings of the silver screen are handsome Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and blonde bombshell Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). They’re supposedly just as hot offscreen as on, as Don explains to radio gossip host Dora Bailey (Madge Blake, later best known as Aunt Harriet on the Batman TV series) at their latest Hollywood premiere, but in actuality the debonair Don can’t stand the none-too-bright yet still conniving Lina. After accidentally bumping into Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), an independent-thinking young woman who claims to not even like the movies, Don is soon trying to chase her down, determined to get to know her better. Meanwhile, studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) decides he has to capitalize on the surprise success of the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, by turning the latest Lockwood-Lamont movie, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie, with initially disastrous results, threatening to bring everything and everyone crashing down.

Cyd Charisse joins Gene Kelly for fantastical Broadway Melody ballet in SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

Written by the legendary team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green and directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen (On the Town, Charade), Singin’ in the Rain is an endlessly thrilling and entertaining film, featuring gorgeous Technicolor set pieces photographed by Harold Rosson (the Broadway Melody ballet with Cyd Charisse is particularly spectacular), terrific tunes adapted from previous productions (“Fit as a Fiddle [And Ready for Love,]” “Moses Supposes,” “Good Morning”), and delightful performances by Kelly, whose solo foray through the title song is deservedly iconic; Donald O’Connor as Don’s longtime best friend, Cosmo Brown, who dazzles with a comic Fred Astaire-like turn in “Make ’em Laugh”; and Hagen channeling Judy Holliday from Born Yesterday. (Hagen served as Holliday’s understudy when Born Yesterday hit Broadway in 1947.) While all the elements come together beautifully (although things do get a little too mean-spirited in the end), this is Kelly’s film all the way, his smile and charm dominating the screen as only a genuine movie star can, so to see him playing a movie star merely doubles the fun. (It’s hard to imagine that Howard Keel was supposedly the first choice to play the role.) Curiously, Singin’ in the Rain was nominated for only two Oscars, with Hagen getting a nod for Best Supporting Actress and Lennie Hayton for Best Musical Score. Singin’ in the Rain’ is screening on June 20 & 25 as part of MoMA’s “Glorious Technicolor: From George Eastman House and Beyond” series, a celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Technicolor, which continues through August 5 with such other delights as Douglas Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession, Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris, Michael Curtiz’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind.

FAMILY FILMS: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

Gene Kelly dazzles during unforgettable solo scene in classic MGM musical SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Francesca Beale Theater, Film Center Amphitheater
144 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Sunday, September 1, and Monday, September 2, 2:00
Series continues through February 17
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com

Cyd Charisse joins Gene Kelly for fantastical Broadway Melody ballet in SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

Written by the legendary team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green and directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen (On the Town, Charade), Singin’ in the Rain is an endlessly thrilling and entertaining film, featuring gorgeous Technicolor set pieces photographed by Harold Rosson (the Broadway Melody ballet with Cyd Charisse is particularly spectacular), terrific tunes adapted from previous productions (“Fit as a Fiddle [And Ready for Love,]” “Moses Supposes,” “Good Morning”), and delightful performances by Kelly, whose solo foray through the title song is deservedly iconic; Donald O’Connor as Don’s longtime best friend, Cosmo Brown, who dazzles with a comic Fred Astaire-like turn in “Make ’em Laugh”; and Hagen channeling Judy Holliday from Born Yesterday. (Hagen served as Holliday’s understudy when Born Yesterday hit Broadway in 1947.) While all the elements come together beautifully (although things do get a little too mean-spirited in the end), this is Kelly’s film all the way, his smile and charm dominating the screen as only a genuine movie star can, so to see him playing a movie star merely doubles the fun. (It’s hard to imagine that Howard Keel was supposedly the first choice to play the role.) Curiously, Singin’ in the Rain was nominated for only two Oscars, with Hagen getting a nod for Best Supporting Actress and Lennie Hayton for Best Musical Score. Singin’ in the Rain’ is screening on September 1 & 2 at 2:00 as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s “Family Films” series, which continues with such Jack Arnold sci-fi flicks as It Came from Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3-D.

