Return to Intro to Film syllabus
Updated 8 December 2006
ENGLISH 114: INTRODUCTION TO FILM, Fall 2006
Section 3: Thursday, 6:00-9:30 p.m., Professor Larsson
Week 15, December 7
6:00-6:05
Final reminders (please pass in extra-credit papers by the end of class)
6:05-8:05
View Singin’ in the Rain
8:05-8:15
Break
8:15-9:15
Discuss Singin’ in the Rain
9:15-9:30
Quiz 7 (Sound)
NOTES ON FINAL EXAM (in 2 weeks)
§ Thursday, , December 14, 6:00 p.m., Wiecking Auditorium
§ 55 Questions (bring Scantron sheet and # 2 pencil)
o 35-40 questions will be on important terms from the first 13 weeks of the semester (but no direct questions on the films shown)
o About 10 questions will relate to the material from the last 2 weeks of class, including Chapter 7 (Sound) and Singin’ in the Rain
o 5-10 questions will relate to a film clip shown in class
§ See Terms to Know on class website (updated by tomorrow evening)
Watch for an e-mail note tomorrow asking you to complete an anonymous class survey on D2L
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952); Directors: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly; Script: Adolph Green and Betty Comden; Choreography: Kelly; Cinematography: Harold Rosson; Editor: Adrienne Fazan; Music: Nacio Herb Brown (with songs by Arthur Freed and others).
CAST: Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood); Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Selden); Donald O'Connor (Cosmo Brown); Jean Hagan (Lina Lamont); Millard Mitchell (R.F. Simpson); Cyd Charisse (dancer/gangster's moll); Rita Moreno (Zelda).
Study Questions:
1. What is Don Lockwood like when we first meet him? What goals does he have? How do he and his goals change in the course of the film? Why do they change?
2. How do the different events in the narrative link to each other and lead to the ending of the film? Is anything left unanswered or unresolved by the ending?
3. What role do the songs in the film play in relation to the narrative? Are they a part of the story? Are they separate from the story? Do you see some other function at work?
4. How does the mise-en-scene attempt to present the era of the "Roaring '20s?" Does it aim for a high degree of realism throughout the film? What are some specific elements of setting and costume that are used in notable ways?
5. What roles do the mise-en-scene and the cinematography play in the dance numbers? Are we meant to notice these stylistic effects, as well as the editing, or not? Are there different styles at work in different numbers or are they all similar?
6. As a film about how sound came to motion pictures, as well as being a musical, Singin' in the Rain could be called a film that is about sound. What are some of the different ways in which sound is used besides the fact that people are singing?
7. What kind of attitude does the film express about the silent era of filmmaking?
Musical Numbers in Singin' in the Rain:
"Fit as a Fiddle"--Don and Cosmo on vaudeville stage
"All I Do the Whole Night Through"--Kathy and chorus girls at party
"Make 'Em Laugh"--Cosmo on shooting set
"Beautiful Girls"--singer on set being filmed
"You Were Meant for Me"--Don and Kathy on shooting stage
"Moses Supposes"--Don and Cosmo with speech coach
"Good Mornin'"--Don, Kathy and Cosmo at Don's house
"Singin' in the Rain"--Don on street at night
"Broadway Melody/Gotta Dance"--Don in dance sequence
"Would You"--Kathy recording song
"You Are My Lucky Star"--Don to Kathy at theater
Movie Musicals as Genre
§ Musicals highly popular after sound introduced in 1927
§ Early musicals often in form of “backstage drama”: set in world of theater, about actors as they put on a show
o Musical numbers are often staged as performances for a theatrical audience, separate from narrative development of major characters
o Exemplified by films choreographed by Busby Berkeley
§ Elaborate production numbers
§ Emphasis on staging, mise-en-scene, elaborate and sometimes bizarre settings
§ Cinematography and editing create “staged” numbers that could not possibly take place on theater stage
· 42nd Street
· Gold Diggers of 1934 (and after)
· Footlight Parade
Other popular musicals incorporate at least some songs as part of overall plot and character development
§ Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland (Babes in Arms, Girl Crazy, etc.)
o Usually about young people who put on a show to get parents, school, etc. out of financial trouble
§ Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy (May Time, Naughty Marietta, Sweethearts, etc.)
o Adaptations of popular operettas by Victor Herbert and others
o Love story, elaborate costumes and settings in historical settings
Fred Astaire’s Influence
§ Already popular Broadway performer when first comes to Hollywood
§ Works with directors and choreographers (usually Hermes Pan) to put emphasis back on dance instead of mise-en-scene, camerawork and editing
o Use of longer takes and long shots for dance scenes (medium shots and close-ups used for facial reactions, etc.)
o Props used in mise-en-scene are usually realistically motivated
§ Films with Ginger Rogers emphasize love story but also character development (Top Hat, Swing Time, Carefree, Follow the Fleet, etc.)
