Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee (vs. Fred Astaire)
This entry is part 12 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses. Bruce Lee and Gene Kelly, “not quite dance and not quite violence.” In her essay “Punchin’ in the Rain,” Violet Glaze compares Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee — both of whom, the author writes, are “small, powerfully built men, each five foot seven inches of hard-earned muscle, [...] incredibly competitive, natural athletes with an insatiable thirst for exertion, and blessed with the kind of...
Read MoreGene Kelly and Me (and Underrated Musicals)
This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.With a new interest in modern musicals like Moulin Rouge!, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Burlesque, Hairspray, Rock of Ages (right), Nine, Mamma Mia!, and the forthcoming Les Miserablés, it seems as though audiences are being reawakened by Hollywood’s finest predecessors. There was a time in cinematic history, namely throughout the 1930s and 1940s, in which some of the most successful motion pictures were those that...
Read MoreOn the Transparency of Don Lockwood’s House
This entry is part 10 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Alain Masson considers (somewhat densely) the “penetrability and transparency” of Don Lockwood’s house in this essay from the academic journal Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media & Culture 5.2 (1990). The piece was originally published in Positif 331 (1988): 50-54. More recently, Masson has written a book on Gene Kelly (currently only in...
Read MoreGene Kelly: The Underrated Singer
This entry is part 9 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Fans, scholars, and critics alike talk all the time about Gene Kelly the dancer, Gene Kelly the director, Gene Kelly the choreographer, and Gene Kelly the actor. But rarely do they discuss Gene Kelly the singer. As a singer who is completely enchanted by Kelly’s light, clear, and pure tenor voice, I often wonder why it doesn’t get the appreciation it should. In fact, I once did a presentation on his singing voice in a high...
Read MorePutting the Ass in Assets: The Objectification of Gene Kelly (and Other Men) on Social Media
This entry is part 8 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.I’ve written before, mostly in jest, about the public’s interest in Gene Kelly’s backside. That’s right; devoted to his bum are individual tumblelogs and Facebook pages, recurring hashtags, animated gifs, and dozens upon dozens of tweets. Regarding the latter, a few recent cases in point: Gene Kelly had a most spectacular ass. Watching it is akin to a religious experience. (via @phoenix_emrys) Gene Kelly’s...
Read MoreGene Kelly vs. Fred Astaire: A Fan Weighs In
This entry is part 7 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Over the years, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly have been compared and contrasted endlessly. They were often featured together in retrospectives in film, television, and even in a commercial. I shouldn’t be surprised if they got a bit tired of seeing each other at some level! And yet such a practice on the part of the public is understandable: when it came to male cinematic dancing in the 1940s and ’50s, the two of them were...
Read MoreMasculinity, Credibility, and Gene Kelly: A Scotsman’s Quandary
This entry is part 7 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Being a fan of Gene Kelly, and film musicals in general, has burdened me with two formidable dichotomies since my childhood: how to defend my masculinity as a heterosexual male and my credibility as a student of Scottish history. The film musical genre, as I am told constantly, is the forte of gay men, a more potent defining characteristic, it would seem, than any lifestyle choice. Stand-up comics and a host of poorly written...
Read MoreThank You, Gene Kelly, for Not Directing Cabaret
This entry is part 6 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Last week I stumbled across several 1976 newspaper articles in which Gene Kelly discusses his return to movies. After the death of his (second) wife, Jeanne Coyne, Kelly turned down virtually any film project that would take him away from the couple’s two young children, Tim and Bridget. At this point, single fatherhood was his life. But with the blessing of his kids, he returned to the silver screen in the dramatic (not musical)...
Read MoreSingin’ in the Rain: Duped Again
This entry is part 5 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Earlier this month I learned that The Valentine Theatre, a “108-year-old, 901-seat facility” in downtown Toledo would be showing Singin’ in the Rain (1952) as a part of its “Silver Screen Classics” program. As a die-hard Gene Kelly fan, I was excited. But I was also skeptical because of what happened the last time a Toledo theatre said they’d be screening arguably The Greatest Film Musical Ever Made. Would this be another...
Read MoreGene Kelly’s Family Tree
This entry is part 4 of 13 in the series Essays / Analyses.Moderator/creator of The Gene Scene, Donna Pointkouski climbs up Gene Kelly’s family tree. While she admittedly didn’t discover much new information, she did learn “more about Gene’s aunts and uncles” and that “it is much easier to start from scratch now than it was 21 years...
Read More
Recent Comments