Twelve Films At Christmas - 7

I didn't set out to watch Singin' in the Rain for the umpteenth time but it happened to be on when I switched on the box and I found myself drawn in by this perennial favourite. The music is superb (almost all old numbers - only Moses Supposes was actually written for the film - rescued from the studio back-catalogue to save money) and the dancing quite magnificent. That much you might expect from a musical, but the major bonus from this, a genuinely great film, is the comedy. For fans of framing devices, there is a plethora of film within film within film etc. Greatest treat of all perhaps is the comedic tour de force by Jean Hagen as the tuneless Lina Lamont. Greatest musical of all time? Quite possibly. 9.5/10.