Singing in the Rain Workshop

By Caroline Deisley, Kevin McCurdy, Julz Harter, Corey Martin

We believe that Singin' in the Rain was the first movie shown in lecture because of its ability to incorporate and combine various genres of film. It accurately represents the historical transition from silent to sound while also exemplifying the aspects of your typical romantic motif. We also believe that it was chosen to be the first film of the course because of its use of film's thematic and technical vocabulary for its own material.  It also highlights the Hollywood industry and shows how it was then and how its still relevant today. Singin' in the Rain teaches us about the silent to sound transition (and the entire process), how voiceovers were created, the issues that existed between the business of cinema and studio culture, and it also shows what the Hollywood culture was like when it started. The film represents silent movies, early talkies, early musicals, the classic Hollywood era, and then it also incorporates music & dance from different eras.

Some points from Professor Casper's first lecture that resonate with Singin' in the Rain largely revolve around the idea discussed in class about the interdependence between business, technology, entertainment/art form, and film as a cultural product. Through the character of R.F. Simpson, Singin' in the Rain also highlights the differences and functions of the producer, the distributor, and the exhibitor.

The most important features of Singin' in the Rain all come from its historical representation of the film industry during the 1920s. As we've already said, the transition from silent to sound and the issues that production companies had to deal with was an accurate depiction of Hollywood at the time. However, at times it felt like the producers and/or the director of the movie decided to put things in the film that weren't necessary but rather were just there to show the audience what the studio was capable of doing in terms of new technology. For example, the Broadway dance sequence did not make any sense in terms of the plot whatsoever yet it showed the audience that the studio was capable of producing a musical series full of tremendous color.

We watched the 1929 Revue Theatre performance of Singin' in the Rain. The film takes the basic melody and lyrics from this performance and adapts it as a narrative device on screen. It keeps some of the choreography and the basic musical style but incorporates it in a matter that is consistent with the plot. The differences between the theater performance and the film are that the theater production uses an entire chorus line as well as several different "characters" whereas in the film it is solely Don Lockwood wandering the streets of LA. Also, the film did a better job through better technology of representing rain. Similarly, the song was used to further the story and develop the character of Don Lockwood rather than act as some huge musical performance. We preferred the film's version just because it was more cinematic like we've said and it really truly told a story and had a point rather than just a performance.

We thought that Singin' in the Rain recycled music so that it could reference and bring to life the era in which it was set. Therefore, it uses popular and recognizable music, lyrics and choreography to attract the audience. In terms of the "musical" aspect to Singin' in the Rain, it shows how the producers were able to incorporate common songs into a narrative film. After all these questions and viewing this other performance, we believe that it just makes the movie that much more relevant because it incorporates even more historical or representative aspects of the culture and era that the film was set.
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