Romance on the Silver Screen: Singin' in the Rain

Today, I'm talking about a movie that offers double the fun: It's a classic romance and a musical! It's hard to argue with the proposition that Singin' in the Rain is the best movie musical ever made. MGM produced such greats as An American in Paris, Easter Parade, On the Town, and Meet Me in St. Louis, yet for most fans and critics, Singin' in the Rain towers above them all? Why?
For many reasons. The cast is delightful, with Gene Kelly as the hero, Debbie Reynolds as the innocent heroine, Donald O'Connor as the comic sidekick, and the incomparable Jean Hagen as the ditzy, manipulative blonde villainess. Unlike many musicals, which string together musical numbers with a whisper-thin plot, Singin' in the Rain has a brilliant satirical script and interesting story that would work just fine without the songs. With the song and dance numbers, however, the movie is elevated to greatness.
The story tells the tale of Don Lockwood (Kelly), a former vaudevillian who used to tread the boards with Donald O'Connor, his best friend. Lockwood has now found success as a romantic leading man of silent melodramas, with Lina Lamont (Hagen) as his love interest in all the films. But with the advent of talking pictures, Lockwood and Lamont need to change with the times. They have just one problem: Lina's horrible, grating voice. If Lina were a woman you could reason with, this would be no problem. But she's convinced her thick Jersey accent and nasal tones are just fine for not only a talking picture, but a musical!
When vocal lessons fail to fix the problem, Don Lockwood, his buddy Cosmo Brown (O'Connor), and beautiful young ingenue Kathy Selden (Debby Reynolds) cook up a scheme to have Kathy's voice dubbed for Lina. The whole situation gets very complicated with Kathy wants to pursue her own singing career but Lina won't let her stop dubbing for their very profitable musical films.
The plot is simple, but the characters priceless. Donald O'Connor's dance moves go beyond the ordinary to become acrobatic, especially in the "Make 'em Laugh" sequence. Kelly's own dancing makes the impossible look easy. Hagen is a delightfully stupid and selfish villainess we love to hate. But most of all, the romance between Kelly and Reynolds sparkles. Who can forget the joy on Gene Kelly's face in the legendary "Singin' in the Rain" dance sequence, where he splashing in puddles and dances in a downpour to celebrate when he discovers that the woman he loves, loves him in return? I certainly can't.
If you haven't seen this legendary scene before, check it out now.
And as usual, you can rent this movie from Netflix.

Romance on the Silver Screen: It Happened One Night

Next up in my series of posts about classic romantic movies is It Happened One Night.
For those of you who've only seen Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, you're in for a treat here. He brings a wisecracking yet sexy masculine sensibility to his character, a rascally out-of-work reporter out for a scoop. On a bus trip, he stumbles across the biggest story of his career: Ellie Andrews, played by Claudette Colbert. Ellie is a spoiled heiress who defies her heavyhanded but well-meaning father to elope with a fortune-hunter. Her father retrieves her before the marriage can be consummated, but she flees escapes again and plans to travel cross-country to meet up with her husband. Her father offers a reward for her return and launches a search. Her bid to reunite with her husband is the lead story on every newspaper in the country.
Ellie isn't used to taking care of herself, and soon finds herself broke and hungry on a bus. When Gable recognizes her, he offers her a deal: If she offers him an exclusive on her story, he'll help her evade her father's men and reunite with her husband. What ensues is the ultimate romantic road trip movie, a genre I adore. They travel across country on the cheap, falling in love, of course, along the way.
Can they overcome her father's interference, their differing lifestyles, and the inconvenient fact that she's already married? Of course they can! They have a lot of fun along the way, too. The still above is from the movie's most famous sequence. Gable's character enjoys lording his life experience over Ellie, and often mocks her naivety. But the tables are turned on him when he gives her a lecture on how to hitchhike, only to have car after car race by, refusing to stop for him. When Colbert shows a little leg, however, the very next car comes to a screeching halt. You can see the whole scene here.
Watching the wonderful by-play between the leads, it's hard to believe that the stars disliked the script and feuded with the director, Frank Capra. None of that shows up on the screen, however. This is a truly sparkling gem of a romantic comedy, filmed just before the Hollywood production code cracked down on sexual innuendo and subject matter. As always, if you want to see the whole thing for yourself, it's available on Netflix.

