Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Mae Clarke, King Donovan, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno, Elaine Stewart, Kathleen Freeman, Dawn Addams, Patricia Denise, Stuart Holmes, Judy Landon, Joi Lansing, Dorothy Patrick, David Sharpe, Jimmie Thompson, Bob Watson, Wilson Wood

Director: Stanley Donen

Summary: One of the musical greats, packed with music, dancing and light comedy. Songs include 'Singin' In The Rain' and 'You Were Meant For Me'.

"Just about the best Hollywood musical of all time," wrote Pauline Kael about SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. After years of honing his skills on the vaudeville stage, hoofer Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) has finally reached the top and become a swashbuckling star of the silent silver screen. Then the self-satisfied celebrity has his confidence shattered when ingenue Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) dismisses film actors as "shadows" without substance. After getting over the insult, he falls hard for her--much to the consternation of his costar, the sexy, selfish Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who wants Don all to herself.
But Don has career troubles too. The wild popularity of THE JAZZ SINGER has studios scrambling to change from silent films to talkies, and Lina's shrill voice and Don's stiff acting left the preview audience roaring with laughter. There's only one way to save the movie and their careers: turn THE DUELLING CAVALIER into a musical, with Kathy secretly dubbing in Lina's lines and songs. But can they hide the truth from Lina

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Singin' in the Rainis probably the most treasured musical in the history of cinema. It is essentially a satire on the dawning age of talking pictures, but that description doesn't begin to describe its importance in the hearts of film lovers, even those who can't otherwise stand musicals. Given its origins--producer Arthur Freed wanted a framework on which to hang a selection of the hits he'd written in the early part of his career with Nacio Herb Brown, many of which had themselves featured in early talkies--it should have been a mongrel of a picture. But somehow, with its combination of endearing performances, the razor-sharp script of Adolph Green and Betty Comden, instinctive direction from Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and those delightful songs, it is triumphantly greater than the sum of its parts.

Kelly's dance sequence, conceived for the title song, is an undiluted joy and remains an iconic cinema moment. But there is so much more to savour: Donald O'Connor's knockout vaudeville, Jean Hagen's hilarious Bronx-voiced leading lady and the honest charm of underrated Debbie Reynolds, crowned by Kelly's choreography for the Broadway Melody suite. No collection is complete without this.

On the DVD:Singin' in the Rain--Special Edition, vibrant in 1.33:1 fullscreen format with a crystalline mono soundtrack, is the crown jewel in the embarrassment of riches on this 50th anniversary two-disc DVD. The extras just keep coming: "Musicals, Great Musicals" (a documentary about Arthur Freed's legendary production unit at MGM), a shorter documentary about the film itself (much of which is duplicated by the audio commentary, led by Debbie Reynolds), outtakes and audio scoring sessions and extracts from films in which many of the songs originated. There's also a hidden feature in which Baz Lurhmann offers his own testimony to the film's enduring appeal, but it's a tad redundant given the primary sources on offer. --Piers Ford

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Featurette - 1. Reel Sound (with 4 video clips), Audio Commentary - 1. Debbie Reynolds, Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical, Scene Selection, Interactive Menus, Additional Text - Singin' Inspirations (with Branching Feature), Documentary - 1. WHAT A GLORIOUS FEELI
Year:	1952
Release Date:	July 1, 2006
Runtime:	99 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 065621
Keywords:	Special, Music, Films, Rain, Edition, Shows, Performing, Musicals, Arts, Singin'
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts