Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...

Hollywood, 1927Hollywood got its sequin-covered socks knocked off in 1927. That's the year that The Jazz Singer was released and made talking pictures the next big thing. Because Singin' in the Rai...

Flashbacks; Film-Within-a-Film Don't let the fact that Singin' in the Rain is a bright and shiny musical fool you: It has a pretty sophisticated narrative structure. First of all, we have a length...

MusicalWhy is Singin' in the Rain a musical? Um, did you not see all the singing and dancing? Some of it was in the rain. All kidding aside, Singin' in the Rain is actually a pretty interesting ent...

By the time Singin' in the Rain came along, producer Arthur Freed felt like he was due some heavy-duty respect as a songwriter. The movie is basically a greatest hits album of Freed and his partner...

Not content with just one movie-within-a-movie—you know, The Dancing Cavalier—Singin' in the Rain ends with the suggestion of another movie-within-the-movie: Singin' in the Rain. Wait—what? I...

GSingin' in the Rain earns its G rating by being totally appropriate for General Audiences: You, your 88-year-old grandma, your annoying little brother, Shaquille O'Neal, that cute cashier at CVS,...