Elizabeth Taylor in "A Place in the Sun"

In honor of the passing of Elizabeth Taylor this week, I'm doing something a little different in my series on classic romantic movies. A Place in the Sun is no feel-good romance. Based on Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, the movie tells the story of a pathetic love triangle: George (Montgomery Clift), a social climbing man out to learn his rich uncle's business from the ground up, Angela (Taylor), the boss's beautiful daughter, and Alice (Shelley Winters), the whiny and unattractive coworker who has a crush on him. When George arrives in town to work at his uncle's factory, he has a quick fling with Alice, a coworker he has little in common with. But when his boss's beautiful daughter takes notice of him, he quickly dumps Alice to move into the glamorous world of beauty and wealth that Angela represents.
Alice is not so easy to leave behind, however. She clings and continues to call him, eventually revealing that she is pregnant. She demands marriage. She knows the marriage will be loveless, but doesn't mind as long as she can call the gorgeous Clift her own. George stalls her while keeping his ugly secret from his beautiful new girlfriend. But he can't stall forever, and Alice soon blackmails him, threatening to tell Angela and her family what is going on if he doesn't marry her. Frustrated, he takes Alice out on a lake in a rowboat, intending to drown her. The scene on the lake is one of most unsettling in film. The sense of impending doom is palpable. If you want to find out what happens, though, you'll have to watch the movie.
On a lighter note, this film has costumes designed by the inimitable Edith Head. One of her most famous gowns appears in the movie. According to fashionmodeldirectory.com, the dress was widely copied at the time across America. Every girl wanted the "A Place in the Sun" dress to wear to prom! And it's no wonder why, when you see how beautiful Elizabeth Taylor looks in it. Rest in peace, Elizabeth.

Romance on the Silver Screen: That Touch of Mink

My second in a series of posts on classic romantic films focuses on That Touch of Mink, starring Doris Day and Cary Grant. I'm a huge fan of both of these actors. Cary Grant could do anything: comedy, romantic leading man, drama, intrigue, or villainy. Doris Day is often thought of as an attractive blonde foil for Rock Hudson, but she is a very underrated comedic actress, as this film proves.
The plot is reminiscent of many a historical romance novel. Doris Day is the plucky country girl from Upper Sandusky, Michigan, who has moved to New York to make it big. As she's headed to a big job interview, Cary Grant's limo drives by and thoughtlessly splashes mud on her dress. Grant, a millionaire, sends his disapproving assistant, Gig Young, back to offer her money for dry cleaning. 
Incensed that he didn't stop at the time, Day refuses the money and demands a personal apology. Intrigued, Grant offers one and charms her off of her feet. Their romance kindles, but there is only one problem: Day is a perpetual virgin holding out for marriage, Grant is a dedicated womanizing bachelor. Day considers becoming his mistress; Grant wonders if he should be offering carte blanche to such a sweet country girl. Eventually, out of guilt, Grant withdraws his offer, infuriating Day's character. To make him jealous and prove that she is no unsophisticated rustic, she plans a seedy assignation with a Lothario played hilariously by John Astin (best known as the patriarch of the original "Addams Family"). Grant discovers her intention and rushes to stop her before it's too late.
The plot may not seem like much, but the script sparkles and the performers, including Audrey Meadows as Day's roommate, are hilarious.  Here's a taste. This exchange between Doris Day and Cary Grant is one of my favorite passages of dialog in any movie. (Source: Script-o-rama.com.) Grant has promised to call Day and get her answer about whether she will become his mistress. Guilt-stricken, he doesn't call. She becomes offended that he considers her too unsophiscated to make her own decision:

Day: I can see you don't know the girls in Upper Sandusky.  They're always prepared.
Grant: I'm sure they are.

Day: We're not unsophisticated rustics.

Grant: I'm not attacking you culturally. I'm sure you have fine libraries and museums.

Day: We also have a home for girls. We may not be as large as New York but we're just as progressive. Last year we  had a scandal at the country club...

Grant: I'm sure it's a zippy little community.
Day: Things are hoppin' up there!

Isn't that great? I'm always a fan of witty banter, and this film has some of the best.

So what do you all think? Any suggestions for the next post in this series? I'm taking requests!