Singin' in the Rain

Brief Synopsis:

"Singin' in the Rain" is a spoof of the early days of "talking" movies. It tells the story of the making of one of the first films with spoken dialog and the difficult transition some stars had going from silent films to the "talkies." In the midst of this story, is the love story of Don Lockwood, a successful silent screen star who began as a vaudeville performer and Kathy Selden, a young Hollywood newcomer.

"Singin' in the Rain" is now a movie classic and it is considered one of the best films of all time by the American Film Institute. In 1989, "Singin' in the Rain" was added by the Library of Congress to the National Film Registry.

"Singin' in the Rain" has some of the best dancing ever seen on film, including Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain and Donald O'Connor's acrobatic, comic dancing to "Make 'Em Laugh."

Detailed Synopsis:

Gene Kelly plays Don Lockwood, a successful silent movie actor, who began his career as a singer and dancer in vaudeville. His best friend is Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) who worked with him in vaudeville and now plays piano for Don's films. Don's co-star in most of his movies is the egotistical Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) who believes all the untrue gossip stories about her passionate romance with Don, who feels nothing for Lina.

Don accidently meets Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), a young, aspiring actress, dancer and singer. Don tries to help Kathy by getting her a part in his film, but Lina has her fired. By this time, Don is in love with Kathy.

Silent films are on their way out and Don and Lina's producer decides to turn their latest film into a "talking" movie. They don't know anything about the technology of sound films and the preview of the film is a disaster. One of the major problems is Lina's speaking voice and her heavy New York accent. The studio hires a speech coach but it doesn't help and the audience at the preview hates the movie and they are disgusted with Don's and Lina's terrible performances.

Don, Cosmo and Kathy find a way to save the film - they suggest making it into a musical. The one problem, however, is Lina's voice. Cosmo shows how Kathy's voice can be used in the actual film and the producer agrees to the idea. Of course, Lina is not told about the dubbing of her voice by Kathy.

Just as the movie is completed, Lina finds out that Kathy has been used to dub her voice and she is furious. She uses a clause in her contract to ensure that Kathy will not get any credit for her work on the film and she wants Kathy to continue dubbing her voice. Lina's demands infuriate Don, Cosmo and the producer, and they trick Lina into exposing Kathy as the real talent and star of the movie.