Its iconic dance sequences and catchy songs made Singin’ in the Rain one of the most famous movies in history.
Here, as it celebrates 70 years since its release, we reveal the fascinating facts about the iconic film.
1 Singin’ in the Rain centres on the movie transition from silent pictures to “talkies”.
2 It was filmed in 1952 but takes place in the 1920s.
3 If the shooting schedule had been tighter, it could have been Singin’ in the Drizzle. When they first tried to film the eponymous sequence, it was on a hot day and all the homes near the studios were using their lawn sprinklers, meaning there was not enough water pressure to provide a decent shower. It was reshot early next morning.
4 Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds did not get on, partly due to her lack of dancing experience.
5 She later admitted the friction between the two may have been caused by her tendency to chew gum. Before one scene, she stuck her gum on the rung of a ladder, which Kelly rested his head upon. When he moved away, so did his toupee.
6 Cast as the romantic lead Kathy Selden, Reynolds had no dance background though she was a skilled gymnast.
7 Kelly recognised he was hard taskmaster. “Fortunately, Debbie was strong as an ox,” he said. “Also, she was a great copyist.”
8 After the song Good Morning was filmed, Kelly felt the tap sounds were not good enough so he danced the number again in a dubbing room – both his own part and Debbie’s.
9 Kelly was not the first choice to play Don Lockwood, actor-singer Howard Keel was.
10 Kelly got the part when it was rewritten to be an ex-vaudeville singer/dancer, instead of a cowboy actor.
11 Unlike the majority of movie musicals at the time, it was not adapted from a Broadway show – it was a new script, featuring old songs written for previous movies.
12 The song Singin’ in the Rain was not especially written for the musical. In fact, it was the seventh time it has been used on the big screen.
13 It was written by Arthur Freed with music by Nacio Herb Brown.
14 It was recorded several times in 1929 by artists including Annette Hanshaw.
15 Also that year, the song was recorded in Spanish. Cantando bajo la Lluvia was sung by Argentinian musician Charlo.
16 The song made its film debut in The Ship from Shanghai in 1930 – performed by a nightclub band and sung in a Chinese dialect.
17 1930 film short The Dogville Melody also features it.
18 Jimmy Durante sang it briefly in Buster Keaton’s 1932 comedy Speak Easily.
19 In 1983, the film was adapted into a musical on London’s West End before transferring to Broadway.
20 Make ’em Laugh was the only song made especially for the film.
21 The song was written to sound something along the lines of Be a Clown, from Cole Porter’s 1947 MGM musical The Pirate.
22 Director Stanley Donen later described Make ‘em Laugh as being pretty much a rip-off – “a 100% plagiarism” of Be a Clown.
23 Porter did not sue because he was grateful for all the career support Stanley had given him.
24 Kelly starred and co-directed Singin’ in the Rain as well as choreographing all the dance routines.
25 The film is widely credited for creating the “integrated musical” – in which the dancing advances the plot.
26 Cyd Charisse was only on screen for a few minutes in The Broadway Melody Ballet dream sequence but she made a lasting impact on movie-goers.
27 Her legs were insured for a million dollars.
28 Charisse suffered as a child from polio, which causes muscle weakness, and she took up dancing only to build up her muscle strength.
29 Kelly had a fever and temperature of 39.4C when filming the title sequence.
30 He choreographed his dance scenes with Charisse to hide the fact she was taller than him.
31 Donald O’Connor won a Best Actor Golden Globe for his role in the movie.
32 For the Make ’em Laugh number, Kelly asked O’Connor to revive a move he did as a young dancer, running up a wall and completing a somersault.
33 O’Connor suffered from exhaustion and painful carpet burns, ending up in hospital for a week. He said: “I was smoking four packs of cigarettes a day then, and getting up those walls was murder.”
34 When he did return, O’Connor learned that a technical glitch had ruined all the footage, and he had to shoot the entire number again.
35 Both Reynolds and O’Connor described Kelly as a “tyrant”.
36 Reynolds was only 19 when she starred in Singin’ in the Rain while Kelly was 39.
37 She still lived at home with her parents during the film’s production and her commute involved taking three buses to the set every morning.
38 Reynolds was often in tears at MGM studios due to the arduous training. She was comforted by Fred Astaire, who told her: “You’re not going to die. That’s what it’s like to learn to dance. If you’re not sweating, you’re not doing it right.”
39 At the end of the 14-hour-day shooting the number Good Morning, Reynolds needed to be carried to her dressing room and she burst blood vessels in her feet.
40 Reynolds later said: “Singin’ in the Rain and childbirth were the hardest things I ever had to do.”
41 The last shot of Good Morning, with the three of them falling over the couch, took 40 takes.
42 Kelly’s American in Paris co-star Leslie Caron was the first choice for Reynolds’ role but was unavailable.
43 Costume designer Walter Plunkett said it required more ornately detailed costumes than Gone with the Wind, which he had worked on.
44 The film was not a success upon first release with critics seeing it as a mediocre follow-up to American in Paris.
45 Over time, public sentiment changed and it is now considered one of the greatest American musical films.
46 Morecambe and Wise’s parody of Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain has been named the best film spoof of all time.
47 Barry Norman who took part in the show said that Eric and Ernie were as deadly serious as Kelly.
48 Kelly was a demanding director and most of the dancing is seen without much editing.
49 Singer Betty Noyes is behind the singing voice of Reynolds, singing the numbers Would You and You are my Lucky Star for her.
50 In the looping sequence when Reynolds’ character Kathy is seen dubbing Lina Lamont’s dialogue, it is actually Jean Hagen’s own voice.
51 Melvyn Douglas sings Singin’ in the Rain in the 1932 horror-comedy The Old Dark Horse.
52 Judy Garland sang it in the 1940 musical Little Nellie Kelly.
53 The song was performed by William Bendix and cast in 1948’s The Babe Ruth Story.
54 Charisse had to be taught how to smoke a cigarette for The Broadway Melody Ballet segment.
55 Dean Martin spoofed the song in 1950 on The Colgate Comedy Hour show – viewers saw him drenched in water by co-host Jerry Lewis.
56 In 1961, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney (George Clooney’s aunt) recorded the song for their radio show.
57 You can hear Bing and Rosemary’s version on the album Bing & Rosie – The Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions.
58 Although Singin’ in the Rain sequence is iconic, Kelly preferred The Broadway Melody Ballet.
59 Diana Krall is the most recent artist to cover Singin’ in the Rain – it appears on her 2020 album.
60 Speaking about the most famous version of the song, Reynolds said: “Just the rain, a street, a lamppost, an umbrella, and a genius made that an unforgettable number.”
61 After Reynolds’ death in 2016, Rita Moreno who played Zelda Zanders is the last surviving star of the movie.
62 Kelly wanted Moreno to cut her hair for her role but she refused, so she wore a wig instead.
63 Moreno was unimpressed by Reynolds, saying: “I remember honestly thinking I could have done that part. I was a way better dancer.”
64 Moreno got her chance in the limelight when she won an Oscar for the King and I in 1957.
65 Thanks to American in Paris, Kelly was already famous but Singin’ in the Rain made him Hollywood’s brightest star – the pin-up for US post-War optimism.
66 O’Connor’s green check Fit As a Fiddle suit and shoes are on permanent display at the Costume World Broadway Collection Museum at Pompano Beach in Florida.
67 The film’s network television premiere had to be postponed due to the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963.
68 The soundstage used for the title sequence was used for street scenes in US sitcom Seinfeld.
69 Hagen was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as squeaky-voiced silent star Lina.
70 Singin’ in the Rain was also Oscar-nominated for Best Score.
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