History Film / SinginInTheRain

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply ''can't'' survive once audiences are actually confronted with her real voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughingstock.
** 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.

A classic 1952 {{Musical}} film from [[Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]], ''Singin' in the Rain'' happened when the legendary team of Creator/{{Comden and Green}} were told to pound out a script based on songs the film's producer, Arthur Freed, had co-written for MGM's early musicals.[[note]]The only totally original song in the film is the novelty number "Moses Supposes". "Make 'em Laugh" is generally considered a rip-off of Cole Porter's "Be a Clown", though he never complained.[[/note]]

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...]]

* CaptainObvious: The man in the "talking picture" demonstration. {{Justified}} as he is trying his best to sell a totally new and unknown concept, and even then the party-goers don't quite get the idea at first.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: After years of keeping silent before audiences (to appear as a refined lady) and bullying the studio into making Kathy continue to dub for her, un-credited, Lina decides that she's tired of other people speaking for her and wants to address her audience directly. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard It goes about as well for her as you'd expect]].

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Poor Cosmo. Despite being HeterosexualLifePartners with Don, helping him rise to stardom and playing the piano for the movies, he is frequently (and literally!) pushed aside for Don in terms of fame. He's usually a good sport about it, although he does {{Lampshade}} this when he comes up with the plan to have Kathy dub for Lina to save ''The Dueling Cavalier.''

* FanService: The sudden and unexpected appearance of Cyd Charisse's legs in the "Broadway Melody" sequence and the dance number they lead to.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: [[invoked]] A rare in-universe case. Lockwood-Lamont movies were known for their melodramatic, over-the-top writing and broad, overwrought acting. This worked at a time when movies were silent, because it helped compensate for the lack of sound, even if some people thought it was "just a bunch of dumb show". With the advent of sound, however, it just came off as cheesy, and combined with difficulty adapting to sound (and its technical problems) and the reveal of Lina Lamont's [[CuteButCacophonic screechy nails-on-a-chalkboard voice]], early screenings of ''The Dueling Cavalier'' were a goldmine of [[{{narm}} unintentional comedy]]. However, they manage to salvage the movie by giving it a {{retool}} into an ''intentionally'' campy musical, doing re-shoots to correct the technical problems, and hiring another actress to dub over Lina.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: What the studio executives believe about sound in films when talking about the upcoming release of ''Film/TheJazzSinger''. {{Lampshaded}} by Cosmo:

** The two [[ShowWithinAShow films within the film]] ''The Dancing (previously, Dueling) Cavalier'' and ''Singin' in the Rain'' function as the "little" movies used to enhance the "big" movie. ''The Dueling/Dancing Cavalier'' is the basis for most of the main film's conflict. When R.F. decides it will be a talkie, everything goes haywire and sets the movie's biggest plot points in motion. ''The Dueling/Dancing Cavalier'' is also used to deepen our understanding of the movie's major characters. In Lina's case, it's used to bolster her role as an antagonist. All of her involvement in the production is tainted: from being unable to remember where the microphone is to demanding Kathy get no credit. It also shows how tempestuous her relationship is with Don; think about when they enact a passionate love scene while simultaneously threatening to ruin each other. For Lina, the movie within a movie brings out the worst in her. But it also brings out the best in Don. Each time the filming of ''The Dueling/Dancing Cavalier'' presents a challenge, Don hikes up his knickers to meet it. It's going to be a talkie? No problem, Don can talk just fine. The screening's awful? Fine, we'll make it a musical. Don sings and dances better than he talks. [[CuteButCacophonic Lina sings like a dying goat]]? No worries, Don's girl Kathy has his back. The movie within the movie highlights Don's willingness and ability to change, and it helps him evolve, in contrast to Lina, who quickly finds herself obsolete. The second film-within-the-film is the self-titled "Singin in the Rain" film Don and Kathy made together. It serves as their first feature film together and cements their happy ending and love for each other.

