Customer Reviews

Singin' in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN MASTERPIECE was a disappointment to me. I had expected something along the lines of Aljean Harmetz's THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ or Sam Staggs' ALL ABOUT ALL ABOUT EVE.

This appears to be the first book, or the first book aimed at a general readership, by the co-authors, a husband-and-wife team from Tennessee, and the cracks show. No particular effort seems to have gone into making the prose style entertaining or engrossing. That alone would be OK, but too much of this book consists of redundant or overlapping data about items that proceed from verifiable data, such as MGM's work schedule logs. In that, we hear how long such-and-such a scene or musical number took to film, but not what happened during the filming. What was the human side? We might hear recollections about how the troupe had to work overtime, but when did they "nail it" and get ahead of schedule (which the filming apparently was most of the time)? How did the various personalities interrelate? We hear that Gene Kelly was consistently mean to Debbie Reynolds, whom he considered a cute rookie (which at that time she was), but not about more harmonious interpersonal interactions, save some explanation of why the Gene Kelly - Stanley Donen (co-director) relationship worked well.

The last chapter of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN: THE MAKING consists not of narrative but of an exhaustive list of every employee connected with the production. Well, not exactly exhaustive. They left out Carolyn Jones (perhaps best known to a later generation as "Morticia Addams" on TV's THE ADDAMS FAMILY), who in SINGIN' played "Nilda," a vampish type wearing a spider-web dress and who comments "It's vulgar" about the coming technology of talkies. A pretty tiny role, true, but if everyone behind the camera, every grip and stand-in can be listed, this reviewer must wonder if there were other omissions.

My advice would be to buy the deluxe two-disc set of the movie SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (MGM, 1951) and enjoy not only the film that so many call "the best musical" -- but also the extensive bonus material, much of it reminiscences taped (apparently) in the early 1990s when many of the principals were still alive. Kathleen Freeman ("Phoebe Dinsmore" the diction coach) is especially delightful, as are, as always, the writing team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who penned many, many scripts for MGM both before and after SINGIN', including ON THE TOWN, THE BAND WAGON and IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER.

If after this deluxe treatment you still have questions unanswered, buy the book. But I think few people will consider it to be THE book, in hopes that a more reader-friendly and definitive volume comes along in the future.

To my mind, the most magical sequence EVER filmed was Gene Kelly's inspiring dance in the rain from SIGNIN' IN THE RAIN. Though you knew it was "just" a dance sequence by a talented hoofer in a movie, Kelly's joyful, masterful performance convinced you that, here indeed, was a man who had just fallen in love. Every gesture, every step brimmed with seemingly spontaneous exuberance and goodwill. When he swung from the lamppost and that huge smile spread across his face, you just knew magic was in the air. And, later, when you discovered Kelly filmed that while battling the flu and a sinus infection, you realized how truly special that sequence was. Earl Hess and Pratibha Dabholkar examine SINGIN' IN THE RAIN in this exhaustively-researched 2009 University Press of Kansas release.

In many ways, the choice of publisher clues the reader into the type of book you'll be reading. SIGNIN' IN THE RAIN is a THOROUGH dissection of the film, providing information on every aspect of the film from pre-production to release. To a cinema buff like me, most of that info is fascinating because it shows you the whole picture...all the elements, all the individual contributions...that go into, as the sub-title proclaims, THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN MASTERPIECE. Some readers, on the other hand, may find all that detail a bit much.

However, I was really disappointed in the fact that the book didn't do justice to the film visually. As is, the book has a 16-page photo insert that just scratches the surface. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN should have included scads and scads of photographs of the film in progress, behind-the-scenes candids, dance routines being worked on, production clips, etc. I meant it's a singing and DANCING movie, right? Maybe the University Press of Kansas didn't have the budget for all that but they should have found the bucks!

So, depending on your interests, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN may be a fascinating, insider's look at a film classic or a fact-laden slog aimed at college film appreciation classes. I enjoyed it. Now, how 'bout a revised edition with more photos!?! Recommended.

Good book. Very thorough. It had it's slow points but not too many.

I had ordered two copies of this book as my sister shares my love of Gene Kelly, and we were not disappointed.
Such detail, informative and still entertaining, a must-have for Gene Kelly fans.

The thing I liked most about the book, besides the subject matter of course, was the writing style; it was easy flowing and friendly. I have read a lot of books, biographies and the like, which were necessarily packed with details. Many times these things are just too gruesome in writing style. But one slogs through it because the subject is of interest. You will not get that effect here. These authors did an excellent job of writing an accessible, coherent, and frankly entertaining story.

