Singin' in the Rain “pours” down delight, capturing the waning days of the silent screen era as they give way to new-fangled “talkies.” With The Jazz Singer premiere making Hollywood frantic, the studios are forced to suddenly change all the movie-making rules at once, to accommodate sound.

 

In doing so, they leave silent pictures -- and some of their stars -- behind. When Monumental Studios turns silent The Dueling Cavalier into The Dancing Cavalier, a musical picture, in order to stay relevant, they are faced with a problem: their star, Lina Lamont can’t sing, and can’t even really talk. Lina’s voice sounds something like nails on a chalkboard. Enter Kathy Selden, an aspiring actress whose dulcet tones are able to cover Lina Lamont’s -- calling into question what it means to act, how credit is distributed, and what it means to get a fair shake in the movie business. Singin' in the Rain includes some of the best-loved comedy routines, dance numbers, and love songs ever written, including “Good Mornin’,” “Make ‘em Laugh,” and - of course - the show-stopping dance number, “Singin’ in the Rain.”