Did "Singin' in the Rain" define YOUR childhood? Let us know below, and be sure to also check out our video of the Top 10 Child Star Facts That Will Ruin Your Childhood - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-syeolnlqT6o.html
Yes,it was the first film when I was a kid that made me love movies and classic Hollywood films in general. My parents would get the vhs of this and play it several times.
This movie was blood, sweat and tears for everyone involved. I knew that Gene wasn't well during the title dance number, Gene and Debbie not getting along, Debbie Reynolds did so well despite what Gene said or did to her, she was tough. This is why this film is so perfect; it's certainly not easy for anyone to sing and dance until your feet bleed. Donald O' Connor had to get taken to hospital for broken bones after the Make em' Laugh number. This movie is the greatest musical of all time. In my opinion no other musical will never come to the greatness of this masterpiece whether or not it won and Oscar.
Gene wantrd her to be perfect, but didn't give much consideration to the fact that she was only 19. He did feel bad for how hard he was on her, though. Watching what came of it, after this film, made him proud, and he even told her so.
Part of the brilliance was due to the immense power studios had in those days, with fewer laws to protect people, threats of blacklisting, and controlling, drugging, and other abuse of actors (including the casting couch.) The results were sometimes incredible, but at such a terrible cost.
Debbie is a real trooper for staying on the project for so long, even though she was in physical pain, and didn't get on with Gene. Just goes to show how much of an icon she truly was, and will be forever missed. 😇💕
This film was a great example of how impressive the end product is compared to the total opposite reality of making it. Just to add to the list of facts that will ruin your childhood, the studio gave their stars "vitamins" which in reality were speed shots to keep them working all those hours. This was unfortunately true on the set of Singin' in the Rain but Debbie Reynolds wrote that because her parents were not "Hollywood" parents like Judy Garland's mom was, they told the studio doctors that Reynolds was not to receive "vitamin shots" during the filming of Singin' in the Rain as she had her own doctor in Burbank. Reynolds said this likely saved her from a lifelong addiction to amphetamines.
When I (just now) saw Gene Kelly had had a fever during the famous title scene, I thought he had probably not just done that with paracetamol. I mean, I know people who, when ill, go on stage on sheer will power and paracetamol, but they are musicians who can sit down most of the time, and they don't have to stay on stage for ten hours or three days. I am sad to hear they were kept on uppers and downers - I hope they were able to save that for special situations, like having a fever when your main scene is to be filmed. Though, really, when a star like Gene Kelly cannot ask to have a few days of to get better, who can? Glad little Debbie was saved. Those poor Hollywood kids. I hope my kids will have favourite movies where the child actors and young actors are not traumatized or on drugs. So many of my favourite movies have later proven to be very bad for the young actors.
Even though Debbie & Gene didn’t get along, it is nice knowing they didn’t hold too harsh feelings toward each other on set! Such professionals, nice to see! 😊
Gene Kelly like Sinatra was well known as a perfectionist, who demanded the same from everyone he worked with. Reynolds, while maybe not actually appreciative of how exacting he could be, until on set, no doubt knew of his reputation. I think the fact once the production was finished and Kelly became the charming personality he was also renowned to be, when not working, plus the effort she saw Sinatra put in, she realised both of them merely were so demanding both on themselves and others, to make the movies so good. While she obviously never liked it herself, she was talented enough and professional enough to appreciate why it was necessary.
I had the privilege and joy of playing Lina in Singin in the Rain for three months on stage. Best role I’ve ever done. Jean Hagen was ofc my inspiration. A classic beauty who actually had a wonderful voice behind the one she put on for the movie. I also had to play Kathy for three shows as I doubled as her actress’s understudy. The “Good Mornin” choreo, which we copied directly from the film is some of the hardest I’ve ever done in my life and I’m a trained dancer. Makes me respect Gene, Donald and ofc Debbie all the more. Also the guy we had playing Don slipped and fell during the main number on opening night bc we actually made it rain on stage. He recovered with jazz hands lol. And my mic pack broke during a stunt I had in which I had to go flying off a bench and everyone had to scramble to find me a new one. My costumes were amazing to the point where I tried to sneak one out to keep myself and my solo musical number as Lina was my favorite part of the night. I’d do the show again in a heartbeat. 💙💛
My favorite movie of all time!! This movie shows just how much of a professional Debbie really was, especially given her age! They just don’t make movies and stars like this anymore!
