Singin’ in the Rain (1951)

USA, 1951
103m
35mm film, Technicolor
mono, English

An American comedy musical film directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. It includes a number of fantasy sequences.

Plot Summary

The trials and tribulations of silent film producer trying to make the transition to sound.

Credits

Crew
Directed by: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
Copyright MCMLI [1951] by Loew’s Incorporated
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [logo] Produced by Loew’s Incorporated. Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Produced by: Arthur Freed
Story and Screen Play by: Adolph Green and Betty Comden
Suggested by the song “Singin’ in the Rain“
Director of Photography: Harold Rosson
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan
Songs Lyrics by: Arthur Freed
Songs Music by: Nacio Herb Brown
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Costumes Designed by: Walter Plunkett
Make-up Created by: William Tuttle
Hair Styles Designed by: Sydney Guilaroff
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe, Irving G. Ries
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell
Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

Cast
Gene Kelly
Donald O’Connor
Debbie Reynolds
Jean Hagen
Millard Mitchell
Cyd Charisse
Douglas Fowley
Rita Morena

Alternative Titles

Ame ni utaeba – Japan
Avaz dar zir-e baran – Iran
Cantand in ploaie – Romania
Cantando bajo la lluvia – Argentina, Peru, Spain
Cantando en la lluvia – Mexico, Uruguay
Cantando na Chuva – Brazil
Cantando sotto la pioggia – Italy
Chantons sous la pluie – Belgium (France), Canada (French), France
Dainuojantys lietuje – Lithuania
Deszczowa piosenka – Poland
Du sollst mein Glücksstern sein – Austria, Germany, West Germany
Ének az esőben – Hungary
Laulavat sadepisarat – Finland
Lauldes vihmas – Estonia
Pevanje na kiši – Serbia
Pjevajmo na kiši – Yugoslavia (Croatian)
Pojmo v dežju – Yugoslavia (Slovenian)
Serenata à Chuva – Portugal
Singin’ in the Rain – West Germany (video)
Sjungande regndroppar – Finland (Swedish)
Syng i sol og regn – Denmark
Tot cantant sota la pluja – Spain (Catalan)
Tragoudontas sti vrohi – Greece
Yagmur Altinda – Turkey
Zingend in de regen – Belgium (Flemish)
Zpívání v desti – Czechoslovakia
Zpívání v desti – Czechoslovakia (television)
Τραγουδώντας στη βροχή – Greece
Аз пея под дъжда – Bulgaria
Поющие под дождём – Russia
Спiваючи пiд дощем – Ukraine

Links

Extracts included in
The 100 Greatest Musicals (2003)
100 Years at the Movies (1994)
The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)
AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America’s Funniest Movies (2000)
AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies (1998)
AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Songs (2004)
AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Passions (2002)
Precious Images (1986)
The Screen Test (1970-1984) episodes broadcast on 27 January 1971 and 2 October 1973

See also
A Clockwork Orange (1971)

