PHOTOS OF THE DAY: VERA-ELLEN AND HER LEADING MEN

Vera-Ellen only made 14 movies in her short Hollywood career, but every minute of the screen moment that was captured of her was memorable. Here are some great pictures of some of her leading men and friends that she worked with...

with Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby

with Gene Kelly

with Donald O'Connor

with Caesar Romero

with Rock Hudson

with Edward G. Robinson

RECENTLY VIEWED: SINGIN IN THE RAIN

It was a sad day for movie musicals when Debbie Reynolds died in December of 2016. She was really the last tie to the classic movie musical. Even before her death my friend mentioned how him and his son (who is friend's with my son) were going to see a viewing of Singin In The Rain. My son is very picky when it comes to movies, and unlike my friend's son, my son does not like to watch different movies. So after some sweet talking, I convinced my seven year old to go with me to see this 1952 classic. I'm glad I did because he loved it! His favorite part of the movie was the comedic parts with Jean Hagen, but he always loved the song Singin in The Rain. (I used to sing it to him as I gave him a bath). It was sad to see the talented Debbie Reynolds on the screen only two weeks after she died, but it was awesome to see it on the big screen. The showing was sold out ,and people applauded after the musical numbers - it literally brought tears to my eyes.

More on the actual movie though - The film was only a modest hit when first released. Donald O'Connor won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and Betty Comden and Adolph Green won the Writers Guild of America Award for their screenplay, while Jean Hagen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. But it has since been accorded legendary status by contemporary critics, and is frequently regarded as the best movie musical ever made and the best film ever made in the "Freed Unit" at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Singin' in the Rain was originally conceived by MGM producer Arthur Freed, the head of the "Freed Unit" responsible for turning out MGM's lavish musicals, as a vehicle for his catalog of songs written with Nacio Herb Brown for previous MGM musical films of the 1929–39 period. Screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote two entirely new songs, "Make 'Em Laugh" and "Moses Supposes", the latter with music director Roger Edens providing the music.

In the famous dance sequence in which Gene Kelly sings the title song while spinning an umbrella, splashing through puddles and getting soaked to the skin, Kelly was sick with a 103 °F (39 °C) fever. The rain in the scene caused Kelly's wool suit to shrink during filming. A common myth is that Kelly managed to perform the entire song in one take, thanks to cameras placed at predetermined locations. However, this was not the case, as the filming of the sequence took place over 2–3 days.Another myth is that the rain was mixed with milk in order for the drops to show up better on camera; but the desired visual effect was produced, albeit with difficulty, through back lighting.

Debbie Reynolds was not a dancer when she made Singin' in the Rain; her background was as a gymnast. Kelly apparently insulted her for her lack of dance experience, upsetting her. In a subsequent encounter when Fred Astaire was in the studio, he found Reynolds crying under a piano. Hearing what had happened, Astaire volunteered to help her with her dancing. Kelly later admitted that he had not been kind to Reynolds and was surprised that she was still willing to talk to him afterward. After shooting the "Good Morning" routine, which had taken from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. to shoot, Reynolds' feet were bleeding. Years later, she was quoted as saying that "Singin' in the Rain and childbirth were the two hardest things I ever had to do in my life."

Donald O'Connor had to stay in bed in the hospital for several days after filming the "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence, due to his smoking up to four packs of cigarettes a day!

I could go on and on about this movie, but fans of classic musicals know all about this film. What was so great about this 2017 movie theater viewing was how the film really held up. It was great to see young people in the audience - my seven year old son one of them - laughing and tapping along to the movie. A few observations I made watching the film was how great Donald O'Connor was in the film. He was really amazing, and he was such an underrated performer I feel. In some of the scenes you can see how scared Debbie Reynolds was, but she was a great match to Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. One of my favorite dancers, Cyd Charisse, was in the movie for one dance number with Kelly, and it was great to see her larger than life as well - except in the movie theater I could see a big black and blue mark on her upper leg! 

