January 3rd: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, 1952)

NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.

In the late 1920s, a silent film star makes the transition to talking pictures, as a young chorus girl tries to break into the business.

Producer Arthur Freed was in charge of MGM Studios' musical unit beginning in 1939 and lasting for 30 years. In 1951, after a long string of successes including Meet Me In St. Louis, The Pirate, On The Town, and An American in Paris,Freed opted to take a look back at songs he had written in the 1930s, many of which had already appeared in previous musicals.

After actor/dancer/choreographer Gene Kelly was hired to star, he was also allowed to direct, reprising his collaboration behind the camera with co-director Stanley Donen from On The Town. While the previous film made great use of real New York City locations, the new film would be short entirely on controlled sets.

Starring alongside Kelly is veteran Donald O'Connor, and newcomer Debbie Reynolds, only 19 at the time, and having no dancing experience. Reynolds endured an exhausting rehearsal and production process, with a long daily commute to work via public transportation and the harsh discipline of Kelly's dance training.

In addition to creating over 500 outfits for the production, costume designer Walter Plunkett also contributed ideas and jokes to the script, having worked during the silent-to-sound transition himself. 

Kelly was assisted in his choreography by Gwen Verdon, who would later collaborate with Bob Fosse.

After principal photography was completed, Freed wanted to add a long, show-stopping number at the film's climax, to emulate the success of the dialogue-free sequence at the end of An American in Paris. Because of Reynolds's inexperience, dancer Cyd Charisse was called in to be Kelly's partner for the sequence.

The film was a moderate box office success upon release, but its stature rose quickly over the years. It  is now widely regarded not only as the greatest American musical, but regularly appears on critics polls of the Best Films of All Time. It was in the first group of films to be selected for preservation by the Library Of Congress in 1989.

Running time is approx. 100 minutes.