Eight Things You Didn't Know About "Singin' In The Rain"

Singin' In The Rain celebrates it 60th anniversary this week with a special one-time-only showing in theaters across the country.  In honor of this occasion, here are eight little-known facts about one of the greatest films ever made:

1.  Jean Hagen was a smash as Lina Lamont, the silent film star trying to make the transition to talkies—but has a voice that could shatter cement. Screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green had worked with Judy Holliday in a Broadway revue.  She was their top choice for the role—but had just soared to fame in Born Yesterday.  Holliday recommended Hagen, who auditioned by performing a drop dead perfect impersonation of Holliday, and won the role.

2.  A very young Rita Moreno was cast as Zelda Sanders, the “Zip Girl.”  The role was based on Clara Bow.  She even had a number, “I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Fooling,” but when her role was trimmed, the song moved to the “Beautiful Girls” medley.

3.  The rain in the title number was composed of milk and water; plain water alone didn’t show up on film the way director Stanley Donen wanted it to.  The “rain” kept shrinking Gene Kelly’s wool suit after each take.  So the story that Kelly shot the number in one take is just that—a story.  It actually consumed over two full days of filming.

4.  For the female lead Kathy Selden, Judy Garland and June Allyson were considered, but Kelly was sold on Debbie Reynolds. She was a gymnast who'd been discovered in a beauty pageant and Kelly felt she had the athleticism to keep up with him.

5.  Just because she was chosen didn’t mean it was easy for Reynolds.  Reynolds later recalled that Kelly was a stern taskmaster, and they performed so many takes that sometimes her feet actually bled.  One day after a particularly hard rehearsal, Fred Astaire found Reynolds crying under a piano.  After that, he quietly coached her for the dance numbers.

6.  Mogul R.F. Simpson (played by Millard Mitchell) was modeled after producer Arthur Freed, but Freed never knew it and no one dared to tell him.  Freed didn't have much of a sense of humor about himself.  As screenwriter Betty Comden recalled, she and co-writer Adolph Green got a call one day from Freed. "Kids," he said, "you're going to write a movie called Singin' In The Rain.  Just put all of my songs in it."

7.  The movie features a bunch of classic songs, but only one original—Moses Supposes—with lyrics by the screenwriters Comden and Greene.

8.  The film received only two Oscar nominations—Best Supporting Actress for Hagen and Best Adapted Score.  Many felt it was inferior to 1951’s Best Picture: An American In Paris.  The film’s reputation has soared over the decades—it is #5 on AFI’s Top 100 Movies list as of 2007.  It has also been named twice in the prestigious Sight and Sound Poll of the best films of all time.  In 1982 it ranked #4; in the 2002 poll it was #10.

For more about the July 12th screening of Singin' In The Rain:  http://www.fathomevents.com/