Susan Slept Here

 Susan Slept Here (1954)

Starring Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis, and Alvy Moore

Directed by Frank Tashlin

Written by Steve Fisher and Adam Gottlieb

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Bundle of Joy

Bundle of Joy (1956)

Starring Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou, and Tommy Noonan

Directed by Norman Taurog

Written by Robert Carson, Norman Krasna, and Arthur Sheekman

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

The Unsinkable Molly Brown

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

Starring Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley, and Hermione Baddeley

Directed by Charles Waters

Written by Helen Deutsch

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, and Jean Hagen
Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly

I remember watching the "classic" Singin' in the Rain in a film class and not particularly enjoying it. The other night, though, it was on Turner Classic Movies at 2am and I decided I'd give it another shot.

My thoughts stayed the same -- this isn't a great film...or even a good film, for that matter.

Yes, it's got some really great scenes -- Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain is just one of the classics. You've got Donald O'Connor acting like a fool while crooning "Make 'Em Laugh." There's a perfectly charming Debbie Reynolds frolicking about while singing "All I Do Is Dream of You."

And Kelly, O'Connor, and Reynolds are all pretty splendid in terms of acting in this flick. Then they go and add a perfectly hilarious (and Oscar-nominated) squeaky-voiced Jean Hagen to the mix as a famous silent film actress who is finding it quite difficult to continue her stardom in "talking pictures."

So what makes this film a mess? It's the lack of story. Quite simply, Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood and Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont are a famous silent picture onscreen couple who don't exactly get together off-screen. With the advent of sound, Lina just can't cut it in films, so Don thinks up the clever idea of having Debbie Reynolds' Kathy Seldon dub over Lina's vocals. Suffice it to say, this doesn't sit well with Lina. And it doesn't really sit well with me either.

The film's just a bore. And I haven't even discussed the godawful fifteen-minute dance scene at the end which is only in the film to showcase Kelly's dance prowess. While Kelly is certainly a talent and a charmer (as is the entire cast, really), I don't need to see him mug to the camera. The final 25 minutes really just seem like an ego-trip for Kelly. And it ends the movie on an awfully bum note.

Singin' in the Rain is unfortunately full of good scenes and impressive performances, but those things can't overtake some poor story ideas.

The RyMickey Rating: D+