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Cosmo is clearly the greatest technical genius in cinema history. Starting as a lowly pianist for sappy love scenes, Cosmo single-handedly rescues an unreleasable picture in post-production by splicing it into a different movie (paving the way for CutAndPasteTranslation); comes up with the idea of using playback to dub new lines into existing scenes; invents lip-synching on the fly; invents the movie musical; and just generally saves the entire studio from going bankrupt. "[[DudeWheresMyRespect Gimme a raise]]", indeed.

** According to Cosmo, Lina can't dance. Then we see her dancing as Cyd Charisse, far better than Kathy could.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Lina is thoroughly obnoxious while complaining about as much as possible, but when told "everybody" in the 18th century wore very heavy wigs, she says, "Then everybody was a dope." She has another good point during filming when she keeps turning her head from Don to the bush where the microphone is hidden, and Roscoe reminds her she needs to talk into the microphone in the bush. Lina points out "Well, I can't make love to a ''bush!!!"'' And she has every right to be angry about Kathy being dubbed over her, and worried about the effect it will have on her career.

* PieInTheFace: Kathy tries to whack Don with one... and gets Lina instead when Don dodges, unfortunately for her (as Lina gets her fired for it). This is {{Lampshaded}} in Kathy's comment as she does it: "Here's one thing I've learned from the movies!" Of course, in past movies a thrown pie often hit an unintended target, so this is also a case of DrmaticIrony.
** Kathy's firing makes her more amenable to acting with Don, resulting in their falling in love, so this develops into ItBeganWithATwistOfFate. This magnifies the meaning of Kathy's remark, since this is a reasonable thing to expect in a romantic movie, but not in real life--which may even make this an indirect way of BreakingTheFourthWall or providing DramaticIrony.

* PieInTheFace: Kathy tries to whack Don with one... and gets Lina instead when Don dodges, unfortunately for her (as Lina gets her fired for it). This is {{Lampshaded}} in Kathy's comment as she does it: "Here's one thing I've learned from the movies!"

** When Lina complains of having to speak into a hidden mic during a garden scene: "I can't make love to a '''''BUSH!'''''". "Make love" used to mean having a private, romantic conversation.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Lina is thoroughly obnoxious while complaining about as much as possible, but when told "everybody" in the 18th century wore very heavy wigs, she says, "Then everybody was a dope." She has another good point during filming when she keeps turning her head from Don to the bush where the microphone is hidden, and Roscoe reminds her she needs to talk into the microphone in the bush. Lina points out "Well, I can't make love to a ''bush!!!"'' And she has every right to be angry about Kathy being given full credit for dubbing over her, and worried about the effect it will have on her career.

* LiteralMetaphor: Don has escaped his adoring fans by [[MeetCute jumping into Kathy Seldon's car]]. After suggestive dialog, Don must tearfully depart. He inadvertently [[StrippingSnag closes the car door]] on his (already-ruined) suit.
-->'''Don:''' Farewell, Ethel Barrymore. I must tear myself from your side. ''(Exaggerated rip, followed by exasperated expression.)''\\
'''Kathy:''' ''([[LampshadeHanging Uncontrollable laughter]])''
* LoopholeAbuse: Lina's contract regarding management of her publicity means that R.F. and the studio can't call her out on her claims that Kathy's voice is hers, for fear she'll sue them. [[spoiler:R.F., Don, and Cosmo ''can'', however, manipulate her into making an utter fool out of herself and expose the truth, via a handy curtain raise.]]

* TheMillstone: Lina, as her voice can't be changed or fixed, unlike the other problems with remaking ''The Duelling Cavalier'' into a musical.
* MinorCharacterMajorSong: "Beautiful Girls." Jimmy Thompson isn't even credited.
* ModelingPoses: During the "Beautiful Girl" number a bunch of contemporary outfits are shown, and the models are each in a pose typical for the garment (such as the sportswear model holding her tennis racquet as though she was in mid-swing).

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After Kathy accidentally hits Lina with a cake and runs off, Don feels immensely guilty over the fact that his teasing got her in trouble, and tries to find her again so he can apologise and make amends.

-->'''Lina Lamont:''' You ''piano player'', you! Are you anybody?
* PieInTheFace: Kathy tries to whack Don with one... and gets Lina instead when Don dodges, unfortunately for her (as Lina gets her fired for it). This is {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in Kathy's comment as she does it: "Here's one thing I've learned from the movies!"

