History Film / SinginInTheRain

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine (albeit he needs a little coaching to improve his enunciation) thanks to his years in vaudeville before he got involved in the movie industry, but his overly-emphasized gestures and expressions that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even before the sound goes wonky; plus he faces the camera rather than Lina half the time and ad-libs lines that just sound daft when spoken out loud. He gloomily refers to both himself and ''The Dueling Cavalier'' as a museum piece; while he's incredibly lucky that he can return to his vaudeville roots and reinvent himself as a dancer and musical star, a lot of real silent film actors didn't have that option as 'silent acting' was all they knew. Don's arc also charts the career shifts of many vaudeville and radio stars; since their previous mediums couldn't compete with the silver screen now that they'd lost their one advantage of sound, they migrated to the film industry to find work.

Faced with utter ruin when the now wildly-anachronistic ''Dueling Cavalier'' is hooted down at a test screening, Don, Cosmo, and Kathy cook up a plan [[CrazyEnoughToWork so stupid it just might work]]: convert the whole mess into a fantasy musical. Of course, Don's co-star can't sing any better than she can speak. Thus, inspired by a synchronization accident during the screening, Cosmo also invents dubbing and arranges for Kathy to secretly record all of Lina's songs and dialogue. Inevitably, Lina discovers the ruse--and is suddenly threatening to ruin ''everyone's'' careers and potentially seize the studio. Maybe she's [[SmarterThanYouLook not as dumb as she looks]]...

Will Kathy be forced to give up her dreams? Or will the power of True Love win out over studio greed? And will Cosmo ever get to "start suffering and write that symphony"?

* DrunkOnMilk: Don, Kathy, and Cosmo seem exceptionally giddy after drinking milk together into the wee hours of the morning, as UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode prohibited the use of alcohol onscreen.

* EndOfAnAge: The film is a sped-up summary of the death of UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood and the massive overhaul that ruined the careers of many silent actors:

* TheRoaringTwenties: Covering both UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood and the UsefulNotes/RiseOfTheTalkies.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/singin_in_the_rain.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"What a glorious feeling!"'']]

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, thanks to his years in vaudeville before he got involved in the movie industry, but his overly-emphasized gestures that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even before the sound goes wonky; plus he faces the camera rather than Lina half the time and ad-libs lines that just sound daft when spoken out loud. He gloomily refers to both himself and ''The Dueling Cavalier'' as a museum piece; while he's incredibly lucky that he can return to his vaudeville roots and reinvent himself as a dancer and musical star, a lot of real silent film actors didn't have that option as 'silent acting' was all they knew. Don's arc also charts the career shifts of many vaudeville and radio stars; since their previous mediums couldn't compete with the silver screen now that they'd lost their one advantage of sound, they migrated to the film industry to find work.

Cue frantic -- and cringe-worthy -- attempts on everyone's part to come to grips with the new technical requirements. Unfortunately, no technology in the world can remedy Lina's voice, [[CuteButCacophonic a shrill Brooklyn screech]] [[VocalDissonance completely at odds with her silent image as a refined leading lady]].

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, thanks to his years in vaudeville before he got involved in the movie industry, but his overly-emphasized gestures that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even before the sound goes wonky; plus he faces the camera rather than Lina half the time and ad-libs lines that just sound daft when spoken out loud. He gloomily refers to both himself and ''The Dueling Cavalier'' as a museum piece; while he's incredibly lucky that he can return to his vaudeville roots and reinvent himself as a dancer and musical star, a lot of real silent film actors didn't have that option as 'silent acting' was all they knew. Don's arc also charts the career shifts of many vaudeville and radio stars; since their previous mediums couldn't compete with the silver screen now that it had sound, they migrated to film to find work.

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, thanks to his years in vaudeville before he got involved in the movie industry, but his overly-emphasized gestures that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even before the sound goes wonky; plus he faces the camera rather than Lina half the time and ad-libs lines that just sound daft when spoken out loud. He gloomily refers to both himself and ''The Dueling Cavalier'' as a museum piece; while he's incredibly lucky that he can return to his vaudeville roots and reinvent himself as a dancer and musical star, a lot of real actors didn't have that option as 'silent acting' was all they knew.

