Singin' in the Rain (1952) Encore Performance August 22nd, 2012

Thanks to TCM and Fathom Events we got to see Singin' in the Rain (1952) on the big screen!

And at a local theater at that! There are two cinemas in my area and neither of them show classic films. I usually have to go further into the city to see one. But for one special day, the AMC theater in the next town over showed Singin' in the Rain!

The performance started with an introduction from TCM's Robert Osborne and was followed by an interview with Osborne and film star Debbie Reynolds. It was intermixed with other pre-recorded interviews, much further in the past, by the widow of Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor (from 1997) and Cyd Charisse (2003 I think). Debbie Reynolds was wonderfully candid, made lots of fun remarks and wasn't afraid to poke fun at herself. She referred to herself as a virgin in a town with a whole lot of them and mentioned that her only regret was that her voice was way too high in the film.

There were a lot of tidbits of information shared. For example, the famous Make 'Em Laugh sequence performed by Donald O'Connor is the only dancing piece in the whole film that wasn't choreographed by Gene Kelly. Kelly knew that O'Connor would be able to choreograph his only solo piece and let him have at it. And the result was truly glorious.



 

During the TCM opening, we got to see lots of pictures from behind the scenes as well as publicity stills. I really loved seeing this picture of Donald O'Connor, director Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly with tiny umbrellas. It made me laugh!

I was briefly reminded how amazing it was that I got to see Stanley Donen in person!

Then it was on to the main event. The film! Oh how wonderful it is to see Singin' in the Rain in all it's Technicolor glory and on it's 60th anniversary. The film was shown in it's original aspect ratio of 1.37 : 1. There were about 40 or so people in the theater and we all applauded after Donald O'Connor's Make 'Em Laugh scene (it's also my favorite number in the picture) and at the very end. The long 16 minute (or so) musical sequence with Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse is the perfect time to go to the bathroom or take a quick snooze. To me that sequence has always been a showcase of Gene Kelly's larger-than-life ego. It's a bore in the midst of what otherwise was a great film. I did however come to appreciate the small number in the sequence with the flowing white fabric that Cyd Charisse wears. It's so long and it took several well-positioned fans to get it to flow back, side to side and straight up to the ceiling like it did in the number. I made sure to pay attention to that. 

There were a few things I noticed during this viewing of the film. I totally forgot that Rita Moreno is in the film (as Zelda). On the marquee of the theater on the big opening night for The Dancing Cavalier it said All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing! which made me think of my friend Jonas the Talkie King. Also when they are premiering the bomb of a talkie The Dueling Cavalier I spotted William Haines' name on one of the posters behind the actors. It's those little things I like to pick up on. And I don't want to be remiss and not mention Jean Hagen who I think is a marvelous delight in the film. We just all love to hate her. Carlos asked me if that was her real voice and I was happy to tell him no that it's not. However, Debbie Reynold's Kathy Selden who dubs Hagen's Lina Lamont is dubbed herself while singing. Ahh Hollywood! You can be so silly sometimes.

There truly is nothing quite like watching a beloved classic film on the big screen. I thank Fathom Events and TCM for giving me the chance to watch one of my favorites this way!

Lightning Flash Giveaway ~ Singin' in the Rain (1952) Encore Performance

As many of you know, TCM and NCM Fathom are presenting an encore performance of Singin' in the Rain (1952) in theaters across the United States on Wednesday August 22nd, 2012 at 7pm (local time). You can find out more about this nationwide performance on the Fathom Events website. The performance features an interview with Debbie Reynolds by Robert Osborne as well as some behinds-the-scene footage.Watch the trailer below:

I was contacted about doing a quick giveaway for 3 sets of tickets to see this performance next week. I know several other bloggers have already posted similar contests so if you entered any of those and didn't win, here is another chance!

Just fill out the form below by 12pm EST Thursday August 16th. I'll pick winners at random and will email winners about their prize. All winners need to respond ASAP at least by Friday so we can get you tickets in time. So if you won't be checking email Friday, do not enter the contest!

Thanks to Pure Brand Communications for sponsoring this giveaway. I'll be posting about the event next week.

Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW OVER

Finding the beach from From Here to Eternity (1953)

Carlos and I recently went to Oahu, Hawaii for our Honeymoon. We mostly took it easy on our trip but we also had a lot of fun finding filming locations. One of the ones we searched for was the beach in the famous kissing-crashing-waves scene from the film From Here to Eternity (1953).

The famous scene was shot at Halona Cove which is a very small beach in between huge lava rock formations. Right next to the beach is the famous Halona Blowhole. You can find the cove and the blowhole on the Southeast side of Oahu at Hanauma Bay.

When we first encountered Halona Blowhole observation area, I immediately started looking for the beach. I was on the wrong side and couldn't quite make out where it was exactly until Carlos pointed out that the beach was on the other side of the observatory.

There it is!

But geez, it's quite a climb down. I was too nervous to go down the rocks to see the beach up close. I don't know how they even got the film crew down there! You can't bring a boat up to the beach. It's way too narrow and rocky. They had to climb down quite a ways from the main road.

See the road behind Burt Lancaster? On the right is the parking lot and observation pier. We jumped a fence and climbed down all those rocks to get to the beach. It took two visits for me to get the courage to try it. I figured I would regret it if I didn't at least give it a shot.

I get dizzy just looking at this picture!

And here it is! The famous spot on the beach where Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster rolled around in the sand, wrapped in each other's arms and locked in a deep kiss as a big wave washed over them. A couple friends of mine suggested that Carlos and I recreate the scene. There were at least 50 people there swimming and sunning. I would have felt really foolish trying that in front of all those people!

I was so excited to find this beach! It's amazing how familiar the beach seemed even though I had never been there and my only knowledge of it was from the film. As soon as I was on the beach I just knew this is where the famous scene was filmed.

Right here!

Here is a short video I shot on my iPhone of Halona Cove. Enjoy!