60 Fun Facts About Singin' in the Rain

In which year was Singin' in the Rain released?

It went nationwide on 11 April and ended the year as the tenth-highest grosser in the US and Canada.

Gene Kelly co-directed and co-choreographed the film with whom?

The two had just finished working together on An American in Paris, which won six Oscars including Best Picture.

What is the name of the silent-film star played by Gene Kelly?

On the red carpet he claims a cultured upbringing while flashbacks reveal a past as a hoofer, vaudeville musician and stuntman.

Debbie Reynolds plays which aspiring actress?

It was her first leading role, and she was not a trained dancer when she took it.

Donald O'Connor plays Don's childhood best friend and musical sidekick, named what?

The two are shown growing up together as hoofers and stuntmen in the flashback set to "Fit as a Fiddle".

What is the name of the screeching-voiced silent star who wrongly believes Don loves her?

The actress won the part by doing a dead-on impression of Judy Holliday's Billie Dawn at her audition.

What is the name of the fictional Hollywood studio in the film?

Its boss, R. F. Simpson, dismisses the talking-picture demonstration at his own party as a fad.

The story is set in which year, at the moment silent films gave way to talkies?

The writers chose the period because most of the songs had been written during that transition.

Which real Warner Bros. hit convinces the studio boss to turn Don and Lina's next film into a talkie?

The film's success sends the studio into a panic over microphones and Lina's voice.

What is the title of the swashbuckler whose disastrous talkie preview drives the plot?

The preview fails thanks to awkward microphone placement, Don's improvising and the sound slipping out of sync.

After the flop preview, the film is reworked as a musical under which new title?

Don and Cosmo pitch the change to R. F. along with a modern framing device that becomes the Broadway Melody sequence.

Which song does Cosmo perform to cheer Don up after his search for Kathy fails?

The number was a late addition, replacing "The Wedding of the Painted Doll", which the writers said they had painfully wedged into the script.

The film's one new comedy number was widely noted for its resemblance to which Cole Porter song?

Porter's song had appeared in another Freed-produced MGM musical, The Pirate, four years earlier.

The film's songs were drawn from the back catalogue of its producer and which composer?

The pair had written for MGM musicals between 1929 and 1939, which is why the story was set in that era.

Which writing team wrote the screenplay?

They initially refused the job because their agent had invented a contract clause saying they must write all the lyrics themselves.

Who composed the music for "Moses Supposes", the only song written specifically for the film?

The screenwriters wrote the lyrics, building on a 1944 tongue-twister of the same name.

The title song had first been heard on screen in which earlier MGM film?

Cliff Edwards and the Brox Sisters popularised it more than two decades before Kelly's version.

What was Gene Kelly suffering from while filming the famous title-song dance?

The shoot took two to three days, contrary to the myth that he did it in a single take.

Per a persistent myth, the rain in the title number was mixed with what to show on camera?

The effect was actually achieved, with difficulty, through backlighting.

What happened to Kelly's wool suit during the rain-soaked title number?

He kept dancing regardless, umbrella spinning, through puddles for the two- to three-day shoot.

Debbie Reynolds was not a dancer when cast. What was her athletic background?

Kelly reportedly insulted her lack of dance experience and later admitted he had not been kind to her.

Which dance legend found Reynolds crying under a piano and let her watch his rehearsals?

He wanted to show her that dancing was hard work even for professionals, but worth it.

Reynolds' feet were bleeding after the marathon shoot of which number?

The routine was filmed from 8 in the morning until 11 at night.

Reynolds later said the film and what else were the two hardest things she ever did?

She was 19 during production and had never trained as a dancer.

What happened to Donald O'Connor after filming the "Moses Supposes" sequence?

He was a four-pack-a-day smoker at the time.

O'Connor's comic solo among the props and walls earned him which award?

He won Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical at the 1953 ceremony for the routine he choreographed with help from his brother.

In an ironic twist for a film about dubbing, Reynolds' singing on two songs was dubbed by whom?

Her high notes and tap sounds were dubbed throughout the film as well.

Who plays the vamp in the green sequined dress who tempts Kelly in the "Broadway Melody" ballet?

Censors objected to a brief suggestive pose in the dance, and an abrupt cut near its end probably marks where it was removed.

Rita Moreno plays which flapper, known as the "Zip Girl"?

As of 2026 Moreno is the last surviving credited star of the film.

The gossip columnist Dora Bailey, who interviews Don at the premiere, is based on which real writer?

She is played, uncredited, by Madge Blake, later Aunt Harriet on the 1960s Batman series.

The studio boss's initials, R. F., are a nod to which real MGM figure?

The character even uses one of his favourite expressions.

Which cast member received the film's only acting Oscar nomination?

