When was singing in the rain filmed

She was a gymnast who'd been discovered in a beauty pageant and landed a couple of small movie roles. She was also still a teenager, but Kelly was certain she had the athleticism and vocal chops the part required. Reynolds, however, wasn't so sure. One day, she was so despondent that she curled up beneath a piano and started to cry -- only to be found by Fred Astaire, who gave her some dance coaching.

By the time she filmed the "Good Morning" number, she was able to keep up with Kelly and O'Connor, but after the hour shot was done, she had to be carried to her dressing room because her feet were bleeding.

Years later, she would praise Kelly as the most exciting director she'd ever worked with, while he called her "strong as an ox" and complimented her on her ability to learn complicated routines quickly. Still, she said, "The two hardest things I ever did in my life are childbirth and "Singin' in the Rain'. O'Connor also worked himself to exhaustion on the "Make 'Em Laugh" number, which had him resurrecting bits of acrobatic comedy he'd done back in the days of vaudeville including, famously, running up a wall and flipping into a somersault.

O'Connor was a four-pack-a-day smoker, and after filming the number, he took to bed for several days, only to learn that the footage had been accidentally destroyed. So he did it all again. Even Kelly worked himself sick. The title number, filmed on a street set two blocks long on the MGM backlot, took seven days to film, with six hours of fake rain each day. The water was mixed with milk to make it show better on camera, but the mixture made Kelly's wool suit shrink. The perpetually drenched Kelly had a bad cold and fever the whole time.

Another epic number: the "Broadway Melody Ballet," which ran nearly 17 minutes and was highlighted by the silent, vampy performance of the then-unknown Cyd Charisse as a leggy femme fatale in a Louise Brooks wig. Seen in the party sequence near the beginning of the movie is Gwen Carter, then Donald O'Connor's wife.

Cohan and Jerome Kern, respectively. Many of those ditties were big hits, and Freed had certainly earned the clout at MGM to advance what might have otherwise been seen as a vanity project. The studio head in the movie, R. Simpson, is based on him. The similarities were overwhelming and undeniable.

She was quite young, too, turning 19 during the shoot. Kelly, her love interest, was Or she was when she wore heels, anyway, as she does in the film. To keep the height difference from being obvious, Kelly arranged the routine so that they were never both standing upright when they were next to each other, always bending toward or away from one another instead.

All told, Plunkett designed about costumes for the film. The whole shoot was difficult for that reason, and this number was particularly challenging. Filming rain is tough.

Cinematographer Harold Rosson had to light the rain from behind while simultaneously front-lighting Gene Kelly to make the rain show up on film without Kelly appearing as a dancing silhouette. You have to put the light behind the rain so that the raindrops show.

If you put the light in front of the rain, with no light behind it, the rain disappears. However the film is a spoof of the turmoil that afflicted the movie industry in the late s when movies when the change over went from silent to sound. When two silent movie stars', Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, latest movie is made into a musical a chorus girl is brought in to dub Lina's speaking and singing. Don is on top of the world until Lina finds out. This is such a great film that if you ever get the chance to see this at the movies then DO IT.

Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds made an awesome team. Sober-Friend Jan 22, FAQ 8. What is 'Singin' in the Rain' about? Is 'Singin' in the Rain' based on a book? What was the real first full-length 'talkie'? Details Edit. Release date April 11, United States. United States. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - W.

Washington Blvd. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 1 hour 43 minutes. Color Black and White. Related news. Sep 28 TV Insider.