1952's Singin in the Rain is no doubt a classic that has stood the test of time and has proven to have staying power even today. The film has been covered in length on this blog before, so the purpose of this post is not to review or pay tribute. Today, I'd like to analyze the music of Singin in the Rain and in what films the songs were originally featured in. All of the songs in the film, save for one, were written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, from roughly 1929. Several songs, especially the title song became pop standards of the day and were used in multiple films over the years. These songs were all written while Freed and Brown were working for MGM, most before Freed became the head of his own unit.
One of the first films to use some of these songs was the 1929 film The Hollywood Revue of 1929. This was one of the earliest attempts at sound pictures and does not feature any real plotline. instead it is a series of songs and skits, with masters of cermonies Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny. The film was produced by Harry Rapf and Irving Thalberg, MGM's head of production. In the book Conversations with Joan Crawford, that actress said of it "Revue was one of those let's-throw-everyone-on-the-lot-into-a musical things, but I did a good song-and-dance number." (She does a song called "Got A Feeling for You". Crawford would be an important contract player for MGM in these early days, and would later become a contract player for Warner Brothers in the mid 1940's.) Singin' in the Rain and You Were Meant For Me are featured in this film, the latter being sung by a dubbed Conrad Nagel. The former is a Fascinating example of early sound film making. It starts out with "Ukulele Ike", real name Cliff Edwards (later to gain notoriety as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Disney's Pinocchio) strumming and singing by a tree with silver sequins hanging from it while it rains. Then, as Edwards continues to sing, he is all but hidden by the tree and shut out by a wide shot featuring a horde of dancers, who proceed to dance as a strobe light goes off. Then, The Brox sisters, three young women in one rain poncho, sing a little different spin on the song, and then we cut to another wide shot where our dancers parade up two sets of steps while Edwards, still hidden by that tree, continues to vocalize as they dance. This is early musical film making at it's most primitive, and I've never seen it done quite like this before. The main singer being shut out while still singing is something that would probably never fly today. Maybe we are spoiled because of the invention of the music video.
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| The Brox Sisters, three young women in one rain poncho |
Another film to used many of the songs later featured in
Singin in the Rain is 1935's
Broadway Melody of 1936, which was "so new it's a year ahead" according to marketing material of the time. (MGM also used this tactic with
Broadway Melody of 1938.) This was the first starring vehicle for tap dancer Eleanor Powell, who would go on to start in two more Broadway Melody films,
1938 and
1940. The songs used in this film were Broadway Rhythm, You Are My Lucky Star, All I Do is Dream of You, and others. One song, I've Got A Feeling You're Fooling, is used briefly in
Singin' in the montage leading up to the Beautiful Girl number. In
Broadway Melody of 1936, I've Got A Feeling You're Fooling, is an amusing duet between June Knight (who appeared in 12 movies between 1930 and 1940) and Robert Taylor, who at the time is being groomed for leading man status. It is his tenth appearance on film and he sports a surprisingly competent singing voice. Known mostly for being a romantic leading man in soaps and light comedies, to my knowledge he didn't sing again on film, but I could be wrong. In addition to being Eleanor Powell's film debut, it was also Buddy Ebsen's film debut. as far as musical staging goes, by 1935 they had learned a lot more about sound filming, so the musical numbers are not primitive, nor or the sets. Dance is a main focus in this film, with such great dancers as Ebsen and Powell, along with Ebsen's sister, Vilma. The number is a long one, and features dance breaks for the Ebsens as well as Powell in sequined top hat and coat tails. Man, was she good!
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| Eleanor Powell in the finale of Broadway Melody of 1936 (So new it's a year ahead!) |
Another film to feature a song from Singin' in the Rain is the 1933 Marion Davies and Bing Crosby film Going Hollywood, which features the song Beautiful Girl. In an amusing tracking shot, Crosby travels around his apartment singing the song while shaving and doing other things as someone holds a radio microphone for him. In another, the 1940 Judy Garland vehicle, Little Nelly Kelly, Garland sings Singin' in the Rain with amusing added lyrics. The film also featured a song called "A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow" and Garland's only on-screen death scene.
Singin' in the Rain's songs have a vast and rich history, and I have only scratched the surface of their many uses. Most of the songs will probably forever be remembered for being in the famed movie musical, and that is not a bad thing in the slightest.
