Pervasive Optimism

The decade of the 1950s—often referred to by American film historians as a period of particularly pervasive optimism—featured many happy ending genres that resonated with an arguably buoyant society. Earl J. Hess and Pratibha A. Dabholkar have interwoven this theme throughout their latest nonfiction collaborative work, Singin' in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece. Quoting from an interview with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the writers who penned the lyrics and screenplay for Singin' in the Rain, Hess and Dabholkar note that the pair referred to the film as "an irresistible ode to optimism." Even American playwright Wendy Wasserstein echoed this sentiment, confessing that she tapped into the movie's positive energy whenever she felt melancholy."

This glowing optimism notwithstanding, Hess and Dabholkar have fulfilled the stated purpose of their research which, as they write in their introduction, is "to present a well-rounded history of the film, detailing its genesis, creation, production, marketing, and reception." Certainly, no one can categorize these authors' efforts as watered down or lacking in depth. With 237 pages of fat-free text, Singin' in the Rain is a veritable tsunami of information about the film that shares its name, and is captivatingly presented and flawlessly executed.

Hess and Dabholkar take both the serious student and the casual reader on an entertaining journey that begins with the introduction of synchronized sound during the late 1920s, transitions into a whirlwind examination of the filmic and musical components of this 1952 classic, and ends with a light hearted and engaging section entitled "Goofs and Gaffes" (chapter 10). A thorough treatment of the technical aspects of photographing the film is found in Chapter 5. Of particular interest here is the manner in which studio technicians dealt with the problems presented by the obvious need for copious amounts of water to form the six hours of continuous "rain" needed during each day of shooting. An amusing section is found in this same chapter as Gene Kelly discusses the process of piecing together the choreography for the rain-sodden actors. "I [had] to create an excuse," he put it, "because . . . to go out and sing in the rain without looking like an idiot, one must have quite an impulse!"

As with all films from the 1950s, competition from television took its toll on box office receipts, forcing production studios to come up with creative solutions to prop up failing revenue. Hess and Dabholkar describe, in great detail, the emergence of the Technicolor Corporation in 1918, the "tricks" such as 3-D imagery, widescreen, and stereophonic sound, and other largely unsuccessful gimmicks that were being tested in order to differentiate the movie going experience from the small screen and, it was hoped, stem bleeding ticket sales. In the end, the authors note, the success of Singin' was eclipsed by other notable films, such as An American in Paris and Quo Vadis. However, Singin' was a lucrative property for MGM, adding $7.6 million to the studio's coffers during its original release.

No book treating a work from 1950s cinema could be called complete without an examination of the possible influences of film censorship. Hess and Dabholkar do not disappoint on that score. Chapter 3 of Singin' in the Rain details MGM's brushes with the Breen office, which expressed concern with several scenes, stating that "none of the show girls in the process of changing their clothes should be shown in their underwear," with the additional admonishment that "the Production Code makes it mandatory that the intimate parts of the body—specifically, the breasts of women—be covered at all times."

Further suggestions resulted in scenes and dialog being edited before the Code issued a final okay. The authors of Singin' in the Rain aptly note that while the Production Code Administration's dictates had few teeth with which to enforce its recommendations, studios generally complied with them, as the absence of a Code Certificate carried substantial (yet steadily diminishing) weight with...