Picture of the film SINGIN' IN THE RAIN by Gene KELLY and Stanley DONEN © 1952 Warner Bros.
Singin’ in the Rain: 70 years and not a wrinkle
The musical starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds was only a modest hit when it was released 70 years ago. Nevertheless Singin’ in the rain is now ranked number one on the American Film Institute's Greatest Movie Musicals list. This feature film directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, presented in its restored 4K version in Cannes Classics, recounts the transition from one era of cinema to another.
Silent films were being replaced by sound films and dancer-turned-singer (Gene Kelly) is also caught up in this complicated transition, as is his friend (Donald O’Connor), girlfriend (Debbie Reynolds), and unpleasant costar (Jean Hagen).
More than just a cult film, Singin' in the Rain is the symbol of an era—the golden age of Hollywood studios—and a pioneer of musical films. After Singin' in the Rain, a long line of musical films appeared, including in France with two classics by Jacques Demy: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) (Palme d’or 1964), and The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort), in which Gene Kelly plays opposite the Dorléac sisters accompanied by the melodies of Michel Legrand. More recently, French-American director Damien Chazelle revived the trend with La La Land, whose choreography is inspired by 1950s classics such as Singin' in the Rain.
