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Musicals generally aren't my kind of thing and I tend to avoid them. There are only a handful that I really like and fewer still that I love and would consider among my favorite films.

Now I can add one more title to that list: Singin' in the Rain was a marvelous viewing experience, practically from beginning to end.

Widely considered one of the best movie musicals (if not the best, it's something I've had a vague interest in for years, but never went out of my way to watch it. Thanks to a recent airing on TCM, I was able to catch it and, like a lot of the classics I've been watching recently, it's one that I wish I would have seen much sooner.

Singin' in the Rain is set in Hollywood in 1927 and centers on a film studio, Monument Pictures, and their stars reacting to the advent of "talkies." The new technology and way of working is, at first, laughed off as a trifle, but soon it is obvious talkies are the wave of the future and they have to race to keep up with the competition.

Monument Picture's biggest stars are Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) a duo who have appeared in numerous silent film romances together. The studio consistently spreads rumors that the two are a romantic item off screen, as well, and even though Don vehemently denies it, Lina believes it to be true. Don's childhood best friend, Cosmo (Donald O'Connor) is a studio musician and piano player on all the Lockwood-Lamont features and is often brought along to premieres and other events.

After their most recent premiere, when mobbed by his adoring fans, Don jumps into a passing car and meets the beautiful Kathy (Debbie Reynolds). He's instantly smitten, but she rejects his advances. Of course, the two become an item and work together with Cosmo to save the day, in more ways than one.

What transpires is a fun, energetic, and beautiful motion picture. There are numerous great, catchy musical numbers in addition to wonderful performances and a witty script. From a technical perspective, I can't imagine any other musical from the era (or from today, for that matter) surpassing Singin' in the Rain.

One of my only complaints is about the opening credits where the filmmakers decided to use a truncated version of the title song - Singin' in the Rain - along with the three main protagonists. It's entertaining, for sure, but has the adverse effect of spoiling the reveal of the song later and of establishing that Don and Kathy will become friendly. These are small qualms, but I can't think of any reason why the filmmakers would want to start the movie in this way. A different song could have been used and it could have just featured Kelly and O'Connor, thus keeping Reynolds' involvement a little secret.

Singin' in the Rain is the first film I've ever seen with Gene Kelly and I'm anxious to see more. His performance as Don Lockwood is just so charming and funny and impressive, from a singing and dancing perspective. Kelly just exudes charm no matter what he's doing on screen, whether it be dancing along with his best friend, trying to woo Kathy, arguing with Lina or anything else. Kelly uses every ounce of that charm (not to mention his good looks and an impressive wardrobe) to make the audience fall for Don from the first frames of the film. Don seems like a guy you'd want to hang out with even if Kelly himself was - allegedly - a bit of a hard ass and perfectionist. There have been stories circulating for more than 60 years about his demanding nature on set and his reputation for making everyone do dozens and dozens of takes and work all day, just to get one particular move just right. For one sequence, Kelly had Reynolds perform so many times that her feet were bleeding by the end of the day. Of course, when the end result is so fantastic and the dance numbers appear perfect - at least to this untrained eye - you can hardly fault Kelly for acting that way. He knew what he wanted, knew how to get it, and did whatever it took.

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