I have mad respect for the actors in the old movies and what they went through to masterfully entertain their audiences. The ones today are a far cry from those days.
Singin' in the Rain gives you a massive tidal wave of nostalgia that you will have trouble getting over easily. It may be a masterpiece on its own right.
Singing in the Rain is probably my favorite musical and my favorite dancer of all time is Gene Kelly. Now that I know he was so sick while doing that scene, it just shows what a consummate professional he truly was! He was a perfectionist but also worked his fellow dancers to the bone for perfectionism. But being a task master makes everyone else involved look professional too even when they're not.
Singin’ in the Rain was the first VHS tape I ever bought, and it was before my family owned a VCR. I’d take the tape with me when I got babysitting jobs and play it as soon as the kids were in bed.
Thanks for reminding me to pull out my DVD & watch this over the holidays. Jean Hagen is the best part of this movie. Never laughed so hard in my life. "What's wrong with the way I talk?"🤣
Love Singing in the Rain, my mom and I love it. Gotta admit that Gene Kelly did a good job doing the icon dance scene while having a high fever, that’s dedication.
It was my mom that me into classic movies. We would sit down and watch classic musicals like Singing in the Rain and The Sound of Music. I miss her terribly.
First saw this at a special screening when I was 15 with my dad and sister. My favorite line was "I can't stand it" with Lena struggling to say the word "can't " with an British accent. 😹
I’ve heard the story that Ginger Rogers’ feet bled in rehearsals with Fred Astaire and that Debbie Reynolds had bleeding feet in the rehearsals in “singing in the rain.” I’ve never heard that Fred Astaire’s feet bled or that Gene Kelly‘s feet bled in rehearsals.
I heard that Reynolds pouring blood from her shoe during the 16 hours it took to do "Good Mornin'" earned her the most respect from Kelly, causing him to reevaluate his treatment of her. "Good Mornin'" was the first number filmed and the hardest as it was a One-Take shot.
Actually Reynolds sings "Singin' in the Rain" in real life in that scene. However, Reynolds is dubbed for two songs in the film, "Would You" and "You Are My Lucky Star" because her voice was too immature and lacked the proper vocal range to hit the high notes.
@@sisterluke Are you sure it was the high notes? Because those song underline the difference between the twang in Jean Hagen's character's "I can't stand'im" - voice as opposed to the soft, rounded voice of the heroine - so I would suppose they needed an older singer to provide the depth rather than the height? Same goes for the spoken lines that Hagen dubbed for Reynolds - they were meant to demonstrate a rounded, soft, deep-ish female voice, with a notion of "intelligence and maturity" as an undercurrent association.
Thankfully they were able to build a friendship afterwards; I think Debbie's basically gentle and caring nature and yet being tough enough to take it is what Gene later grew to cherish.
Like nearly everyone else, I knew that Gene Kelly had a high fever while filming the “Singing in the Rain” dance sequence and I can’t watch that sequence without thinking of it. I understand other people expressing admiration for how he (seemingly) effortlessly pulled it off but all I can think of is just how lousy he must have actually been feeling.
I wonder if Kelly also recorded the audio for the rain number when he wasn’t feeling up to snuff…his voice always sound “different” to me in the song….perhaps just exhausted!!
I feel like this video was made for me... Not because I literally obsess over this freaking movie.. But holy crap. These actors went through ALOT for this movie. Which is why this is the greatest musical in my opinion.
Another fact is Donald O'Connor who played Cosmo Brown, He was a four pack-a-day smoker at the time and he had to stay in bed in the hospital for several days after filming the "Make Em Laugh" sequence.
It should be noted that when Gene Kelly was actually filming the title song, his temperature was no longer peaking at 103 degrees. While that was indeed the case during the period between July 9-14 (he actually called in sick to MGM, which many who knew him considered a sign of how ill he actually was; under normal circumstances, Kelly NEVER called in sick), the flu and sinus infection had subsided by July 18-19, when the number (after much pre-planning) finally went before the cameras; the day-by-day is covered in the invaluable book SINGIN' IN THE RAIN: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN MASTERPIECE by Hess and Dabholkar. And while there's no question Debbie Reynolds was dealing with a very stressful situation working with a stern disciplinarian like Kelly, she never harbored any bitterness. As she pointed out in GENE KELLY: ANATOMY OF A DANCER, "He worked me hard but he taught me well, and I'm still in the business 50 years later because of his teachings."