References

Periodicals

• El Amante Cine no.40 (June 1995) pp.32-41 – illustrated article, synopsis (Cantando bajo la lluvia)
• American Cinematographer vol.33 no.4 (April 1952) p.178 – review
• American Cinematographer vol.84 no.2 (February 2003) p.16 – DVD review (DVD playback by Rachael Bosley)
• American Cinematographer vol.84 no.4 (April 2003) pp.24, 26, 28, 30-32 – illustrated article (Production slate: a French mind-twister and two remarkable finishes: digital tools restore 3-strip slendor by Greg Kimble)
• Cinéma no.40 (October 1959) p.114 – review
• Cinema Journal vol.36 no.1 (Autumn 1996) pp.39-54 – illustrated article (Dance, Flexibility and the Renewal of Genre in Singin’ in the Rain by Peter N. Chumo II)
• Cinema Scope no.14 (Spring 2003) p.56 – DVD review (Spotlight: Essential DVDs by Alex Fung)
• Ciné-Tracts vol.1 no.2 (Summer 1977) pp.27-35 – article
• Daily Film Renter vol.26 no.6318 (10 April 1952) p.5 – review
• DGA Quarterly vol.5 no.3 (Autumn 2009) pp.22-25 – illustrated interview with Stanley Donen (Shot to Remember: Still Singing by Robert Abele)
• Empire no.113 (November 1998) p.142 – illustrated article (Bare necessities no.48 Singin’ in the Rain by Ian Freer)
• Empire no.138 (December 2000) p.72 – illustrated review (New films by Ian Freer)
• Empire no.163 (January 2003) pp.162-163 – DVD review (RWD by Ian Freer)
• Empire no.190 (April 2005) p.186 – illustrated article (Classic Scene: Singin’ in the Rain)
• Empire no.196 (October 2005) pp.82-83 – illustrated article (The 10 Best Movies About Movies by Adam Smith)
• Empire no.200 (February 2006) pp.162-163 – illustrated DVD review (At Home/All-time 100: Month Four: Romance & Musicals by Ian Nathan)
• Empire no.201 (March 2006) pp.77-88, 90-101 – illustrated article (201 Greatest movies of all time)
• Film Comment vol.14 no.3 (May/June 1978) pp.7-12 – article
• Film Criticism vol.8 no.3 (Spring 1984) pp.36-46 – article
• Film Music vol.11 no.4 (March-April 1952) p.15 – review
• Film Review no.600 (December 2000) p.39 – illustrated review (Singin’ in the rain by Gareth Wigmore)
• Film Review no.626 (January 2003) p.89 – DVD review (Home entertainment by Gareth Wigmore)
• Film Score Monthly vol.7 no.9 (November 2002) p.32 – illustrated soundtrack review (Score: reviews of current releases on CD by Cary Wong)
• Films vol.3 no.10 (October 1983) pp.16-17 – article
• Films and Filming vol.23 no.7 (April 1977) pp.20-24 – review
• Journal of Popular Film & Television vol.34 no.1 (Spring 2006) pp.12-23 – illustrated article (Retrospectives: “Gotta Dance!”: Structure, Corruption, and Syphilis in Singin’ in the Rain by Marilyn M. Ewing)
• Kine Weekly no.2336 (3 April 1952) p.16 – review
• The Listener vol.114 no.2928 (26 September 1985) p.23 – article (by Gerald Kaufman)
• Literature/Film Quarterly vol.12 no.2 (1984) pp.87-95 – article
• Monthly Film Bulletin vol.19 no.220 (May 1952) p.62 – credits, review
• Motion Picture Herald vol.186 no.11 (15 March 1952) p.1281 – review
• The Picturegoer vol.23 no.887 (3 May 1952) pp.15; 16 – review (This Film Has Zing by Man Warwick); credits, review (Singin’ in the Rain by A.R.W.
• Premiere vol.16 no.4 (December 2002) p.118 – DVD review (Classic DVD of the month by Glenn Kenny)
• Sight & Sound vol.2 no.6 (October 1992) p.69 – video review
• Sight & Sound vol.3 no.6 (June 1993) pp.42, 44 – illustrated review of the book Singin’ in the Rain by Peter Wollen (Books by James Donald)
• Sight & Sound vol.9 no.12 (December 1999) pp.62-63 – illustrated interview with Stanley Donen (Private view by Geoffrey Macnab)
• Sight & Sound vol.11 no.6 (June 2001) p.62 – DVD review (Homemovies: reviews by Danny Leigh)
• Sight & Sound vol.12 no.9 (September 2002) p.50 – illustrated interview with Terence Davies (Critics top ten: Singin’ In the Rain by Nick James)
• Sight & Sound vol.13 no.3 (March 2003) p.65 – DVD review (Home movies: reviews by Lucy Neville)
• Sight & Sound vol.22 no.1 (July/September 1952) p.29 – review
• The Soundtrack vol.2 no.1 (2009) pp.63-76 – article (Speaking, singing, screaming: controlling the female voice in American cinema by Liz Greene)
• Temas de Cine no.30 (1963) p.42 (Spain) – article
• Temas de Cine no.35 (1964) p.13 – script
• Theatre Arts vol.36 no.5 (May 1952) p.45 – review
• Today’s Cinema vol.78 no.6479 (8 April 1952) p.8 – review
• Variety 12 March 1952 p.3 – credits, review (Film preview)

Books

• 500 Essential Cult Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Jennifer Eiss with J.P. Rutter and Steve White p.309 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
• Armchair Cinema: A History of Feature Films on British Television, 1929-1981 by Sheldon Hall p.232
• The British Pop Music Film: The Beatles and Beyond by Stephen Glynn pp.21, 93
• Cult Movies: A Hundred Ways to Find the Reel Thing by Danny Peary pp.321-325

Other sources

• BFI Southbank Guide March 2019 p.32 – illustrated listing
• National Film Theatre Programmes (November/December 2000) p.38 – illustrated listing