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Sunset and Camden : a Tribute to Gene Kelly
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Ahhh...
The moonlit corner of Sunset and
Camden. At first glance, it appears to be a shadowy tree-lined street of a regular sort.
But in the particularly famous town of this location,
a glittering town called Hollywood, that is, a
legend was made. A legend of musical films... a legend named Gene
Kelly.
For those who do not recognize the man in the picture, not to worry.
If you have traveled to this area with curiosity, I propose
to you that the next time you are asked that question, you will know!
The 1950's and 1960's were a memorable and classic era for Hollywood
musical films. It was in this time that the definitive "integrated" movie
musical was fashioned by director Vincente Minnelli, causing the entire
industry to revolutionize its work.
Due to Minnelli's huge success with his MGM musical hits
like Meet Me in St. Louis (1944),
The Pirate (1948), and An American in Paris (1951), the
entire film industry began to produce pictures which resembled
stage musicals and theatre. These newer productions consisted of
more than just a series of lavishly filmed songs and dances.
Now the musical had a plot, one with relative depth, and it was
intricately interwoven with music, to create a wonderful new style of storytelling.
The songs and dances now had a place and meaning in the narrative--refresingly
revealing characters' thoughts and feelings or
adding details to a plot. This made the story a more significant
partner to the music, instead of the forced, mismatched dialogue of older films.
Thus, the revolution of the film musical began, and it is still being enjoyed today.
In this same Golden film age, one handsome man happily sang and danced,
directed and choreographed. He was Gene Kelly. Gene really got his start in films playing "Harry Palmer" opposite Judy Garland in
For Me and My Gal (1942). He was "trained" from Judy Garland, who was a kindred spirit to him.
In later roles, he would achieve his highest fame and critical praise while dancing
out his heart in MGM Studios' award-winning musicals like An American in Paris
(1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Indeed, his other musical roles included: Thousands Cheer (1943) with Kathyrn Grayson, Cover Girl
(1944) with Rita Hayworth, Anchors Aweigh (1945) with
Kathyrn Grayson and Frank Sinatra, The Pirate (1948) with Judy Garland, Take Me Out to the Ball Game
(1949) with famed swimming girl Esther Williams and Frank Sinatra, On the Town (1949)
with Frank Sinatra again, Summer Stock (1950) again with Judy,
and Brigadoon (1954) with Cyd Charisse and Van Johnson, and even Gene Kelly's dream project,
Invitation to the Dance (1956) with cartoon dancers did very well, and they are still known today.
Gene's lesser known roles are still well-liked. These musicals like It's
Always Fair Weather (1955), or Jacques Demy's French (English subtitled)
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) with beautiful Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac
as the "Garnier" sisters and with George Chakiris and Jacques Perrin,
may not be as popular, but they are still outstanding in their dance choreography.
Gene Kelly also had roles in dramatic films, delivering
memorable performances. He starred in Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) with Lucille Ball and Red Skelton,
the gut-wrenching Cross of Lorraine (1943), the film-noir Christmas Holiday
(1944) with Deanna Durbin, The Three Musketeers (1948),
Crest of the Wave aka. Seagulls Over Sorrento (1954), and Marjorie Morningstar (1958) with the
beautiful Natalie Wood. Most notably, however, Gene gave an outstanding performance as
journalist E.K. Hornbeck in my favorite, Inherit the Wind (1960).
During the peak of his career, Gene did dance in variety musical films, popular at the time, like
Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and Words and Music (1948). He even substitute-hosted a show called, "The $64,000 Question" (1955)!
In his later years, Gene Kelly returned to the spotlight to host and narrate important documentaries
about the history of musicals: That's Entertainment! (1974-1994) a three-part series
for MGM, and That's Dancing! (1985), preserving the on-screen musical legacies, including his own.
Gene Kelly was an actor, a dancer, a singer, a
teacher, a cinematic innovator, and of course, an entertainer. His
musical roles would vary from the love-struck sailor, to the dancing
pirate, to the charming, umbrella-toting movie star. Young and
suave once upon a time, but then the gracefully aged and mature, Gene
Kelly is the forever and timeless hero of Metro Goldwyn Meyer (MGM)
Studios --one of the greatest leading men in Hollywood and
one of the *BEST* there will ever be.
Wow!
See
Gene Kelly's home in California
as well as the
real "Sunset and Camden" sign!
Many thanks to Ron Severdia for these fantastic pictures!
Please
click here to return to the top...
In 1942, Judy Garland was Kelly's first dance partner on the big screen. Later came Leslie Caron, Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse, Shirley MacLaine and hundreds of Hollywood dancers and stage extras.
But of all his dance partners, none was more memorable than a black umbrella.
"The song has ended, but the
melody lingers on"-- Irving Berlin.
Please click here to return to the top...
The Lost Fan?
It had been a long summer and I was spending a
few hours in a place I loved most: the library. Browsing classic movie and
musical titles on the shelves, I
picked up an MGM musical, Singin' In the Rain . I hadn't seen it
before; sound coming to Hollywood films...a famous rain sequence danced by Gene
Kelly. I was only twelve years old, and it would change my life.