While "Singin' in the Rain" didn't define my childhood, it's one of my favorite film musicals---a genuine Hollywood original instead of a misconceived adaptation of a Broadway show in which songs are deleted or added, the plot changed, or it becomes a "movie about producing a stage musical"--or in which all the songs and dances are performed in a "performance" situation, like "Cabaret"--but in which the characters actually just break into song when the emotions become too big for spoken dialogue.
Yet another reason to love Fred Astaire! And may I ask, how could you not include Donald O’Connor ending up in the hospital after “Make ‘Em Laugh”? That would certainly change anyone’s perspective when watching that scene!
@@moviemelody2210 Damn, I forgot about that! Could you imagine that exact same thing happening to an actor today? It would freaking make the news, TMZ, and be all over the internet! Not to mention a ton of people getting sued over it. Donald O’Connor…they just don’t make them like they used to.
Singin' in the Rain originally it's a song that appeared in MGM's The Hollywood Revue of 1929 in which MGM contract players appeared at themselves such as Marie Dressler Bessie Love Norma Shearer William Haines Joan Crawford Marion Davies among others it is say that the scene in which the crowd watches The Dueling Cavalier and they start to laugh because of Lina Lamont's voice was inspired by John Gilbert's talkie debut 1929's His Glorious Night also it is say that the Lina Lamont character was inspired by Norma Talmadge who was a great actress during the silent era but once talkies came she found her career and popularity waning with moviegoers like it happened with a lot of silent movies stars
We all know Gene was hard on Debbie. He wasn't mean, though. I was proud that he felt bad for pushing her as he did. He really was trying to push her to do her best. They were better friends after the film, and in the 1870's he even told her he was proud of her preformance in Irene on broadway.
Even though it was tough for those involved, what resulted was a timeless masterpiece! 📽️ Same for Apocalypse Now! You can’t believe that film looks so polished when you are aware of the chaotic production shoot that occurred! Some of the best films ever made don’t always have the smoothest filmmaking processes, but man, are they worth the blood, sweat and tears 🩸😓😭
This is one of my favorite movies! This movie made me want to learn how to tap dance so I could be like the incredible Gene Kelly! I've seen this so many times that I could recite the whole movie without it playing.😅 Here's the thing, though: I'm 19, and I barely saw the movie for the first time a year or two ago haha. I am now an Old Hollywood enthusiast and a Gene Kelly superfan. I'm working my way towards watching all his movies (I think, as of now, I've seen 12 or 13 of them). I already knew all the facts in this list, but I enjoyed watching the video, nonetheless.😁 Also, "Singin' in the Rain" (the song) is iconic, but I've actually seen Gene perform way more impressive and intricate dances, but the fact that he was sick while filming that scene is incredibly impressive. That's what makes the dance so impressive for me.🤍🙌
Yes,Hagen was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar and in my opinion should have won but lost to Gloria Grahame in "Bad and the Beautiful" . Not sure why Grahame was even nominated for that let alone won
Funny how that film talks about the horror of ruining a beloved melody (Ode an die Freude, isn''t it?) while doing its best to ruin one for the audience. That scene is an important reason I have not re-watched that (horrifying but) amazing film. I prefer to see Gene Kelly dancing and feeling happy about it. Even if he had a fever, or even appreciating it more then.
As a French Fan of musicals, back here in France it is uncommon for people to simply know the beginning of the unfamous song "Sing in the rain'. Most of the time they only know 'I'm singing in the rain, just singin' in the rain". And then I take the lead and keep on singing the song because I'm a huge fan :D "What a glorious feeling I'm happy again. I'm laughing at clouds, so dark up above, the sun's my heart and I'm ready for looove". Basically, people just shup up in shock XD
When I was singing opera about 35 years ago, I had a roll in a female sextet where we walked on at the beginning of the 2nd act and sang a song and then walked off. Of course being in the chorus and in a sextet like that there are no understudies. During the one of the performances, I had the flu and I had a temperature of 103 104 and you know the show must go on. I managed to get down to symphony Hall. Get my makeup on throw up. Put on my costume. Go on stage and sing the number. Go back off stage. Get my costume off, throw up again and go home. So I can appreciate what Gene Kelly went through when he was doing his singing in the rain number. But you just do what you have to do when you're a performer you just do it. 9:43
Frankly, from what I've heard about the production of this and many other movies, it's surprising that anything shows up at your local movie theater at all! Or, for that matter, anybody would want to go into showbiz.
