Singin In The Rain / Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Image Not Available Starring: Donald OConnor, Gene Kelly Director: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen Original UK Premiere: 1952 Dvd Release: 23rd April, 2001 Number Of Discs: 2 Format: Box set, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Singin in the Rain is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed & music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. It was a hit at the time & recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number in the early musical sound film The Hollywood Revue of 1929. It was also performed on film by Jimmy Durante & Judy Garland. The song was the centerpiece of a 1952 film of the same name which forms the basis for the remainder of Orange. Singin in the Rain, a 1952 Gene Kelly musical film, chronicled Hollywoods transition from silent films to talkies. For a musical, the movie has an extraordinarily intelligent plot, which greatly contributes to the work being systematically classified as the best musical comedy ever. Themes of certains arts being inferior to others, or the immortal if you seen one of them, youve seen them all are today as vivid as ever. Kelly plays Don Lockwood, who frequently stars with Lina Lamont, who has a grating voice & thinks their screen romance is real.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a movie musical released in 1954. It was directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Saul Chaplin & Gene de Paul & lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The script is based on the short story The Sobbin Women, by Stephen Vincent Benet. The film is particularly known for the unusual choreography by Michael Kidd, which makes dance numbers out of such mundane frontier pursuits as chopping wood & raising a barn. Morton Downey Jr. almost had Russ Tamblyn s part in this musical. The film starred Jane Powell & Howard Keel & featured Julie Newmar among the dancing brides. A TV series was made from the film in 1982, but it ran only a year. Posters Of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

What can you say about this little concoction? Pure Saturday afternoon bliss is all I can think of. First up is the incomprable Singin in the Rain which stands up so well today, not just because of the title song, but because of the sheer warmth of the story & stars. Gene Kelly once memorably said, "Fred Astaire dances like an aristocrat. I dance like a truck driver." Well, Ill take the truck driver, especially when you see that tremendous vitality in the extended "Broadway Melody" sequence. The dance with Cyd Charisse alone is enough to make a nun quiver with lust. Donald OConnor & Debbie Renolds add the comedy & romance respectively - & they sparkle beautifully. Wit, charm & elegance in spades.

Next up: the lovely Seven Brides...Howard Keel plays the oldest brother of seven backwoodsmen at the turn of the century, all of whom are desperate to find a wife. The music is rousing, the dancing is vibrant & the whole adds up to a thoroughly entertaining 90 minutes. Bring me a box of chocs, this DVD, a spare afternoon & Im yours.

Donald OConnor was a singer, dancer & actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred with Francis, the talking mule. He is still best known for his performance in the movie musical Singing in the Rain. OConnor was born into an Irish immigrant family of vaudeville entertainers. As a toddler, he & his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. Yet it was as a comedy actor & a song-and-dance man that he became famous. His boyish looks did not allow him to take a romantic lead, except when appearing with a bigger star such as Ethel Merman or Bing Crosby. However, he did have a separate Hollywood career in the late 1930s, in which he played such incongruous roles as Beau Geste. During World War II, he was re-invented as a star of musical films. When the heyday of the film musical was over, OConnor returned to the stage & had a short-lived television series during the late 1960s.

Editors Choice: View DVDology

Eugene Curran Kelly, was best known as an American dancer in films, but was also an actor, singer, director & choreographer. An energetic & athletic performer, he was known for doing his own stunts. Kelly was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1960. Cover Girl - Kelly danced with himself through trick photography. Anchors Aweigh - Included number combining live-action & animation, performed by Kelly & Jerry the mouse of Tom & Jerry. Ziegfeld Follies - First of two films in which Kelly & Fred Astaire danced together. On the Town - First musical film to be shot on location. In addition, directorial debut. Summer Stock - Judy Garlands final film at MGM Studio. Les Girls - Kellys final film at MGM Studio. Hello, Dolly - Directorial & choreography credits. Thats Entertainment Part II - also directed. This was the second & last time Kelly & Astaire danced together on film. Xanadu - final film in which Kelly danced. Posters Of Gene Kelly

Editors Choice: Hollywood Musicals Of The 50s, Xanadu, Singin In The Rain, Hello Dolly, Brigadoon, An American In Paris, Cover Girl, Christmas Holiday, View DVDology

Stanley Donen is an American film director & choreographer hailed by David Quinlan as the king of the Hollywood musicals. His most famous work is Singin In The Rain, which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, he attended the University of South Carolina. He went to New York City as a teenager & at age sixteen was a dancer in the original production of Rodgers & Hart s Pal Joey, which starred Kelly. Donen went to Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1943 as a choreographer & appeared with Kelly in Cover Girl in 1944. His first chance to direct was an adaptation of the Comden & Green musical about sailors on leave in New York City, On the Town. This was the first movie musical to be filmed on location. Posters Of The Little Prince

Editors Choice: Blame It On Rio, Saturn 3, Singin In The Rain, The Little Prince, Charade, Two For The Road, Royal Wedding, The Pajama Game, View DVDology

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