Singin' in the Rain: Fun Facts

Since I read Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds earlier this year, I have wanted to rewatch "Singin' in the Rain." I waited several months to get a copy from the library, but I finally had the chance to see the movie again a few night ago. It was a good movie to watch, because it has been raining a lot this week. My friend Rachael came over to watch it with me. She pulled up the trivia section about the film on IMDB, and I pulled out my copy of Unsinkable to reference during the movie. We chatted and spouted random facts during the whole show, which was fun. Here are some interesting things about this film:

• Debbie Reynolds was nineteen when she was cast for this role. Gene Kelly had just turned forty. Kelly was upset that Reynolds, a "nobody," was given this part to play against himself, a famous actor.
• Reynolds was not a formal dancer when she was given this role. She wrote that she "had three months to learn what Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor had been doing for years" (Unsinkable, p. 205). She was dancing for eight hours a day and suffered from exhaustion. Once, in a moment of frustration, Debbie crumpled under a rehearsal piano and cried. Fred Astaire saw her crying and gave her encouragement. He told her, "You're not going to die. That's what it's like to learn to dance. If you're not sweating, you're not doing it right" (Unsinkable, p. 206).
• Reynolds remarked that making this movie and childbirth are the two hardest things that she's had to do in life.
• I think it is really ironic that Debbie Reynolds' voice was dubbed over for two songs: "Would You" and "You Are My Lucky Star." Betty Noyes is the singer for these songs. This is ironic, because Reynolds character is supposed to be dubbing the voice for Lena Lamont's character. Reynolds did sing her character's other songs in the show. She wrote in Unsinkable that she "hates [her] voice in the movie," but doesn't mention anything about Noyes (p. 208).
• The famous scene with Gene Kelly was done in one take. Kelly was very ill (some report that he had a fever of 101) and the director was ready to send him home. Kelly insisted on doing the number (which had been set up with rudimentary blocking). He ad-libbed and improvised during the scene, but it was accepted and included as the famous scene in the film. This information is most impressive to me - what a clear example of Kelly's talent and acting abilities!