Singing In The Rain Analysis

The motion picture of Singin’ in the Rain by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly was released in 1952. Singin’ in the Rain explores the different styles of film production in the MGM golden age. By showing the process of making a film, the transitions from a silent production to an audio production, and a romance between an actor and an actress. At the opening scene of the production, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), Cosmo Brown (Donald O’ Connor) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) start off by walking in step with the song Singin’ in the Rain.

In 1943, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s first collaborative musical production, Oklahoma! grabbed the audience’s attention from its first premiere, making the front page of PM Newspaper: “New Musical Plays Up Homespun U.S.A.” In lieu of World War I and the Depression, the theater-writing team of Rodgers and Hammerstein believed it was the perfect time to revitalize American morale through song, dance, and an entertaining plot. How did Rodgers and Hammerstein’s collaboration on their first musical, Oklahoma!, influence musical theater and entertainment in America? While reviving the American spirit, Rodgers and Hammerstien broke from the traditions of past musical creations and created a new musical comedy communicating American ideals

The Art of Racing in the Rain Pg. 155 “Yes one more lap. One more lap. Forever, one more lap. I live my life for one more lap.

Rodgers and Hammerstein not only contributed to the mass of musical theatre genre but they completely reworded it and made it completely different to what it was known as before the 1943. When Oklahoma! came on the scene in 1943 it as the first of its kind, combining Rodgers sophisticated comedy within the musical and Hammerstein’s lyrics. The Broadway show was unique and the first of its genre, it involved an incredible and deep story line along with amazing talents showcased throughout the musical. Rodgers and Hammerstein Introduced story telling in a different way, even though every musical included songs they never quite make a shift or difference in the story line.

Rodgers had to created two new songs for the film. “ The sound of Music” contains more hit songs than any other Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, partly because the film version was the most financially successful film adaption of a Broadway musical ever made. “ Edelweiss” as the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together.

For example, at the beginning of the show Julie, who has a sliver of African blood in her, is the star of the Cotton Blossom. Then, a jealous castmember calls her out as being mixed race and condemns her husband for marrying her. The racial discrimination against the couple forces them to leave the Cotton Blossom. In the second act of the show, Julie is found in a Chicago nightclub looking like a “lady of the streets” (Jones 75). This may sound like Julie is a representation of a grueling world for people of African descent, but Hammerstein saw it as society being condemned for ruining Julie’s life (Jones 76).

In a movie, music sets the tone and mood and also gets the watcher’s attention also have different emotions. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s’ during the Great Depression. The main character Scout Finch has a father named Atticus Finch. He is a lawyer who decides to take a case involving a black man named Tom Robinson who is being accused of sexually assaulting a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell comes from a poor family who is viewed in the Maycomb society as “white trash.”

Robert “Bob” Fosse was a man of many talents, skills, and before passing on in 1987; made a tremendous impact on dance, especially the mixing of dance styles for other choreographers to come. The performances he created for Broadway along with his reach in the movie industry formed a “Fosse” image that others hoped to reach on their journey through the dance industry. His own life lived up to the style, level of dance he required his dancers to perform at, demanding and physically exhausting, yet powerfully enough to capture an audience all around the world. His personality may have been a bit too aggressive for some, but this personality is behind works such as, Redhead, Sweet Charity, and Chicago. If the man came off strong, it was for good

Florence Mills made an impact on the nation during the Jazz Age because of the passion she had for her art. Florence was an amazing singer, dancer, and a leading performer during this age. Florence is recognized as an icon for African Americans everywhere because of her passion that never died. Florence started following her dreams at a very young age. “Under the name “Baby Florence”, she made her stage debut at about age five” (Britannica).

In the movie, there are many musical moments, the most famous to come out of this film was, “Singin’ in the Rain”. In that scene, Gene Kelly is singing in what is considered his musical space. Kelly starts off the song on the sidewalk, and as the song goes on people are staring at him as he is singing. For many musicals, the character can be in their musical space, but that musical space does not interfere with the rest of what is going on in the narrative.

In this 1952 American musical comedy, this film focuses on the movie industry's transition from silent to sound films. Singin’ in the Rain features Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. The story and screenplay for this movie was produced by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. The musical numbers were staged by Gene Kelly and they were directed by Stanley Donen. Although this film receives much admiration today, critics and moviegoers from the past did not pay much attention to it when it was released.

Singin’ in the Rain is a classic Hollywood movie about making films. Film's musical genre makes it novel. The film uses romantic comedy for its narrative template and to express and narrate the story, Donen and Kelly used a combination of music, singing, dancing, and spoken dialogue. This movie humorously and romantically depicts an excellent time in Hollywood cinema – the transition from silent films to talkies.

Two songs that I would argue stood out to me the most within the musical A Chorus Line were “I Can Do That” and “Dance Ten, Looks Three”. “I Can Do That” to me describes how anyone that is in the industry of theatre essentially got their start. Without trying to generalize, it often seems that there was a pivotal moment that showed to a person or a character

In The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein created fourteen pieces tailored to the various scenes: The Hills Are Alive - The Sound of Music, Overture, Morning Hymn, Maria, I Have Confidence, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, My Favorite Things, The Lonely Goatherd, Do-Re-Mi, Something Good, Processional, Edelweiss, So Long Farwell, and Climb Every Mountain. While I won’t deal with each of these individually, as it could take years to properly analyze each piece of music in the movie, my point of focus will be directed towards the opening piece, “The Hills Are Alive – The Sound of Music”. The movie’s opening visual, which happens to be one of the most iconic scenes, sets a positive and carefree mood showing Maria Von Trapp (Julie Andrews) innocently dancing on top of a majestic mountaintop with breathtaking views behind her, and the sun glowing on her face. The song, which happens to be named after the film, compliments this image well, as it too, sounds innocent, positive and playful. The piece has a high pitch and a strong melody, setting an upbeat and positive mood, creating excitement and intrigue to continue watching.

In this story, the narrator is recollecting about the blind man who visited his home for a short period of time. The visitor is previously unknown to the author, and only becomes known through the narrator’s wife. He was just an acquaintance whom she worked with almost ten years ago in the city of Seattle. Before she and Robert said goodbye ten years before, Robert ask to read her face with his fingers and that was a life altering experience from the narrator’s wife, but narrator has no understanding how this could be of any significance. However, after they got married, her old friend still remained in touch from past ten years.