* ReTool: ''The Dueling Cavalier'' gets retooled into a talkie, and then becomes a musical after terrible previews.

** The two [[ShowWithinAShow films within the film]] ''The Dancing (previously, Dueling) Cavalier'' and ''Singin' in the Rain'' function as the "little" movies used to enhance the "big" movie. ''The Dueling/Dancing Cavalier'' is the basis for most of the main film's conflict. When R.F. decides it will be a talkie, everything goes haywire and sets the movie's biggest plot points in motion. ''The Dueling/Dancing Cavalier'' is also used to deepen our understanding of the movie's major characters. In Lina's case, it's used to bolster her role as an antagonist. All of her involvement in the production is tainted: from being unable to remember where the microphone is to demanding Kathy get no credit. It also shows how tempestuous her relationship is with Don; think about when they enact a passionate love scene while simultaneously threatening to ruin each other. For Lina, the movie within a movie brings out the worst in her. But it also brings out the best in Don. Each time the filming of ''The Dueling/Dancing Cavalier'' presents a challenge, Don hikes up his knickers to meet it. It's going to be a talkie? No problem, Don can talk just fine. The screening's awful? Fine, we'll make it a musical. Don sings and dances better than he talks. [[CuteButCacophonic Lina sings like a dying goat]]? No worries, Don's girl Kathy has his back. The movie within the movie highlights Don's willingness and ability to change, and it helps him evolve. The second film-within-the-film is the self-titled "Singin in the Rain" film Don and Kathy made together. It serves as their first feature film together and cements their happy ending and love for each other.

* AlmostKiss: Between Don and Cyd Charrisse in "Broadway Melody". All the mobster has to do is [[GoldDigger offer a diamond necklace to her and Don is rejected]].

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: 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'.

* TheBeautifulElite: Given this is Hollywood, of course the cast is of good-looking people. The "Beautiful Girls" number is all about this.

* CostumePorn: A movie premiere in the film's opening, gleefully skewering the red carpet fashions of the time; Don himself is dressed like Creator/HumphreyBogart by way of P. Diddy. The "Beautiful Girls" sequence is another tongue-in-cheek example.

* CrazyEnoughToWork: The idea to turn ''The Dueling Cavalier'' into a musical, especially when Cosmo essentially invents dubbing and suggests incorporating the AllJustADream plot so they can include contemporary musical numbers but still use the already filmed footage.

-->'''Don:''' I'm no actor. I never was. Just a bunch of dumb show. I know that now. \\

'''Don:''' You mean -- like what I do?!?\\

* DisneyAcidSequence: The "Broadway Melody" and "Beautiful Girls" numbers, both of which come from waaaaaaay out in left field stylistically. Though set pieces like those were pretty common in movie musicals of that era.

* 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.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Poor Cosmo. Despite being HeterosexualLifePartners with Don, helping him rise to stardom and playing the piano for the movies, he is frequently (and literally!) pushed aside for Don in terms of fame. He's usually a good sport about it, although he does {{Lampshade|Hanging}} this when he comes up with the plan to have Kathy dub for Lina to save ''The Dueling Cavalier.''

** Lina's image as an elegant leading lady simply ''can't'' survive once audiences are actually confronted with her real voice; she goes to desperate and ruthless lengths to safeguard her public persona but ends up exposed and a laughing stock.
** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, but his overly emphasised 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.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Lina won't even look at Don when he politely introduces himself because she thinks he's just a stuntman, but the minute she hears he's going to be a star she's all over him, while Don is repulsed by her behavior. This establishes her as shallow and fame-hungry, and him as someone who hates "Hollywood Fake" people - even if they're rich and gorgeous.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Cyd Charrisse's role is simply called "The Dancer".

** InUniverse, R. F. demands that ''The Dueling Cavalier'' needs to be a talkie after the success of ''The Jazz Singer'', which complicates things for the film, to say the least.

