Singin' in the Rain Analysis

Singin’ In the Rain Music Analysis Singin’ In The Rain (Kelly/Donan, 1952) is known to be one of best musicals ever made and one of the funniest movies of its time. This statistic can be attributed to the musical numbers that it incorporates. Singin’ in the Rain uses popular music of its time that people may already be familiar with. It works to seamlessly integrate them into a musical about the transition of film from silent to talkies. Additionally, the film is able to utilize them in such a way that every single song contributes to the overall effect of the film in some way. Each song either pushes and develops the film’s conflicts or establishes one of the protagonists’ goals or interests; they use deception of sound or visual presentation like dance to support them. The first number that stands out in the film is the song shown during Don’s interview in which he talks about his road to success in Hollywood. Although he speaks about attending school and performing for the best, visually the song depicts Don and Cosmo doing a dance and fiddle performance for an underwhelmed crowd. Even though they show obvious expertise, the audience clearly do not think very much of the performers when they finish. Don’s uphill climb is hardly the glorious journey that he is describing it as. The music not only shows a disjoint between the narrations and actions, but also introduces us to Don’s point of view and the deceptiveness of his Hollywood career in comparison to his real life. This whole sequence helps the film get across to the viewer Don’s character, showing us his interest in falsifying his life in order to stay at the pinnacle of pop culture. A second piece with similar intentions is when Lina sings “Singin’ in the Rain” towards the end of the movie. This is a crucial point in the movie because Lina feels that she feels that she has the company at her feet. Of course, it is actually Kathy behind the curtains singing while Lina is mouthing the