Film Friday: «Singin' in the Rain» (1952)
This week on «Film Friday» I bring you a picture that had its New York City premiere exactly 63 years ago today. Incidentally, this is the film that introduced me to the wonders of classic cinema and made me fall madly in love with Gene Kelly. Theatrical release poster Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, Singin' in the Rain (1952) opens at the 1927 premiere of The Royal Rascal , a swashbuckling epic starring popular silent film couple Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), whom their studio, Monumental Pictures, has publicized as lovers both on-screen and off. To escape from his f ans after the premiere, Don jumps into a passing convertible driven by Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), a nightclub performer and aspiring actress. They meet again later at a party held by studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell), where Kathy performs with a group of chorus girls. A romantic relationship soon blossoms between Don and Kathy, which makes Lina jealous. W...