Co-directed by dancer Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, Singin' in the Rain epitomizes how the musical works as Hollywood genre, studio (MGM) product, and instrument of American popular culture. Produced in 1952, the movie's narrative, scripted by Broadway writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green, is set in the 1920s, when viable sound synchronization spawned the "talkie," forcing universal adoption of sound and the invention of the musical. Singin' in the Rain is a parody of the backstage musical and the biopic; it playfully mocks the trials of the early studio system and the egos of its silent film stars being tutored to speak and perform in sound pictures.

The movie pays homage to the musical's classical form, tracing its roots from vaudeville to its influence on film. Gene Kelly plays Don Lockwood, who rises from variety shows to the silver screen...