While regarded as “pure entertainment” without much substance, musicals are equipped with capabilities that traditional films are not. The characters in musicals can express themselves fully through song and dance, in a way that is unnatural in any other setting. They can profess their love, declare their passions, and reveal their innermost thoughts. Throughout Singin’ in the Rain (1952), the use of musical numbers is vital to contrasting the theme of superficiality and allows characters to translate their innermost feelings through song and dance.
As a group of performers, the characters in this film know how to best express themselves through the extravagant means of large sets, flashy costumes, or big show-stopping numbers. When Don Lockwood expresses his love for Kathy Selden during “You Were Meant For Me” he takes her to an empty soundstage, illuminating her with lights, a blowing wind, and a hazy pinkish purple background. The mise-en-scene is vital in this scene, as it places the viewer into the consciousness of the film being a film, reminding them of the aspects of a soundstage. The sound, however, works to transform this conscious realization, as the song takes over and the couple then sings together and dances as if their romance had been a choreographed routine that feels just right. The contrast of the soundstage to the genuine feelings of Don and Kathy represent the films overarching theme of being “in” and “out” of sync, they dance in sync, yet Don still needs his artificial setting to express his authentic emotions to Kathy.
Later in the movie, during the over-the-top “Broadway Melody” that reflects on Don’s past career, a ballet dream sequence is employed, and is incredibly similar to that of “You Were Meant For Me.” What is noticeably different in this number is the lack of sound stage equipment. This could be because this is how Don remembers this moment in his past, not as a scene in a film but a true representation of his love for Kathy. It could also serve as a way to remind viewers of this scene, without reminding them of the film within a film aspect at all, and let themselves get swept away in the theatrics and emotions of it all. Regardless, this entire sequence of the film is supposed to take place in the mind of Don, showing his true memories of his success story, his love story, and how he envisions himself.
Feelings of true love are not the only ones evoked through song throughout this film. The slapstick number “Make ‘Em Laugh” utilizes sound effects to both provide comedic effect and help the viewers visualization. Using Cosmo’s language of song to give a pep talk to his friend, and make the actual film viewers laugh, actor Donald O’Connor is able to express through his character and himself a translation of comedy. The non-diegetic implementation of music throughout the film both reminds the viewers of the artificial element that this film has in its nature, being a film, but evokes feelings throughout that allow viewers to forget these realizations and again lose themselves in the entertainment.
What can we learn about the significance of movie musicals after watching Singin’ in the Rain? How would Singin’ in the Rain have been changed if not for the dramatic, cheesy songs and dance numbers, and had instead focused on a more realistic interpretation of reality?
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