The History Behind Singin' in the Rain: From Stage to Film, and Back
Little Willow
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What a glorious feeling . . .
The MGM movie musical Singin' in the Rain was released in 1952. It immediately wowed audiences all over the world and, to this day, is at the top of many movie critics' lists of favorite films. This outstanding musical, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen, was direct 
ed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Featuring the songs of Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed and a screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Singin' in the Rain is a hilarious, upbeat look at America in the late 1920s as the success of The Jazz Singer made silent pictures passé and "talkies" became all the rage.
The story follows two silent film stars, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, whose careers are at stake as the studio attempts to transition into talking pictures and musical productions. Right alongside them is Cosmo Brown, Don's wisecracking best pal and piano player on the set. There's just one hitch - eyelash-batting blonde beauty Lina Lamont has an ear-splitting voice, no cncept of diction and no sense of decorum. She can't sing, she can't dance and she can't act, causing Cosmo to remark, "She's a triple threat." Luckily, bright-eyed ingénue Kathy Selden turns Don's head, wins his heart, and steps in to be Lina's voice behind the scenes.
While many musical films are based on stage musicals, Singin' in the Rain is an example of the reverse, being a film first, then later adapted for the stage. A few sequences from the film obviously have to be cut for the stage version. This includes the montage of Don's stunts on the set and Don jumping off of the top of a bus into Kathy's car for the first time. Don's backstory of how he and Cosmo grew up together, performing everywhere, is exactly as it is in the original, with the exception of the stage Don being suddenly and simply discovered on a set as opposed to the movie Don being discovered via his work as a stuntman. The medley before "Beautiful Girl" is gone, as is the dance sequence in the middle of "Broadway Melody." After all, who BUT Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse could ever attempt to recapture that scene?
The MGM movie musical Singin' in the Rain was released in 1952. It immediately wowed audiences all over the world and, to this day, is at the top of many movie critics' lists of favorite films. This outstanding musical, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen, was direct
The story follows two silent film stars, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, whose careers are at stake as the studio attempts to transition into talking pictures and musical productions. Right alongside them is Cosmo Brown, Don's wisecracking best pal and piano player on the set. There's just one hitch - eyelash-batting blonde beauty Lina Lamont has an ear-splitting voice, no cncept of diction and no sense of decorum. She can't sing, she can't dance and she can't act, causing Cosmo to remark, "She's a triple threat." Luckily, bright-eyed ingénue Kathy Selden turns Don's head, wins his heart, and steps in to be Lina's voice behind the scenes.
While many musical films are based on stage musicals, Singin' in the Rain is an example of the reverse, being a film first, then later adapted for the stage. A few sequences from the film obviously have to be cut for the stage version. This includes the montage of Don's stunts on the set and Don jumping off of the top of a bus into Kathy's car for the first time. Don's backstory of how he and Cosmo grew up together, performing everywhere, is exactly as it is in the original, with the exception of the stage Don being suddenly and simply discovered on a set as opposed to the movie Don being discovered via his work as a stuntman. The medley before "Beautiful Girl" is gone, as is the dance sequence in the middle of "Broadway Melody." After all, who BUT Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse could ever attempt to recapture that scene?