Singing in the rain is a musical-comedy Drama which pays tribute to the artists and inventors who emerged during the transition period when film-makers started incorporating sound into films in the late 1920s and the early 1930s. The transition did not happen in one day and it took years to understand and then create cinema using sound. Prior to the invention of sound, films were shown with live music and inter-titles. The film takes a rather satirical dig on many actors, who lost their charm and stardom because their voices did not match their previously established personas. The films revolves around three talented artists who go on to depict how various segments of film-making like script writing and playback singing were born during the transition from Silent to “Talkies”. The film also pays tribute to many Broadway artists who found jobs in the industry because of their talent and experience. Also, the indigenous artists were appreciated with the roles portrayed by Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. The grandeur of the studios was highlighted explicitly in the film, with romance, comedy, dance setups being highlighted meticulously in various scenes. The grand schema of the studio system was depicted beautifully which attracted so many talented indigenous people from all across America. The film has many funny scenes which inspire many films even today. Even after 68 years, the film makes audience laugh and tells the tale of various inventions in the art of film-making. Origin of various genres like The Musicals, Romantic Costume Dramas, Kaleidoscopic choreography (Busby Berkeley), Melodramas etc. has been shown in the film all the while highlighting the importance of studio system. The publicity system, the Star System, contractual hiring and many more aspects of studio system has been shown very explicitly in the film. The film also shows how studios, because of money and infrastructure attracted not just artists, but technicians and labour from all across the country. The studios played a major role in converting film making into an industry.
Not sure if people back then felt it or not, but watching the film now, kept me on edge thinking will the insecurity of Don Lockwood take over his friendship with Cosmo, who gave most of the ideas and was a brilliant performer himself. Or is it the effect of Bollywood over the years, that we expect a friend to betray his best friend after getting success?