Singin' in the Rain (1952)

I could watch Gene Kelly dance all day.
The film is a swift one, filled with several elaborate dance numbers and some witty dialogue.
Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is a big-time movie star, despite his humble and rough beginnings. He goes together with Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) like bacon and eggs. They are the Angelina and Brad of their day, only he doesn't really like her and she believes all the fake headlines about them. But they have a great partnership, something Don doesn't question until his accidental meeting of Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) who doesn't think film acting is real acting like stage acting is. She says that if you've seen one film, you've seen them all, words Don takes to heart. But he likes his job and the money it gives him.
And then, sound arrives, meaning that Don and Lina will need to refilm their picture but Lina's voice is high-pitched and squeaky, unbearable to listen to for long. The picture is a disaster, but fortunately, Don gets the idea to transform it into a musical and his friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor, with bright blue eyes) is struck with inspiration that Kathy can dub Lina's lines and musical numbers, which is the launching point to her career. But then Lina discovers the truth and threatens to ruin Kathy's budding career, only to have the audience hear her finally speak for herself.
Everything is right in the end. Don and Kathy are together, how wonderful must that be. I'm only a little cynical about love at the moment, knowing that that will probably never happen for me, but at least this film allowed me to forget about all that for a little while. Singin' in the Rain is truly a glorious song, what a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again, if only for a fleeting moment.
The dancing and singing is incredible, with O'Connor giving Kelly a run for his money with the dancing, matching each other beat for beat. Reynolds, despite not being trained as the men were, more than holds her own. It is also interesting to see how the studios adapted to adding sound to the films, and how awkward it was and how much of a learning cure there was.
Now, I do have a few problems with the film, mostly with Kathy's character, who is weak and underdeveloped. At the end, though Don had a master plan to destroy Lina, he must use Kathy to do that, and she is bitter, knowing her career is ruined as she signed a five-year contract and Lina wants Kathy to solely dub her voice in films. Kathy does that, but never wants to see Don again, of course, that doesn't happen and they end up happily together. She isn't angry enough and doesn't fight for herself enough. Lina is a much more developed character and Hagen deserved far more than her mere Oscar nomination for this role. She's great.
But the film is a masterpiece, with excellent songs and dance numbers and brilliant sets and costumes. This film is not to be missed. Grade: A