Singin' in the Rain | Hollywood Yesterday

Jean Hagen: Behind the Scenes Singin’ in the Rain

April 11, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Jean Hagen

Jean Hagen is one of those actresses with a lack of popularity I can’t quite figure out. She was so talented, beautiful, and colorful… how can she not be better-known. It can’t be her, personally, because she has no flaw and never comes up short in any performance.

The only thing I can think of as a possible reason is perhaps her roles weren’t “front and center” often enough. She gave strong performances and had some wonderful films – but she was more often than not a supporting player. You know, the type of player a team can’t possibly function without but often falls under the heading of, “I know that face…. what’s the name again???”

I’m working my way through her filmography and I grow to love her more with each and every scene.

The photo here is a behind the scenes picture from Singin’ in the Rain.

You can find Singin’ in the Rain (Amazon link) on dvd – a classic every old Hollywood lover must have in their collection!

Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds: Singin’ in the Rain Promo Pic

March 30, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds

One of the best-loved movies in the history of movies is represented by the pictures here… Singin’ in the Rain. While I love the cast, I used to have a problem with the chemistry between Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. I’ve always loved both stars to distraction (and back) but the lack of chemistry or spark between them always caused me to enjoy the movie a bit less than most people are able to.

While I still don’t think they had much of a spark, I revisited the iconic movie recently and loved it more than I ever have. There’s absolutely enough spark there to make things work!

I think my problem may have been three-fold:

I watch a lot (make that A LOT) of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies… as in over and over… and their chemistry was off the charts.
One of my favorite musicals is An American in Paris and Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron had TONS of chemistry.
I frequently watch other Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly films where they have so much rapport with their co-stars – for example, Debbie Reynolds and James Garner sparked so much you could FEEL it (see How Sweet It Is for proof!).

I finally managed to get out of my own way and appreciate this wonderful movie for what it is – a truly iconic, feel-great musical that deserves the fame it enjoys. Sometimes we have to do just that… get out of our own way and allow the magic to come shining through.

When it comes to old Hollywood, it almost always does.

You can find Singin’ in the Rain (Amazon link) on dvd or watch it on Prime Video (link to Amazon’s Prime Video).

Gene Kelly: The Title Number from Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

August 7, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

Gene Kelly, Singin’ in the Rain

Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain (Amazon link) performance in the musical of the same name is so iconic and famous EVEN people who aren’t fans of old movies know it.

The title was actually originally meant to be a showcase for the three leads but Gene Kelly thought a solo performance would better illustrate his character’s joie de vivre.

The most remarkable thing about this performance to me, however, is the fact that Gene Kelly was actually quite sick during filming. His fever was at least 101 but, ever the trooper, he not only performed to perfection, he ad -libbed most of it and it only took one take – the one you see in the film.

Remarkable talent.