Seeing Singin' In The Rain in a 2017 movie theater - what a glorious feeling...

MY RATING: 10 OUT OF 10

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: DONALD O'CONNOR

Donald O' Connor (1925-2003) was truly one of the greats of the dancing world. He made it look so effortless that he is often overlooked when you are talking about Hollywood dancers. He definitely deserves to be ranked up there with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Here are some great picture moments in the life and career of Donald O'Connor...

Donald with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire - 1950s

Donald with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire - 1970s

MOVIE REVIEW: ANYTHING GOES

The musical Anything Goes was a superb Cole Porter broadway show when it opened in the 1930s. Since its 1934 debut at the Neil Simon Theatre (at the time known as the Alvin) on Broadway, the musical has been revived several times in the United States and Britain and has been filmed twice. The musical had a tryout in Boston, before opening on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on November 21, 1934. It ran for 420 performances, becoming the fourth longest-running musical of the 1930s, despite the impact of the Great Depression on Broadway patrons' disposable income.

The movie was first filmed in 1936 with Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman, but it bared little resemblance to the broadway show. Twenty years later, Bing was ending his contract with Paramount Studios after twenty four years with the studio. His last movie for Paramount would be an updated version of Anything Goes in 1956. Though this film again starred Bing Crosby (whose character was once more renamed), Donald O'Connor, and comedian Phil Harris in a cameo, the new film almost completely excised the rest of the characters in favor of a totally new plot. The film features almost no similarities to the play or 1936 film, apart from some songs and the title.

I have always enjoyed this 1956 swan song Bing made for Paramount. However, this movie could have been a great movie and not just a good or fair movie. I think my biggest problem with the film was Bing's co-star Zizi Jeanmaire. She was a popular French ballet dancer, who was married to the choreographer of the movie Roland Petit. Whether she got him his job on the film or visa versa, I don't know. However, she was totally wrong as Bing's love interest. Bing and Jeanmaire just did not have the chemistry. She was a fine dancer, but the Cole Porter song "I Get A Kick Out Of You" was wasted on her limited vocal ability.

Speaking of the Cole Porter score, Paramount did a grave injustice by tearing apart the great Broadway score. The primary musical numbers ("Anything Goes", "You're the Top", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "It's De-Lovely" and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow") with updated arrangements appear in the film, while the lesser-known Porter songs were cut completely, and new songs, written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, were substituted. I enjoy the music of Cahn and Van Heusen, and they wrote some of the great songs in Frank Sinatra's songbook. However, when they wrote for Bing in the 1950s, the songs sounded tired and corny. The two songs they wrote for Bing were "Ya Gotta Give the People Hoke" and "A Second Hand Turbin". Bing deserved better songs than this.

One more thing I would have done differently with the film is the use of Phil Harris. Harris not only was a great personality and singer but also a personal friend of Bing. In the movie he played the father of Mitzi Gaynor. He had a good role in the film, but Harris did not have much interaction with Bing. I think that was a wasted opportunity for a musical number between the two. It would have made for some great cinema.

Again, while the 1956 version of Anything Goes is no Singin' In The Rain, it is not a bad movie. It was one of the first Bing movies I remember watching and dispite what I would change, I think the pairing of Bing and Donald O'Connor was great. Also the finale of "Blow Gabriel Blow" is a fitting end to Bing's association with Paramount. He helped to save the studio from bankruptcy in 1932, and Bing was one of the studio's biggest stars for the next two decades...

MY RATING: 7 OUT OF 10

DONALD O' CONNOR (1925-2003)

When you talk about greatest dancers, you always hear about Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly and rightfully so. However, Donald O' Connor deserves to be ranked up there as well. He spent his whole life in show business, and here are some great moments in his career...

MOVIE TRAILER: SINGIN IN THE RAIN

Here is the 50th anniversary trailer for what is often called the best musical of all-time. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN(1952) starred Gene Kelly, Donald O' Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. They don't make musicals like this anymore...