The Greatest Musical of All Time

And now we come to it. This is not up for debate: "Singing in the Rain" is the greatest musical, if not the greatest movie of all time. The movie is the amalgamation of everything that makes movies great: great stars, great story, great music and great performances.

(The more I think about it, I realize that I am going to have to post for several days on this film just to do it justice.)

To try to begin, Gene Kelly. One of the two greatest dancers to ever appear on the silver screen. Enthusiasts will argue through eternity as to the artistry of Gene Kelly vs. Fred Astaire, and I won't even try to go there. (Except to say that I think that I will make February Fred Astaire month.)

Gene Kelly's iconic performance of the title song is the stuff of legend. Filmed on a day when he was running a fever of 103, he created the definitive symbol of dance in the movies. The song is an old one (in fact, all the songs from the movie had appeared in numerous MGM movies. The song "Singing in the Rain" was 25 years old, dating back to the movie "Hollywood Revue of 1929.") Do a Google search for "Singing in the Rain" and you will find at the top of the results page are links to this one clip. Again, it is the definitive image of song and dance.

This movie is such an part of the American psyche that a Broadway musical was created to tell the same story, scene by scene, line by line, dance by dance, as the movie. And even though the DVD of "Singing in the Rain" are readily available, audiences flocked to see it performed live. Two years ago, we went to see a production of it at the theater department of Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. Done by theater students at Regent, it was a wonderful experience to see the show done live, right down to the Rain. There was a 'rain cart' that provided the rain on the stage for the scene of Don Lockwood dancing down the street and jumping in the puddles.

What more can be said? The movie has been voted the #1 musical of all time; the movie has been listed in the top 5 of ALL movies. It is truly great, and the only thing I can to is to leave you with this link: Singing in the Rain

WHAT??!!???!!!

Yes, I have entitled this blog "Twice As Gay As Anchors Aweigh." No, this is not a sex blog, nor is it a gay-themed blog. It is a movie blog.

So how did I choose that name? From a movie trailer for the MGM musical "On the Town." I love old movies, pure and simple. I do NOT like movies that are made today, for the most part. I will go to see a movie 2-3 times a year. (Just went to see Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader on Friday, so I'm probably good until April or May.)

Anyway, back to my explanation. For several years, we have had a subscription to Blockbuster Online, and one day, after renting "Anchors Aweigh," we rented the sequel, "On the Town." Of course, on the DVD there was a Special Features section and included the theatrical trailer for the movie. And you can imagine how we howled, my wife, my two daughters and I, when emblazoned on the screen and read aloud dramatically and enthusiastically by the announcer, were the words "Twice As Gay As Anchors Aweigh." We had to stop the DVD just to give us time to catch our breaths from the howling laughter that that advertisement engendered. And as you can imagine, that phrase has stuck with us.

In fact, that very evening two years ago, I got the idea for this blog and the title. But when I shared it with my wife and girls they unanimously said, "OH NO YOU DON'T!!" But my craziness and skewed sense of humor finally won out over sensible reasoning, and here I am, and here is "Twice As Gay As Anchors Aweigh."

What is the purpose of this blog?

To talk about movies, when movies were good.

As I was growing up, my mom had tons of soundtrack LPs from Broadway and Hollywood musicals, and I basically have the American theater as my personal soundtrack. To this day, my favorite movies are MGM musicals, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, etc. Back in the 60's there was not wall-to-wall children's programming in the after-school afternoons or Saturday mornings. Nor was there wall-to-wall daytime programming such as these made-up judge programs or Maury/Jerry Springer/The View/Ellen. If there were programs for kids, they were local shows that interspersed skits with cartoons made for the movie theaters (Popey/Bugs Bunny/etc.) And often times there were the afternoon 'theaters' where the local stations would play old movies. Oh how I looked forward to those movies on our old b&w TV.

I learned to love those old movies as I was growing up, and my disenchantment with the cynical crap that passes for entertainment today has only increased my love of those old films.

So what do I envision for this blog? A personal revisiting of my favorite movies and actors, and a sharing of some of the things I'm learning about the making of these older movies. I hope that I am able to pass on the love for these older films to others and in some small way, add to the enriching of the internet by what I share.

Remember folks, to tune in next time. Same Time, Same Station.