Rita Moreno is listed as being in this film. I have tried to find her. I assumed that she is one of the girls dancing with Kathy at the party. I have never been able to find her.
Gene Kelly was one of my heroes as a kid. So it was disappointing to discover he was kind of a tyrant during filming. Still love him, but sad knowing he wasn't a particularly nice person.
Fred Astaire was known to be a demanding perfectionist as well. Ginger Rogers had her own experiences with blood in her tap shoes and she was his most consistent partner partly because she was willing to put up with his insane rehearsal requirements.
He might have been a nice person but he was a co-director of the film and was an accomplished dancer. To be a good dancer, you must have the talent of course but it takes many months of practice to get everything you see on screen right. Reynolds wrote that he was a perfectionist as most geniuses are, but he was just as hard on himself as he was with everyone else.
Everything worth doing is worth doing to one's very best. Film stars are paid a lot. The work they put in lasts for a few months. But if the film is done well the result lasts for generations. If it is not what value does it have?
@@smitajky Yes, but at the time the actors weren't paid a lot: they had a contract that was established by the studio and it was a long time before they could renegotiate it and they had to be very successful to be able to do so. Debbie Reynolds was probably paid a very low salary because it was her first movie and she was very young.
I sat with my 7-year-old daughter, who had an ear-ache keeping her awake, watching this movie late one night. Eventually, she was able to sleep. It is a sweet memory.
I guess for #1, it could be in another list of top ten movie couples who hated each other in real life! Can anyone think of some other movie couples that hated each other in real life?
I knew about all of this for a long time. I still love the movie. As a general rule. When the movie is well done. Then you know they went through hell just to get it right. I am not surprise.
This comment doesn't have much to do with Singin' In The Rain, but the comment about they didn't like each other during filming is interesting. Gene was a hard task master. But my favourite love story actor hate relationships comes from David Lean's Ryan's Daughter. The main love interests (If you've seen the movie}, the behind camera dashing WW1 British Officer and the small town Irish girl falling in love is hilarious. The two have passionate love scenes together, but off camera they hated each other. David Lean was trying to figure out what to do so they decided to drug the male actor's morning coffee without him knowing. So come "Action" in front of the camera he was unknowingly drugged up to take the scene shots with the actress. LOL. Oh, back in the day. Ryan's Daughter almost ruined Lean's career, but I actual enjoy very much both these films.
I watched it when I was 10 and had been taking dance lessons. one afternoon i decided to run up a wall like Donald O’Connor. outside, our house had a brick first floor. I took a run up the wall and flipped myself over. three times I did it. course there was no one except me to know I did it.
Why wasn't #10 much higher up in the rankings? Ironic doesn't cover how "the dubbing" worked out. Oh yeah, I think we all know about Kelly's 103 degree temp during the dance number for Singin' in the rain.
I can’t believe Debbie Reynolds was only 19 when the movie was made! She was a baby! She had a maturity and talent beyond her years! Gene Kelly was approaching middle age! Ewww. She could have been her dad. Why do we accept these age disparities in film and real life?! It’s creepy!
These films were so hard to do, it is likely impossible that anyone could replicate it ever. So hard to film, no one got out unscathed. Only a tyrant could get people to do the work. Put your feelings on hold. Donald O'Connor had to recreate the make him laugh number because the cameras didn't work right that day. I personally do not belive the loss of negative story. Fox is the studio that lost so much negative.
So why don't they just re put that negative dance scene and put it back in the film as it wouldn't of been censored for today. It would make that scene finished to how it was intended to look and you wouldn't have that silly frame skip. I just don't get why it wasn't all done when doing the 4k remaster in the first place
The people of her generation came to Hollywood with instilled work ethic from themselves and what they were brought up with. Unfortunately the last three generations don't have it.
Stanley donan said on the day filmed make them laugh Irving Berlin was at the studio and noticed the song was as said in this video and was moved on quickly
Gene Kelly never had a reputation as being a nice person. I was more shocked to see he wore a toupee. Now photos of his without were rather shocking. He had a much better toupee maker than Fred!
Gene later acknowledged he was rough on Debbie. I read her memoir. She survived. She was tough and beautiful. And yeah, of course she was dubbed. So what? None of what is here is news. Surprising? No. All this info was published years ago. Where have you been?
