Cinema Society’s Andy Friedenberg and KPBS film historian Scott Marks will be introducing a series of sparkling MGM musicals at the Birch North Park Theater. The return to the big screen of “Singing’ in the Rain,” “The Bandwagon” and “The Wizard of Oz” is a momentous occasion. None of the films has been seen on the big theater screen for many years, but this is the proper way to see them in all their glory.
The series kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. with “Singin’ in the Rain,” which many critics consider the best film musical of all time. With a cast headed by Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor and Jean Hagen, how can you go wrong?
Made at the studio just after mogul Louis B. Mayer went into forced retirement, the Arthur Freed Unit on the lot began production. The story satirizes the chaotic times in the movie industry as sound came in and silent films were dead. Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown actually wrote the song “Singin’ in the Rain” for the Cliff Edwards film “The Hollywood Revue of 1929.” Freed hired screenwriters Adolph Green and Betty Comden to begin work on the film. The film has its roots in the old 1930 Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman Broadway hit “Once in a Lifetime,” a show that poked fun at the early movies.
Kelly co-directed with his Broadway theater pal Stanley Donen, with each adding his own artistry to the film. O’Connor, who had already made a name for himself in small Universal Studios musicals, was the perfect comic foil to Kelly. Young Reynolds was under contract to MGM and was given a great big chance in the film, which made her an overnight star.
The 14-minute “Broadway Ballet” number by Kelly was added after Freed and Kelly pleaded with boss Nicholas Schenck. It cost $600,000 to film with the beautiful Cyd Charisse as Kelly’s partner, but the picture made many millions after its release in 1952.
The second show is “The Bandwagon” with Fred Astaire, Charisse, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanan and San Diego’s own Nanette Fabray, screening on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
Another “let’s put on a show!” gem from the Freed Unit at MGM, the great Vincente Minnelli (Liza’s dad) brought his own artistic genius to the soundstages of the studio and put his stamp of good taste on every frame. It is said Astaire plays a combination of himself and Freed as a hoofer on Broadway. Buchanan plays an overblown, over-the-top producer. Comden and Green were again hired to write the script and used Fabray and Levant to play characters like themselves.
Astaire saves the day with his vaudeville style that makes a hit on stage when he dances the Mickey Spillane spoof ballet with Charisse. Minnelli conceived the ballet and filmed it in a hurried week. The now-famous song “That’s Entertainment” was written for the film; Michael Kidd did choreography.
“The Wizard of Oz” rounds out the series on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. A perennial favorite since 1939, “Oz” made a star of Judy Garland. She came to the studio as a moppet in the 1930s but hadn’t made much of a splash. When Roger Edens arranged a special birthday tribute for Clark Gable, he wrote “Dear Mr. Gable” for Garland to sing. She was a sensation and repeated the song in the film “Broadway Melody of 1938.”
Freed went to mogul Mayer with an idea to do “The Wizard of Oz.” Mayer bought the screen rights from Samuel Goldwyn for $75,000 and assigned Mervyn LeRoy to oversee the entire project, with Freed acting as associate producer.
Fox would not loan out Shirley Temple to play Dorothy, and Universal refused to let Deana Durban on the MGM lot. Thus, Garland got the part by default. But what a great third choice she was!
The film was plagued from the beginning with a constant change in directors. Although Victor Fleming received final credit for the film, he, too, left “Oz” to direct “Gone with the Wind.” In the beginning, Norman Taurog only directed Technicolor tests, Richard Thorpe lacked a fantasy touch, and George Cukor only refined Garland’s look. King Vidor came in and mopped up and was responsible for the “Over the Rainbow” sequence.
Buddy Ebsen was first cast as the Tin Man. The early makeup was made of aluminum powder, which nearly killed him. He was replaced by Jack Haley, who wore a tin suit. Ebsen’s voice is still heard on the group singing of “Off to see the Wizard.”
The Birch North Park Theatre is located at 2891 University Ave. For information, call (619) 231-5714.