No, this is not a commentary on the brutal drought currently gripping much of the Midwest. I have nothing meaningful to say about that except for a question- Why does our local paper continue to have headlines about drought-like conditions? This isn’t like a drought- it is a drought. Next to the word “drought” in the dictionary, they will post a photo from the summer of 2012.
But I digress. This blog entry is about the classic movie “Singing in the Rain” – which I’d certainly enjoyed any number of times before, but never on the big screen. Not until last night. In cooperation with Turner Classic Movies, theaters across the country – for one night only – showed this beloved favorite. Astonishingly, only one single theater in all of Wisconsin decided to participate, but fortunately for us that one theater was Tinseltown in Kenosha. (And this isn’t the first time they’ve stepped out on a limb. When the Metropolitan Opera began their high-definition simulcasts series, Tinseltown was the only theater in all of Wisconsin to show them. Of course, once the success of the series was evident, all kinds of other theaters climbed aboard. But in this part of the country, Tinseltown was the first. And here they were again, leading the way.)
And what a glorious time it was! First of all, TCM did it right by preceding the film itself with a nice introduction hosted by Robert Osborne, which featured archived conversations with Donald O’Connor and Cyd Charisse (among others) and a brand new conversation with the irrepressible Debbie Reynolds. . . and all kinds of interesting background information about the making of this film. It was fun for someone like me who already knew the film to find out a bit more about it. But for someone like Anneka Barrow, all of 18 years old, sitting two seats down from me, it was an invaluable introduction to a movie she probably has only seen once or twice at most.
And the movie itself, of course, is irresistible fun! It shows off a cavalcade of great songs and brilliant dancing- as well as a engrossing story of Hollywood and its stars trying to reinvent themselves as silent films gave way to the talkies. Any story that sheds light on that which we take for granted is well worth exploring- and when that story is also as hilariously funny as this one, you can’t miss!
Seeing “Singing in the Rain” this way was thrilling not just for seeing it on a big screen, but maybe even more so because it was a theater full of people enjoying it together- and breaking into spontaneous and spirited applause after just about all of the big numbers. . . “Make ‘em laugh,” “Good Mornin’,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Fit as a Fiddle,” “Moses Supposes,” “Beautiful Girls,” and on and on. It was one heck of a party – and my hope is that we’re going to see a lot more of this sort of thing. (There have been a few films before this, and more are scheduled.) In this era of vomiting brides and foul-mouthed teddy bears, nothing could be a more refreshing counterbalance than to experience Gene, Donald and Debbie singing “Good Morning! Good Morning! Sunbeams will sure smile through! Good Morning! Good Morning to You!” . . . and to experience the joy and laughs in the company of so many other people.
pictured above: This is Gene Kelly towards the end of his monumental “Broadway Melody” number. The little red thing on the left edge of the photo is the exit sign in the theater. That gives you a good sense of what it was like to see this old favorite back on the big screen.