Singin’ in the Rain gives viewers insight into a Hollywood silent
film production company as it makes a difficult transition to talking films.
This is the first film to give viewers that perspective, and also provide a
backstage pass to the struggles the film industry faced throughout the process.
Singin’ in the Rain brings into light
all of the difficulties and complications that take part in the process of the
transformation from producing a silent film to making a talking picture, mainly
the need of the apparent voice over for Lina Lamont and the difficulties in the
placement of the microphone.
The productions greatest difficulty
and probably the most iconic part of Singin’
in the Rain is the grating voice of Lina. In making the transition to sound,
the production company would not allow Lina to even speak with her fans. They
keep her in the dark for the majority of the movie. The major issue is her
failure to realize the actual jarring sound of her own voice. Even with the
best efforts of a diction coach, the producers must overdub Lina’s voice. With
Lina in the dark, the production company begins the hunt for a person to do a
voice over for Lina. In order to compete with the release of the first talking
film, the Lockwood and Lamont duo are expected to release a talking picture of
their own. The film is to be called The
Dueling Cavalier. Complications arise in filming. Difficulties include the
complications in the placement of the microphones, the previously mentioned
problem with Lina’s painful voice, and the love triangle. In dealing with the
new concept of talking pictures, problems arose with the placement of the
microphone. The producers had several failed attempts in hiding it behind a
flower on Lina’s chest, in a bush and just about anywhere that was halfway
logical. This gave us, as viewers, insight into problems that occur behind the
scenes. In regards to the problem with Lina’s voice, the search for a voice
over gets cut short upon the introduction of Kathy Seldon, an aspiring singer
and actress, who happens to fall into Don Lockwood’s life. Kathy is the perfect
person for the job and is hired instantly. Lina is furious when she finds out
Kathy is dubbing her voice. Part of the reason lies in the fact that Lina has
convinced herself the fake romance between her and Don is real, but Don has
fallen in love with Kathy. As if Lina’s voice does not pose enough of a
complication, she begins to do everything possible to sabotage the romance
between Don and Kathy. Although, complications arose and Lina was out for both
Don and Kathy, The Dueling Cavalier
became an instant hit. Upon the recognition received from the movie, the
audience clamors for Lina and Don to give live performance. In an unsuccessful
attempt for Lina to lip-synch while Kathy stands behind a curtain with an
additional microphone, Kathy’s true identity is revealed. In an instant, Lina
flees the stage, and Kathy is introduced as the star of The Dueling Cavalier. The audience then clamors for Kathy and Don
for a live performance, and they finally receive a performance from the true
stars of the movie and on-and-off screen lovers, Don Lockwood and Kathy Seldon.
This symbolizes the audiences’ desperate need for entertainment. This need
continues to be satisfied, and it is a key reason movies play such an important
role in today’s society.
Singin’
in the Rain gave insight into the real life troubles that Hollywood faced
in the transformation from silent films to talking pictures. These troubles
ranged from microphone complications, voice over difficulties, on and off
screen love triangle dilemmas, along with other bumps in the road. Singin’ in the Rain was the first movie
of its kind and for that reason it will always be a classic.
I think you started in the right direction with this post, but it turned into just a summary of the movie. You had points, and at the end they were made clear that you did use parts of the movie as examples of each to attempt to support your claim, but I think that this should have been made clear at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteThere isn’t much to agree or disagree with concerning opinion or claims, because it was a summary of the movie. A better way to go about what I think you were trying to say would have been to state each point and then put just one specific example of it to support and further explain what you mean.
You’re right, the film was the first of its kind, but it was the first to do many things so I’m not sure exactly what you mean.
Singin’ in the Rain does a great job at showing audiences the troubles that the film industry went through in order to accommodate to the new demand of talking films. The character of Lina Lamont expresses many topics for discussion dealing with this transformation from silent to talking films, some of which include the importance of an appealing voice, a new need for proper body movement and acting skills, and a need for attention to the placement of new sound recording devices. If the paper were structured something like this central statement, it would be easier to follow and agree with.
-Beth Bailey (Group 1)
While it is true that the movie did give viewers a new perspective on Hollywood behind the scenes, I think that it was probably romanticized and spiced up with a humorous, lighthearted point of view, given the nature of the movie. I imagine that the troubles that movie studios really went through were probably a bit more complex than the movie makes them out to be.
ReplyDelete“The productions greatest difficulty and probably the most iconic part of Singin’ in the Rain is the grating voice of Lina.”
I think the problem isn’t just Lena’s voice but her in general. She antagonizes all of the protagonist characters in some way. For instance, she threatens R.F. with a lawsuit in order to keep Kathy from doing real acting work. She threatens Kathy directly and she complicates Don’s life on a regular basis. This antagonism is what drives the conflict and the story forward.
"...Kathy’s true identity is revealed."
I think what's more important to take from this scene is that Lena's true identity is revealed to the public. Up until this point, the public has only seen what the studios wanted them to see and that's Don and Lena's on-screen romance. But also, the public can now know who is really responsible for the success of 'The Dancing Cavalier', so in that regard, you're right.