* TheOner: "Fit as a Fiddle" is done in about 4 shots max and "Make 'em Laugh" has a oner where Donald O'Connor does two backflips in a row off two walls.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

The result, co-directed and choreographed by Stanley Donen and Creator/GeneKelly, is a frothy but [[HorribleHollywood sledgehammer-accurate]] comedy set during the transition from silent film to talkies -- a period of major upheaval in the movie industry, as stars learned to cope with the novel concept of 'talking' and all its attendant requirements. Chief among them being, of course, that now they had to ''act''.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Once ''The Jazz Singer'' is a smash hit all the movie theatres are ''instantly'' installing sound equipment, the studios are racing to adapt and actors are struggling to make the transition, all within the space of a few months. In reality -- as is portrayed at the beginning of the film -- sound was first regarded as a fad that wouldn't last, and it wasn't until 1929 that the studios really adopted 'talkies' as a standard feature; the first ''full-length'' talking picture, Film/LightsOfNewYork, was released in 1928. Even until the mid-1930s, most Hollywood films were produced in dual silent and talking versions, and cinemas only gradually adopted the equipment necessary to play 'talkies'.

* TriumphantReprise: "Singin' In The Rain (in A-Flat)"; Notably, Kathy herself is pretty despondent while singing it, thinking [[spoiler: she's doomed to be Lina's singing voice, but unbeknownst to her Don, Cosmo, and RF are cheerfully singing along as well, ready to ([[VisualPun literally]]) pull back the curtain on Lina's charade.]]

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Done at Lina's expense. She gets a PieInTheFace at R.F.'s party and later gets knocked over when the mic wire up her dress is pulled on.

** Cyd Charisse, especially in that slinky green dress that shows off to great advantage the fact that ShesGotLegs.

* ShesGotLegs: In the "Broadway Ballet" extravaganza, Creator/CydCharisse's entrance is marked by her slowly handing Gene Kelly his hat back after he drops it... using one of her very long, very beautiful legs to do it.

* EurekaMoment: Cosmo realizing they can simply dub over Lina after he and Kathy mock some of the sound issues at the premiere.

** Don's on-the-job training as a Hollywood stuntman comes in handy when escaping [[GroupieBrigade overenthusiastic fans.]]
*** It probably can also be credited for his quick reflexes, shown when he dodges the cake Kathy throws at his face.
** In a more subtle example, Don's barely-hidden background in vaudeville means that when talkies come in he already has a voice not only trained to theatre performance standards but also for excellent singing (not that it helps with convincing delivery of those lines!), as demonstrated by the "Moses Supposes" number.

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, but his overly-emphasized gestures that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even ''before'' the sound goes wonky; plus he faces the camera rather than Lina half the time and ad-libs lines that just sound daft when spoken out loud. He gloomily refers to both himself and ''The Dueling Cavalier'' as a museum piece; while he's incredibly lucky that he can return to his vaudeville roots and reinvent himself as a dancer and musical star, a lot of real actors didn't have that option as 'silent acting' was all they knew.

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply can't survive once audiences are actually confronted with her true voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughingstock. Plenty of real actors, including some of the biggest stars, suffered this fate; many had bad/weak voices that didn't match their screen personas or thick accents, while others had real trouble remembering their lines since what they said now had to actually match what the audience was hearing instead of reading.

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply can't survive once audiences are actually confronted with her true voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughingstock. Plenty of real actors, including some of the biggest stars, suffered this fate; many had bad/weak voices or thick accents, while others had real trouble remembering their lines since what they said now had to actually match what the audience was hearing instead of reading.

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply can't survive once audiences are actually confronted with her true voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughingstock. Plenty of real actors, including some of the biggest stars, suffered this fate; many had bad/weak voices or thick accents, while others had real trouble remembering their lines since what they said now had to actually match what the audience was hearing instead reading.

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply can't survive once audiences are actually confronted with her true voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughingstock. Plenty of real actors, including some of the biggest stars, suffered the same fate; many had bad/weak voices or thick accents, while others had real trouble remembering their lines now that it was crucial people could actually hear what they said.

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply can't survive once audiences are actually confronted with her true voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughingstock. Many real silent film actors, including some of the biggest stars, suffered the same fate; many had bad/weak voices or thick accents, while others had real trouble remembering their lines now that it was crucial people could actually hear what they said.
** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, but his overly-emphasized gestures that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even ''before'' the sound goes wonky; plus he faces the camera rather than Lina half the time and ad-libs lines that just sound daft when spoken out loud. He gloomily refers to both himself and ''The Dueling Cavalier'' as a museum piece, and while he can fall back on his vaudeville roots to reinvent himself as a dancer and musical star, many real actors didn't have that option as 'silent acting' was all they knew.