** Lina blackmails R. F., who was more than happy to give Kathy the recognition she deserves, into erasing Kathy's credits. Luckily, R. F. supports Don and Cosmo's impromptu plan to expose Lina.
* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: Lina's a downplayed example. She does look attractive on-screen [[NiceCharacterMeanActor in her silent films]] and is able to convince audiences she had the personality and voice to match, but in reality, she's fame-hungry, delusional, and not very loving. [[JustifiedTrope Although she ''was'' treated pretty unfairly during the creation of the Dancing Cavalier, and she had a right to be upset at not getting any credit.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Don keeps Lina from talking during their public appearance at the movie theater.

* FreakierThanFiction: Cosmo says of Lina Lamont: "She can't act, she can't sing, she can't dance. A triple threat." Now, who in RealLife would build a musical around a Hollywood star who couldn't sing, dance or act? That would be the producers of a musical revue titled ''Two's Company'', which opened on Broadway the same year ''Singin' in the Rain'' was released. What critics had to write about Creator/BetteDavis's leading performance resembled the movie's put-down of its fictional actress.

* VillainBall: Lina thinking she could go on fooling audiences and derail Kathy's career by forcing Kathy to be her voice via dubbing. Even if the studio had been behind her in hopes of still being able to use her star power, and Kathy had been willing to forgo her own dreams by settling for the easy dubbing paycheck, Lina couldn't have kept up the charade forever as her whole plan hinged on ''no one'' finding out that the voice they were hearing in the films wasn't hers. While R.F. wasn't able to tell all for fear of getting sued, other people lower down in the business such as film crews or extras could still talk anonymously to the papers or spread rumours. And if Lina hadn't shot herself in the foot on opening night by improvising her speech, she would ''still'' have been expected to speak unscripted for interviews or sing live sooner or later (with no excuse to bring Kathy along or keep her behind the scenes anywhere) especially since she played up her vocal talents in the publicity for ''The Dancing Cavalier''. The truth would inevitably have gotten out and Lina's career would have been over regardless. Ironically, Lina probably would have been better off reinventing herself as a comedienne, using her squeaky awkward voice as a source of humor; it may not have been as glamorous as the regal leading lady image she had grown accustomed to, but it would have kept her in the spotlight.

* VirginInAWhiteDress: Variation. Cyd Charrise's dancer swaps her green cocktail dress for a white gown in the casino "Broadway Melody" number. Don's character enters a dream sequence where he imagines her a virginal, ballet-dancing beauty. But she hasn't really changed.

* FanService: The sudden and unexpected appearance of Cyd Charisse's legs in the "Broadway Melody" sequence and the dance number they lead to. There's a reason that shot is used as the page picture for ShesGotLegs.

* ChekhovsSkill: Don's on-the-job training as a Hollywood stuntman comes in handy when escaping [[GroupieBrigade overenthusiastic fans.]]
** 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 as a singer (not that it helps with convincing delivery of those lines!), as demonstrated by the "Moses Supposes" number.

* NotSoDifferent: Don and Kathy, as it turns out. Both described their theatrical backgrounds in glowing terms(Don repeating his motto of "Dignity, always dignity!" while Kathy claiming she was a stage actress, insisting that theater was a more dignified career than cinema), but their true paths to success in Hollywood were far less dignified (Don and Cosmo's vaudeville routines in middle-of-nowhere venues where the audiences would normally pelt them with tomatoes, Kathy working as a {{Chorus Girl|s}} [[JumpingOutOfACake who jumps out of cakes at Hollywood parties]].)

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, but his overly emphasised gestures that worked so well for silent films now make him look ridiculous even ''before'' the sound goes wonky. 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.

** Don's ''voice'' is perfectly fine, but his overly emphasised gestures make him look ridiculous even before the sound goes wonky. 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.

* RealityEnsues: Lina is savagely gloating about her scheme to force Kathy into dubbing for her, and then impulsively goes to make a speech to the audience who've just seen ''The Duelling Cavalier.'' Their confused reaction to hearing her real voice and their demands for her to sing wakes Lina up ''hard'' to the fact that, for her plan to work, Kathy needs to be her voice both on '''''and''''' offscreen. [[spoiler:And Don, Cosmo, and R.F. very quickly ruin her plot by revealing that Kathy was singing for her, showing just how unlikely it would have been for Lina to actually pull her scheme off in the long run.]]