Which brings up the other thing I really liked -- the frankly entertaining story. Overall, it is detailed, well researched, well organized, and well painted with color. I learned a cart load of interesting things about the making of this fantastic film. But strangely, in a good way, the authors managed to reflect the tone of the film -- a lighthearted and fun romp of a story. I had trouble putting it down.

This is definitely a must read. Ultimately, I should comment about repetitiveness. Substantively, there is none. However, the book is divided into chapters and subsections dealing with specific themes or aspects of the film and its people. Since many events in the making of the film (just like in life) ultimately lead to more than one consequence, it made sense to tie things together by referring back to the original, motivating event. Typically, that is not referred to as repetitive. Rather, that tends to be referred to as the hallmark of a good, coherent communicator.

There is a rising trend of books by writers who are really researchers (albeit excellent ones) badly in need of an editor. This book is an example of that.

The authors left no stone unturned in searching out minutiae related to this classic movie, almost entirely from previously published sources. And they plopped it all into the book, unfiltered. The result: a lot of unacknowledged repetition, frequent tedious passages and an awkward structure. What's worse, the trivial and the important are given equal weight. Information that warrants only a sentence or two (e.g., too much of Cyd Charisse's thigh being exposed in the film's ballet) ends up filling a page.

This type of book was more valuable in the pre-VHS era, when watching a movie upon demand was not an option. But we're in different times. Here's what I recommend. Wait for the blu-ray disc of "Singin' in the Rain" to be released (I've read it's in the pipeline, but no date has been set). It's bound to bring great improvement in picture and sound quality -- and perhaps even the restoration of some cut segments. The blu-ray version will also likely include a couple of commentary tracks, and one might even feature the authors of this book. You'll get all the important background information as you watch the movie -- the best of both worlds.

That said, the book is reasonably priced, so if "Singin' in the Rain" is your favorite musical and you can't wait for the blu-ray disc, then place your order now.

Sorry, musical fans--this monotonous book is filled with hundreds of footnoted facts that are stuck together without an interesting writing style, making it seem like a badly-written college term paper. (There are 80 pages of end notes in a 320 page book!)

The authors merely pull information from other sources, then paste it together to create a thorough but boring history of the musical. It takes them 70 pages just to get to the start of rehearsals but rehash over and over the debate as to who is responsible for different aspects of the script. They include short bios of those involved and repeat a lot of facts, but never get to the heart of what made these people put the final product on the screen.

Most frustrating is that they insert their imagination where they don't have facts. They say that someone "probably" did something for a reason they have no facts to back it up with or "may have been influenced by" some unrelated event. There isn't a lot of conjecture, but what's there seems inappropriate. They also include their own opinions about scenes or related movie musicals, unable to distinguish between narrative and criticism.

The authors manage to take this great movie musical and turn it into a plodding academic summary of egos clashing, in which everyone wants to take credit for success but no one can agree on who did what. Very disappointing and not the fan-friendly book it should be.

I purchased this book after reading the reviews on Amazon. Singin' In The Rain has always been one of my favourite movies and I saw this as a good chance to find out about the goings on behind the scenes. In the past 50 + years since its release there hasn't really been any Hollywood gossip associated with the making of this movie (no tantrums, diva acting or reports of enormous egos). This book gives a really good insight into the people involved in making this movie a reality. Not only does it provide you with a detailed account of the stars of the movie but it also provides an enormous amount of information regarding the people in the bankground (director/s, songwriters, set designers, costumers). My only criticism is that the book goes into some of the most minute details and it does tend to border on obsessive compulsive behaviour. That said, this book should be read not only by those who love the movie but by those who love filmaking in general. It's a wonderful account of a bygone era when movies were made purely to entertain. This book also does just that.

This book is excellent in its explanation of the making of "Singin' in the Rain" and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of that wonderful movie classic.

What a treasure this book is!The authors have really done their homework.
They have created a well-written,richly detailed,and highly informative
book that is an instant classic of its kind.Their admiration and respect for the movie and its makers are obvious.The text is well backed up with some excellent photos.And yes,folks,there is lots of juicy gossip.This is a treat for the movie's many fans,and movie lovers in generalSingin' in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition)Singin' in the Rain (1952 Film Soundtrack) (Deluxe Edition)