The nod was for Best Supporting Actress; her natural voice was actually used for the line Kathy is shown dubbing, because it was preferred over Reynolds'.

The film was among the first 25 titles added to the US National Film Registry in which year?

The registry preserves films deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.

Where did the film place on the American Film Institute's 2006 list of the greatest movie musicals?

The AFI also ranked it fifth among all American films in its 2007 list, up from tenth in 1998.

Where did the film rank in Sight & Sound magazine's 2022 critics' poll of the greatest films of all time?

It had placed third in the 1982 poll and tenth in 2002 as well.

The title song is sung mockingly by Alex DeLarge during a notorious scene in which 1971 film?

Malcolm McDowell reportedly improvised the song on set for Stanley Kubrick.

Which French New Wave director said he'd seen the film so often he knew it frame by frame?

He and Alain Resnais went to see Chantons sous la pluie regularly at a small Paris cinema where it sometimes ran for months.

Which baseball team, from Kelly's hometown, plays the title number on its scoreboard during rain delays?

Kelly grew up in the city's East Liberty neighbourhood and once dreamed of playing shortstop for the club.

Which choreographer directed the 1983 stage adaptation that opened at the London Palladium?

The show reached Broadway's Gershwin Theatre in 1985 and ran for 367 performances.

Where did the film hold its premiere before going nationwide?

MGM treated it as a routine musical at the time; nobody expected it to become a classic.

According to MGM records, how much net profit did the film earn on its initial release?

It took $3.263 million domestically and $2.367 million abroad, a modest hit rather than a phenomenon.

Which 2016 Damien Chazelle musical cited Singin' in the Rain as an inspiration?

Chazelle returned to the film in 2022, depicting its plot and scenes in Babylon.

How does Don first meet Kathy?

She claims to be a serious theatre actress and sneers at his hammy film work, so they part on bad terms.

What does Kathy hurl at Don at the party, missing him and hitting Lina instead?

Lina retaliates by having Kathy fired, which infuriates Don.

Which song from the film does Ellen Ripley quietly sing to herself while hiding in Alien (1979)?

The same song was Reynolds' cut solo, sung to a billboard of Don, later restored on home video.

What is the film's approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes?

Metacritic gives it 99 out of 100, and it sits on both sites' lists of the best-rated films ever.

According to the DVD commentary, what happened to the film's original negative?

The film was digitally restored anyway, including a 4K restoration for its 60th anniversary in 2012.

Empire's 2008 list of the 500 greatest films placed it eighth, the highest-ranked film with which rating?

The British Film Institute also listed it among 50 films to be seen by the age of 14.

When Howard Keel was floated as the lead, what kind of story did the writers try to build?

They kept drifting back to a swashbuckling song-and-dance man instead, a part tailor-made for Kelly.

In the 2015 film Brooklyn, Tony takes Eilis to see the movie and then imitates which famous Kelly move?

The romantic drama, starring Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen, uses the date to mark the couple's growing closeness.

The Monty Python musical Spamalot parodies the title dance, with tap-dancing knights spinning what?

The gag arrives during the dance break in "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

Where did Kelly's rendition of the title song place on the AFI's list of the 100 greatest film songs?

Two other numbers from the film made the same list, at 49 and 72.

O'Connor's green check suit from "Fit as a Fiddle" went on permanent display in which Florida town?

Most of the film's costumes ended up in Reynolds' vast collection and were auctioned in Hollywood in 2011.

Which new MGM production head, who had just replaced Louis B. Mayer, approved the script?

The writers had been about to return their advance and admit defeat until Betty Comden's husband suggested combining their three possible openings into one.

Which agent told Comden and Green their previous agent's contract clause was invented?

After the two-week hold-out ended they got to work, setting the story in the era of the songs.

What is the title of Don and Lina's silent film whose premiere opens the movie?

On the red carpet Don claims a cultured upbringing while flashbacks show the vaudeville and stunt-work truth.

Jean Hagen won the role of Lina Lamont by doing an impression of which Judy Holliday character?

Fresh from The Asphalt Jungle, Hagen read for producer Arthur Freed and later earned the film's only acting Oscar nomination.

Who plays Roscoe Dexter, the director of Don and Lina's films?

Millard Mitchell plays studio boss R. F. Simpson and Bobby Watson the diction coach of 'Moses Supposes'.

Reynolds' cut solo 'You Are My Lucky Star', sung to a billboard of Don, was later used in which retrospective?

The number was dropped after previews but survives on the soundtrack and DVD, unlike Kelly's lost 'All I Do Is Dream of You' reprise.

In an early script draft, the title number was to be sung by Reynolds, O'Connor and Kelly as they left where?

The trio would have been celebrating the idea of turning the flop preview into a musical; in the film, Kelly dances it alone.