Hear the theme from Singin' in the Rain
Of the many genres of film on those shelves, classic films (especially from
the 1950's and 1960's) have always been my favorites.
Mainstream movies at the time rarely compared with the
choreographed singing and dancing in Gene Kelly's films
or other classics like, My Fair Lady (1964) and
West Side Story (1961). Although I did not
know it at the time, director Stanley Donen's
Singin' in the Rain , with its happy songs and story,
and Gene Kelly's powerful dancing, influenced my ideals of romance, the art of impromptu, and comedy.
It was the way he smiled straight at the camera,
and the way he danced; he was known to charm females in
(and often, with) his films. And I was one of those mesmerized by Gene
Kelly. He exuded such charm and confidence! For me, he re-defined the word
"debonair." When he danced, he was different from Fred Astaire.
Gene Kelly was not a tuxedo and tails sort of guy. He danced such a masculine
form of dance. It seemed like Gene Kelly could express everything
a man thought or felt in a day by outbursts of dance. It was no ordinary feat.
I would watch Gene Kelly 
as he danced with Judy Garland or Cyd Charisse,
and I used to wish that I could join them. I dreamt that I could
sing and dance in their happy musical style... To have an
opportunity to join their glitzy world... To wear the costumes and gowns,
And to own the stage as they did. They were impressive.
Stars like Gene Kelly are becoming ever-important.
Not only their films, but the strong dedication to their work that
made these individuals so impressive. The musical genre
shaped my early love of films, music, and the arts. What about everyone else?
With today's world of lukewarm
pop culture, younger filmgoers should not be deprived of these artistic
classics. Musicals as a genre have depreciated, although excellent modern
musicals like Moulin Rouge and Chicago have received recent acclaim.
There is difficulty in balancing tastes between today's stars and
Audrey Hepburn, just as it is difficult to remember Gene as "the
great entertainer" while watching a star today blow something up.
Nevertheless, remembering the purity of film, the minus-SFX talent
of the past, is necessary. I will continue to preserve the
identities of these Hollywood stars for future audiences.
I never met Gene Kelly, so I may never really know who he truly was. As such,
I can indulge critiques of my fascination of his work, at times in half-agreement.
However, like any fan of today's stars, I arguably "know" a
performer like Gene through his many biographies written by those who did met him
who were close to him, by watching his films, and acknowledge the documented
legacy of good deeds he has left behind. With his extraordinary charisma and
talent, I shall always admire the ways Gene and other classic
film stars of his time inspired the souls of their audiences with
good dialogue, a song, and a dance.
Fans of the silver screen, fans of stars like Gene Kelly, Audrey
Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Sinatra, Astaire and
Ginger Rogers would have to agree: the jeweled, and gracefully
poised women, the well-dressed gentlemen, the legendary music and dancing
and, of course, the beautiful costumes and joyful narratives will always
remain close and dear to our hearts.
Downloads at Sunset and Camden
I designed this special Winamp skin to commemorate the 50th Anniversary
of my favorite film, Singin' in the Rain. To download the skin, read the
instructions in the "Readme" file within the zip. (Total: 146kb.) IMPORTANT:
Please do not add the player onto your Web site without
asking. This skin is for personal use only.
Here's a Treat!: Click here for Debbie Reynolds with a cute monkey!
Debbie graced a magazine cover with this adorable picture. =)
Send messages to Shaili at any name @princessmonkey.com
A Fond Remembrance: Quotes for Gene Kelly
Thoughts by Gene Kelly:
"At 14, I discovered girls. At that time, dancing was the only way you
could put your arm around the girl. Dancing was courtship. Only later did
I discover that you dance joy. You dance love. You dance dreams."
"I didn't want to be a dancer... I just did it to work my way through
college. But I was always an athlete and gymnast, so it came
naturally."
"The way I look at a musical, you are commenting on the human condition
no matter what you do. A musical may be light and frivolous, but by its
very nature, it makes some kind of social comment."
"In the 1930s, when I started, Martha Graham was the only dancer doing
anything modern, but she did it all to classical music. I couldn't see
myself doing Swan Lake every night, and I wanted to develop a
truly American style. The only dancer in the movies at that time with any
success was Fred Astaire, but he did very small, elegant steps in a top
hat, white tie, and tails."
"I [was] twenty pounds overweight and as strong as an
ox. But if I put on a white tails and tux like Astaire, I still looked
like a truck driver... I looked better in a sweatshirt and loafers
anyway. It wasn't elegant, but it was me."
"Any man who looks like a sissy while dancing is just a lousy
dancer."
Thoughts by those who knew Gene Kelly:
"Gene was among the wonders of the 20th century."-- Stanley Donen
"He could do anything... and did everything."-- Debbie Reynolds
"Gene was one of a kind. He revolutionized dancing in film...[h]e was a
disciplinarian and a perfectionist... I should know."-- Frank Sinatra
Favorite Movie Quotes:
Click HERE for
memorable quotes from Singin In the Rain!
