Almanac: The 1952 premiere of "Singin' in the Rain"
And now, a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: March 27, 1952, 70 years ago today…
… the day "Singin' in the Rain" sang and danced its way onto the big screen, and into our hearts.
A love story set at the dawn of talking pictures, the film is regarded as perhaps the greatest Hollywood musical ever.
Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds perform "Good Morning":
For 19-year-old newcomer Debbie Reynolds, that acclaim didn't come easy. She told "Sunday Morning" in 2013, "We danced 10, 12 hours every day. My feet were bleeding, and I had fainted, and I was just exhausted."
She wasn't alone!
Donald O'Connor required three days of bed rest after filming the "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence:
... and Gene Kelly shot the movie's joyous title number with a 103-degree fever:
All the same, seven decades on, "Singin' in the Rain" remains as vivid a depiction as any of the delirious bliss of falling in love.
For more info:
- "Singin' in the Rain" available on Warner Brothers Blu-ray/DVD via Amazon, or streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, HBO Max, Vudu and YouTube
Story produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Kevin McLaughlin.
See also:
- Gallery: Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016
- Mother & daughter: Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher ("Sunday Morning")
- Rescuing scenic backdrops from Hollywood's Golden Age ("Sunday Morning")