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!

TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon ~ Sidney Poitier ~ A Patch of Blue (1965)

This post is my contribution to the TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon hosted by Jill of Sittin' on a Backyard Fence and Michael of ScribeHard on Film. Sidney Poitier is the featured actor on Tuesday August 7th on TCM.

If you only watch one Sidney Poitier film on Tuesday’s TCM Summer Under the Stars special, make sure it's A Patch of Blue (1965). This sensitive ground-breaking film features fine performances from Shelley Winters, then-newcomer Elizabeth Hartman and the great Sidney Poitier.

A Patch of Blue is one of those films that merits repeat viewings. Every time I watch it, I’m reminded of several things: the importance of kindness, the injustice of racial prejudice and the blindness of love.

Selina D’Arcy (Elizabeth Hartman) is a blind girl living with her mother Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters) and her grandfather Ole Pa (Wallace Ford), both of whom are consistently drunk and getting into trouble. Rose-Ann’s promiscuity has always been the source of pain and suffering for Selina. When two of Rose-Ann’s lovers get into a quarrel, a bottle of acid is thrown by accident at 5 year old Selina leading to her permanent blindness. A Patch of Blue refers to Selina’s happy memory of seeing the color blue before she went blind.

Selina is not allowed to have an education and is forced to keep the home, make dinner and work on beading necklaces and jewelry to supply more income to the family. As Rose-Ann gets older, she becomes more and more jealous of Selina’s youth and beauty and is constantly finding ways to bring her down. Then one day Selina meets Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier) in the park. He’s the first person to be kind to her. Genuinely kind. He helps her with her beads, pulls a caterpillar out of her shirt, gives her pineapple juice, teaches her how to use a payphone, corrects her grammar, and more. Rose-Ann had worked so hard to keep Selina paralyzed and sheltered.  It’s much easier to control someone when you deny them the tools to defend themselves and become independent. But it only took one kind person to give Selina a new chance at life. Sidney Poitier’s Gordon is the catalyst who makes Selina’s world open up with many possibilities.

A handsome 38-year-old Sidney Poitier is a marvel to watch. He’s tall and graceful, has beautiful skin, bright eyes and a smile that could light up a room.

Sidney Poitier’s Gordon is my favorite character in the film. Gordon could have continued his walk through the park not paying any mind to Selina. Instead, he took pity on her and decided to help her out. If anything this world needs it’s more kindness. I really gravitate towards characters such as Gordon whom despite their own problems extend kindness to others in need. Gordon’s generosity towards Selina always makes me cry.

I mean c’mon! She’s got a sad bag of crackers for lunch and he takes pity on her and leads her to the local deli for corned beef sandwiches and pineapple juice. He could have just left her to her sad lunch but instead he treated to something better and taught her how to get out of the park and navigate traffic too! He doesn’t baby her. He enables her to be independent and to do things on her own. And that’s key! It’s one thing to be nice to someone and it’s another to empower them.

The film is ground-breaking because it shows, for the very first time, a kiss between a white woman and a black man. According to IMDB, this scene was cut out of versions shown in certain states in the American south because at that time miscegenation was still illegal there. To me this film is especially important because it shows how two people can fall in love regardless of race. Selina’s blindness demonstrates how love itself is blind and what’s important is who we are inside. Her naïveté about society's rules regarding race could fuel discussion of why those rules ever existed.

While it was Shelly Winters who won the Academy Award for her performance, I think there is a lot to Sidney Poitier's sensitive portrayal of Gordon Ralfe. This film made me fall in love with Sidney Poitier and I've been a happy fan ever since.

Thanks to Jill and Michael for hosting the TCM Summer Under the Stars (SUTS) blogathon and for letting me participate!