Gene Kelly’s Innovations
§ Wanted to spread appreciation of classical and modern dance through film
§ Brings more visible effort and physicality to dance sequences
§ Engages camera as interactive “partner” in dance sequences through movement, crane shots, etc.
§ Other films include Anchors Aweigh, An American in Paris, Brigadoon, On the Town, Invitation to the Dance
§ Often worked with producer-composer Arthur Freed at MGM
Other Developments in the Musical
1950s: Big-budget productions of Broadway hits: Oklahoma!, The King and I, Showboat, etc.
1960s: Success of musical genre hits peak with Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Funny Girl; musical begins to decline in popularity
Later developments:
§ Most popular musicals in form of Disney animated films through 1980s
§ Influence of rock music, MTV and music videos, cross-cultural influences (“Bollywood” musicals from India, etc.)
§ Bob Fosse integrates musical numbers as part of narrative, greater psychological complexity in characters; introduces heightened sexuality in Cabaret and All That Jazz (example of “anti-musical,” with Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York and Harold Ross’s Pennies from Heaven)
§ More recently: Baz Luhrman integrates Indian influences, MTV, and operatic narrative in Moulin Rouge; Bill Condon builds on Fosse influence in Chicago and Dream Girls
Singin’ in the Rain: Narrative
§ Main story follows typical pattern of classical Hollywood narrative
§ Emphasis on characters (Don, Kathy, Lina, Cosmo) and goals
§ Events are motivated by characters’ goals or desires
o Don is successful but shallow and stuck in a creative rut at first
o Challenged by Kathy
o Develops new goals: falling in love with Kathy, desire to do something different and more creative
o Encounters obstacles to goals
o Can’t find Kathy at first
o Sound offers new opportunities but Don doesn’t know how to take advantage of them
o Disastrous preview of Dueling Cavalier gives chance to use singing, dancing and creative talents
o New obstacle in Lina’s voice
o Kathy dubs her voice for Lina
o Lina finds out and threatens to keep Kathy working for her
o Lina is exposed as a fraud in public
o Don and Kathy are reunited, co-star in new movie
§ Most major problems and questions are resolved or answered
Relationship of Songs to Narrative:
§ Songs highlighted in yellow have diegetic instrumental music (produced by band or orchestra in space of story)
§ Songs not highlighted have nondiegetic instrumental music (no apparent source for instruments)
§ “Broadway Melody” (highlighted in green) functions as internal diegetic—all being staged in Don’s mind as he describes the number to Cosmo and RF
"Fit as a Fiddle"--Don and Cosmo on vaudeville stage (P)
"All I Do the Whole Night Through"--Kathy and chorus girls at party (P)
"Make 'Em Laugh"--Cosmo on shooting set (C)
"Beautiful Girls"--singer on set being filmed (P)
"You Were Meant for Me"--Don and Kathy on shooting stage (C)
"Moses Supposes"--Don and Cosmo with speech coach (E)
"Good Mornin'"--Don, Kathy and Cosmo at Don's house (E)
"Singin' in the Rain"--Don on street at night (E)
"Broadway Melody/Gotta Dance"--Don in dance sequence (P/E)
"Would You"--Kathy recording song (P/C)
"You Are My Lucky Star"--Don to Kathy at theater (P/C)
Songs serve 3 major functions:
P = Performance: Numbers are performed for or in front of an audience within the movie
C = Communication: One character is “talking” to another through the song
E = Emotion: Characters are expressing emotion, letting off steam through song and/or dance
Some numbers blend two or more functions.
Almost all musical numbers were composed by producer Arthur Freed and appeared in earlier MGM musicals.
Film also traces examples of film musicals and uses of film sound for previous 25 years (1927: The Jazz Singer to 1952)
“Put on a musical and save the studio” echoes plots from Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movies like Babes in Arms or Girl Crazy
Operatic finale of “Would You” at premiere of The Dancing Cavalier echoes Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
Montage sequence leading up to “Beautiful Girls” number includes images taken from other musicals
Other uses of sound:
Lina’s voice fails all acoustic properties—too loud, too shrill, too nasal (plus bad grammar in use of words)
Kathy dubs Lina’s voice and plays with fidelity (like Hitchcock did with German actress in Blackmail)