HOLLYWOOD FILMS FROM THE 1950s: REAR WINDOW

Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly might have just stumbled into the middle of a murder mystery in Hitchcock classic

REAR WINDOW (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
Friday, August 3, free with museum admission, 1:00
Series continues Fridays at 1:00 through August 24
212-423-3587
www.guggenheim.org

There’s a reason why Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window keeps popping up all over town, at such venues as BAM, the IFC Center, and now the Guggenheim Museum. One of the Master of Suspense’s best films, it’s an unforgettable voyeuristic thriller starring James Stewart as temporarily wheelchair-bound photojournalist L. B. Jeffries and Grace Kelly as his society-girl friend (and extremely well dressed) Lisa Carol Fremont. Bored out of his mind, Jeffries grabs a pair of binoculars and starts spying on the apartments across the courtyard from him, each one its own television show, including a musical comedy, a lonely romance, an exercise program, and, most ominously, perhaps a murder mystery. Ever the reporter, Jeffries decides to go after the possible killer, Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), and he’ll risk his life — and Lisa’s — to find out the truth. Sensational from start to finish, Rear Window works on so many levels, you’ll discover something new every time you watch it. Rear Window is screening on August 3 at 1:00 as part of the Guggenheim series “Hollywood Films from the 1950s,” held in conjunction with the exhibit “Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim, 1949–1960.” The series continues August 10 with Nicholas Ray’s alienation classic Rebel Without a Cause, August 17 with Billy Wilder’s mad cross-dressing romp Some Like It Hot, and August 24 with Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s musical delight, Singin’ in the Rain.

THE PROVERBIAL PICTURESHOW: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE will bring a bit of the old ultraviolence to the normally peaceful Rubin Museum

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
Cabaret Cinema, Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, June 24, free with $7 bar minimum, 9:30
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org/cabaretcinema

One of the most controversial films ever made, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is a sociopolitical masterpiece that skewers everything in its path through the lens of ultraviolence. Malcolm McDowell stars as Alex DeLarge, our humble narrator and leader of the Droogs, a small gang that includes Georgie (James Marcus), Pete (Michael Tarn), and Dim (Warren Clarke), an oddly dressed quartet that rambles about town beating up all in their way. Following a particularly brutal home invasion, Alex finds himself in jail, soon to be part of a medical experiment to instill a Pavlovian fear of violence in criminals. The film consists of a series of marvelous vignettes that explore nothing less than the very nature of humanity itself, with sensational production design by John Barry and art direction by Russell Hagg and Peter Sheilds, each scene featuring bold colors and memorable sets. The intoxicating score ranges from Wendy Carlos’s original, ornate electronic music to Rossini’s “Thieving Magpie” and “William Tell Overture,” from Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” to Alex’s favorite, Ludwig van’s “Ninth.” And you’ll never think of “Singin’ in the Rain” the same way ever again. Kubrick based A Clockwork Orange, which was banned in England for nearly thirty years, on the first twenty chapters of Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel; the American publisher refused to include the final chapter, about Alex’s ultimate redemption, in the book, and Kubrick left it out of the film as well. (The last chapter wasn’t published in the United States until 1986.) A Clockwork Orange is a truly grand cinematic experience, a treat for the senses; just as Alex’s eyes are pried open to watch scenes of terrible violence, you’ll be unable to take yours off the screen as he does his damage. A Clockwork Orange is screening tonight at the Rubin Museum, concluding the Proverbial Pictureshow series, being held in conjunction with the Tibet carpet exhibit “Patterns of Life,” and will be introduced by cultural critic Mark Dery. Admission to the museum is free on Friday nights, so be sure to check out the other current exhibits as well, which include “Masterworks: Jewels of the Collection,” “Body Language,” and “Quentin Roosevelt’s China.”