Genre Films: OLLI: Spring 2021: week 4: Musicals:
Freed Unit at MGM: Filmography
Year Film Stars 1939 THE WIZARD OF OZ Judy Garland, Frank Morgan BABES IN ARMS Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland 1940 STRIKE UP THE BAND Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland LITTLE NELLIE KELLY Judy Garland, George Murphy 1941 LADY BE GOOD Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern 1942 BABES ON BROADWAY Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland PANAMA HATTIE Ann Sothern, Dan Dailey Jr. FOR ME AND MY GAL Judy Garland, Gene Kelly 1943 CABIN IN THE SKY Ethel Waters, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson DU BARRY WAS A LADY Lucille Ball, Red Skelton BEST FOOT FORWARD Lucille Ball, William Gaxton GIRL CRAZY Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland 1944 MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien 1945 YOLANDA AND THE THIEF Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer 1946 ZIEGFELD FOLLIES William Powell, MGM stars THE HARVEY GIRLS Judy Garland, John Hodiak 1947 TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY Robert Walker, Judy Garland GOOD NEWS June Allyson, Peter Lawford 1948 SUMMER HOLIDAY Mickey Rooney, Gloria De Haven THE PIRATE Judy Garland, Gene Kelly EASTER PARADE Judy Garland, Fred Astaire WORDS AND MUSIC Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake 1949 TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers ON THE TOWN Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra 1950 ANNIE GET YOUR GUN Betty Hutton, Howard Keel PAGAN LOVE SONG Esther Williams, Howard Keel 1951 ROYAL WEDDING Fred Astaire, Jane Powell AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron SHOW BOAT Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel 1952 SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds THE BELLE OF NEW YORK Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen 1953 THE BAND WAGON Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse 1954 BRIGADOON Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse 1955 IT’S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse KISMET Howard Keel, Ann Blyth 1957 INVITATION TO THE DANCE Gene Kelly, Tamara Toumanova SILK STOCKINGS Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse 1958 GIGI Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier 1960 THE SUBTERRANEANS Leslie Caron, George Peppard BELLS ARE RINGING Judy Holliday, Dean Martin SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN: (1952) directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen, Cyd Charisse, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Douglas Fowley, Madge Blake, King Donovan
Kenneth Sweeney in American Cinematographer magazine: “Fleeing from the grand 1927 premiere of his latest romantic screen epic, dashing silent-screen star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is nearly torn to bits by the screaming fans awaiting him, so he ditches his leading lady, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), and best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) and swings into oncoming traffic. Dangling from a traveling bus, the nimble star ‘swashbuckles’ himself into the car of traveling passerby Cathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds), who is shocked until she recognizes the matinee idol. As Don is charmed by fetching Cathy, she makes no bones about being unimpressed by the screen actor's self-importance. Cathy explains that she is a ‘real’ actress, one of the stage, not the ‘shadows.’ Miffed when Cathy drops him off at his home, the grumbling star changes out of his ‘fan-mauled’ tux and travels into the hills to catch up with Cosmo at the studio's premier after party. “At the party, Don finds Cosmo, his stunning but shrewish screen co-star Lina and, surprisingly, the ‘real’ actress Cathy, who bursts from the studio's massive cake as the leader of the evening's dance troupe. Reveling in the situation's irony, bemused Don confronts embarrassed Cathy, and the two flirt and argue under the nose of jealous star Lina, who ends up with a pie in her face. Threats and insinuations fly. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back through clever plot devices, upbeat songs and incredible dancing and in spite of jealous Lina, who will stop at nothing to destroy Don and Cathy's happiness. “Prolific songwriter Arthur Freed, originally hired to write songs for its musical department, eventually became head of production of musicals at MGM. The Freed Unit produced all of the studio's genre-defining musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Freed brought big Broadway talent to Hollywood, including show-writing partners Betty Comden and Adolph Green, whom he approached in 1952 to the write the screenplay for Singin' in the Rain, a project based on his own hit song and using several others from his personal songbook. Comden & Green fleshed out a comic musical featuring Hollywood at the boiling point, when ‘talking pictures’ ushered in the 1930s. Singin' in the Rain attracted Kelly, who agreed to star, choreograph and co-direct the picture with Stanley Donen. Veteran director of photography Harold Rosson, ASC, was selected to provide a lush Technicolor palette for the musical. Considered one of the true masters of Technicolor, particularly after his work on The Wizard of Oz, Rosson understood what Kelly and Donen where after, a fond look back on that period in Hollywood’s history with the glamour and zeal Technicolor could convey while keeping black and shadow levels pronounced, making the comic musical ‘feel’ more modern.” SINGIN' IN THE RAIN was nominated for two Oscars: Best Supporting Actress (Hagen) and Score (Lennie Hayton).