* HypercompetentSidekick: Cosmo not only gives Don advice when he needs it, he comes up with numerous ideas that not only save a film but will likely revolutionise the entire film industry.

A classic 1952 {{Musical}} film from [[Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]], ''Singin' in the Rain'' happened when the legendary team of Creator/{{Comden and Green}} were given the keys to the studio's music vaults and told to pound out a script based on what they found inside.[[note]]The only totally original song in the film is the novelty number "Moses Supposes". "Make 'em Laugh" is generally considered a rip-off of Cole Porter's "Be a Clown", though he never complained.[[/note]]

* HorrayForHollywood: Especially the framing device of a film opening, before delving into the nuts and bolts of movie making (which was still simplified from reality).

* HoorayForHollywood: Especially the framing device of a film opening, before delving into the nuts and bolts of movie making (which was still simplified from reality).

* VocalDissonance: Lina, in the worst way. Despite having the appearance of a beautiful and refined movie star down pat, she has a shrill, screechy voice.

* AdvertisedExtra: Advertisements for the classic movie listed the names of all its stars, which was common at the time. However along with the people you would expect (Kelly, O'Connor, Reynolds, Hagen, Mitchell) they had Cyd Charisse. She was in the movie for less than 3 minutes as Kelly’s dance partner during a BigLippedAlligatorMoment (which was inside another BigLippedAlligatorMoment). The strange thing is that Charisse was not a star yet it probably would not have made a difference whether people saw the movie or not. You could chalk it up to fanservice.

** The Broadway Melody Ballet -- despite being a massive BigLippedAlligatorMoment that lasts a whopping 13 minutes -- is surprisingly essential to the film. It's a dance representation of Don's story rather than his made-up beginnings he rattles off to Dora Bailey at the beginning of the movie, but his real story — warts and all. The young hoofer in the yellow vest is a stand-in for Don. Visually, the ballet sequence may be all bright and bold and Technicolored to the max, but, narratively, it's pretty dark. The hoofer comes up against menacing mobsters, gets his heart busted by a materialistic mystery woman, and has to wear a vest that makes him look like a banana. In other words, it includes all of the less-than-glamorous sorrows and struggles that Don encountered as he chased his dreams. It's absolutely glorious as it's basically the emotional climax of the movie represents the crucial turning point in Don Lockwood's ability to reveal his emotions and his internal crisis about his dramatic ability. Earlier in the film, Don tells Kathy that he's not good at expressing himself. Then he takes her on to an abandoned film set and tells her how much she means to him through song and dance in an improvised production number complete with fog and wind machines. This earlier sequence suggests that the only way Don can express authentic emotion is through song and dance. So it makes sense that the "Broadway Melody Ballet" is how Don chooses to tell his true story; it's the biggest musical number in the whole movie. It's also no coincidence that the whole sequence looks like a stage production. Remember that Kathy kick-started Don's whole emotional evolution when she proclaimed the theater superior to movies.

* NotSoDifferent: Don and Kathy, as it turns out. Both described their theatrical backgrounds in glowing terms(Don repeating his motto of "Dignity, always dignity!" while Kathy claiming she was a stage actress, insisting that theater was a more dignified career than cinema), but their true paths to success in Hollywood were far less dignified(Don and Cosmo's vaudeville routines in middle-of-nowhere venues where the audiences would normally pelt them with tomatoes, Kathy working as a {{Chorus Girl|s}} [[JumpingOutOfACake who jumps out of cakes at Hollywood parties]].

* RealityEnsues: Lina is savagely gloating about her scheme to force Kathy into dubbing for her, and then impulsively goes to make a speech to the audience who've just seen ''The Duelling Cavalier.'' Their confused reaction to hearing her real voice and their demands for her to sing wakes Lina up ''hard'' to the fact that, for her plan to work, Kathy needs to be her voice ''off''screen as well as well as onscreen. [[spoiler:And Don, Cosmo, and R.F. very quickly ruin her plot by revealing that Kathy was singing for her, showing just how unlikely it would have been for Lina to actually pull her scheme off in the long run.]]