Afternoon classics: Singin' In The Rain (U) with Free Tea/Coffee & Cake
Thursday 25th August 1:30pm
Tickets: £6.00 Adult/£4.00 Under 16's
Book online: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/269828
Or call the Box Office: 01691 238167 Our first Mini Season of Afternoon Classics is a trio of musicals from the Golden Age Of Hollywood fully restored by the BFI.
The final screening in this first season is the all time favourite Singin' In The Rain, probably the most treasured musical in the history of cinema.
It is essentially a satire on the dawning age of talking pictures, but that description doesn't begin to describe its importance in the hearts of film lovers. Given its origins – producer Arthur Freed wanted a framework on which to hang a selection of the hits he'd written in the early part of his career with Nacio Herb Brown – it should have been an uncomfortable melange of a picture. But somehow, with its combination of endearing performances, a razor-sharp script by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, inspired direction from Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and a dazzling array of show-stopping song and dance sequences, Singin' in the Rain remains a triumphant and exhilarating cinema experience.
1927 Hollywood. Monumental Pictures' biggest stars, glamorous on-screen couple Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood, are also an off-screen couple if the trade papers and gossip columns are to be believed. Both perpetuate the public perception if only to please their adoring fans and bring people into the movie theaters. In reality, Don barely tolerates her, while Lina, despite thinking Don beneath her, simplemindedly believes what she sees on screen in order to bolster her own stardom and sense of self-importance. R.F. Simpson, Monumental's head, dismisses what he thinks is a flash in the pan: talking pictures. It isn't until The Jazz Singer(1927) becomes a bona fide hit which results in all the movie theaters installing sound equipment that R.F. knows Monumental, most specifically in the form of Don and Lina, have to jump on the talking picture bandwagon, despite no one at the studio knowing anything about the technology. Musician Cosmo Brown, Don's best friend, gets hired as Monumental's ideas man and musical director. And by this time, Don has secretly started dating Kathy Selden, a chorus girl who is trying to make it big in pictures herself. Don and Kathy's relationship is despite their less than friendly initial meeting. Cosmo and Kathy help Don, who had worked his way up through the movie ranks to stardom, try make the leap to talking picture stardom, with Kathy following along the way. However, they have to overcome the technological issues. But the bigger problem is Lina, who will do anything to ensure she also makes the successful leap into talking pictures, despite her own inabilities and at anyone and everyone else's expense if they get in her way, especially Kathy as Don's off screen girlfriend and possibly his new talking picture leading lady.
" Is this really the greatest Hollywood musical ever made? In a word, yes." ***** Rogerebert.com
Winner of the 1953 Golden Globe for Best actor in a musical or comedy - Donald O'Connor
We offer Free Tea/coffee & Cake with every ticket at our Afternoon Classic screenings.
USA 1952
Directors: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor
Run time: 102 mins
Look out for our 2nd season Of Afternoon Classics starting in September when we delve into the shadows of Film Noir.
"This project is supported by Film Hub North West Central, proud to be a member of the BFI Film Audience Network"
