I keep hearing that Gene Kelly was often a pretty major douche when it came to his movies. He ran the show, didn't accept anyone else's opinion, and his costars were terrified of making a mistake.
It's funny the characters he plays are almost always pleasant and friendly. From everything I've heard, he was the opposite of that in real life. It doesn't take away from me enjoying his performance though.
It's fairly well known that you had to be on your toes (literally and figuratively) if you were working on a Gene Kelly film. For him, filmmaking was about endless rehearsals and very hard work; if you were looking for a "fun" atmosphere, you had to look elsewhere. He had a fiercely competitive nature, which made him competitive with the other directors on the MGM lot - as Debbie Reynolds later noted, he had to get the first shot of the day so that everyone at the studio knew he'd gotten the first shot of the day. In addition to this, Kelly could be quite cutting and dismissive in his comments (a trait he shared with co-director Stanley Donen), so the actors and dancers who worked with him had to develop a thick skin. And if it was necessary to do fifty takes to get a scene right, then fifty takes is what you did. Frank Sinatra certainly wasn't keen on the idea of marathon rehearsals and countless retakes, but he took them in stride when he worked with Kelly because he knew the results would be spectacular. Both Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor had a difficult time on the Singin' In The Rain set - Reynolds especially - and though neither of them ever wanted to repeat the experience, they had to admit he'd gotten the very best out of them (they sniped at each other throughout the years, but Reynolds has stated that she's still in show business today because of what she learned from Kelly). And as rough as he was on everyone else, he was equally rough on himself.
But Kelly was also capable of tremendous compassion, as Judy Garland found out toward the end of her days with MGM. Garland had been very generous and helpful to Kelly when he made his film debut with her in For Me And My Gal (he later said he would have had a miserable experience on the set without her), so he returned the favor when they worked together in The Pirate and Summer Stock. When he saw she was in no shape to film their scenes together, he would cover for her in various ways (like pretending he'd taken a fall so the executives would think he was the cause of the postponement, not her).
Who knows? If Kelly hadn't been the demanding perfectionist he was, we might not be discussing his films today. Art isn't easy.
Hi, A Fistful of Pennies!
If you want a firtsthand account of how tough Gene Kelly could be, read Debbie Reynold's biography Debbie:My Life (1988).
Her discription of making Singin' In The Rain helps me appreciate this film even more.
Of course Kelly had to be tough, he demanded absolute perfection of himself and his dancers.
Gene Kelly's choreography produced some of the greatest dancing sequences ever filmed.
I just disagree with the part where you said his characters are "almost always pleasant and friendly." I mean the guy first came to fame playing "Pal Joey" in the Rodgers/Hart show. Joey is basically a vain gigilo, and his character in "An American in Paris" (Jerry) was clearly modelled on Joey. Even in "Rain" he has some really snarky moments, like when he tells the bogus story about his background or when he makes fun of Kathy Seldon's "Shakespeare" job. And then of course Kelly went full-tilt into this type of characterization (playing a gussed-up parody of H.L Mencken) in "Inherit the Wind." And then he was an arrogant Svengali type in "Les Girls." So he almost always played a sort of lovable jerk.
Did I not love him, Cooch? MY OWN FLESH I DIDN'T LOVE BETTER!!! But he had to say 'Nooooooooo'
Here's review I found on N/F. Not mine but interesting nevertheless
Gene Kelly was basically a tap dancing Don Draper. Having utterly conquered the Broadway scene, Kelly moved on to become a successful actor and, later, co-director of classics such as Singing in the Rain, in which he danced alongside the lovely Debbie Reynolds. It includes one of the most famous scenes in entertainment history. Of course, that stuff comes at a price. You don't get that good without being just a little bit crazy, and Gene Kelly fit the bill; he was a tireless workaholic who would constantly put in 16 to 18 hour days, and God help anyone who couldn't keep up. The fact that co-star Debbie Reynolds was just 20 years old with no dancing experience didn't stop Kelly from insulting her and making her work until her feet bled. Fred Astaire found Reynolds in the studio one day, hiding under a piano and crying. Fred Astaire wasn't involved in the movie, but he magically appears in situations that require an uplifting musical number. Reynolds says she spent the shoot being terrified and crying, and later, Gene Kelly admitted he had been an *beep* to her and said he was amazed that she even talked to him afterward. So, yeah, fix that in your mind and then go watch that classic clip again of him happily splashing around in the puddles. That also makes you wonder how many of those kids on Glee would secretly love to beat the living crap out of Ryan Murphy. They can probably take him if they band together.
If Debbie Reynolds spent the shoot terrified and crying, it's funny that Donald O'Connor said she always appeared to be just fine.
shareIf Debbie Reynolds spent the shoot terrified and crying, it's funny that Donald O'Connor said she always appeared to be just fine.
In short: Gene Kelly was a notorious perfectionist, not to be confused with douchebaggery ;)
That's evolution, baby. So mutate or step aside.
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To sum up all the comments here, I have the feeling that Gene Kelly would have been a person you hated working for while you were doing it, but that you would have been eternally grateful for having been prodded into doing your very best by the time the film was completed.
Life, every now and then, behaves as though it had seen too many bad movies
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Talent and being a SOB don't have to go together.
Fred Astaire was a better dancer and a nicer person.
Yes. Fred Astaire was a perfectionist, an incredibly hard worker, and could be cranky at times but he was never mean or dismissive with other members of the cast. He usually took it out on himself if things went wrong. He was also a quiet, modest gentleman. Kelly mistreated (admitted this) Debbie Reynolds on the set of SITR and also had said that whenever Ginger Rogers danced with Astaire, everyone would be looking at Fred and not her, or something to that effect. I'm sure he said that to demean Ginger Rogers who Kelly thought was not a particularly good dancer. Then it was Kelly right there to make a statement after Ginger's death that we had lost a legend. Maybe he was feeling guilty?
Kelly was an extremely talented man who knew it.
Kelly said that whenever Ginger Rogers danced with Astaire, everyone would be looking at Fred and not her, or something to that effect.I'm sure he said that to demean Ginger Rogers who Kelly thought was not a particularly good dancer.
That comment has also been interpreted as nothing more than the highest compliment to Astaire. Male dancers often feel (as noted by Tulsa in Gypsy) that when a man dances with a woman, the audience always watches the woman; it's quite possible Kelly believed Astaire was so accomplished he disproved that notion. But without Kelly around to offer clarification, I don't think we can be "sure" his intention was to demean anyone.
As for Astaire, Kay Thompson worked with him on the film Funny Face and expected a joyful experience; something akin to "a walk in the spring rain." She was in for a surprise. "Fred, you expect, is going to be...a wonderful man who's so polite. He was none of that." Thompson mostly ignored the barbs he threw hew way (like grabbing her and asking "Where did you learn balance?"), but was shocked at how he treated Audrey Hepburn when they were filming in Chantilly. Because of non-stop rain, conditions were extremely difficult - Hepburn was supposed to dance happily across the grass in white satin pumps, only the ground was muddy; Hepburn's pumps kept turning brown & getting stuck in the mud, and Astaire was growing impatient. "Fred stopped her four or five times right in the middle of the scene and said, 'What are you doing?' " Later that day, after filming had finished and the actors were back at their hotel, Thompson called Hepburn and said, "Audrey, no matter what you do, remember the camera is on you, and whatever he says is unimportant. Don't listen. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Hepburn, who normally spoke of Astaire only in the most reverent of terms, responded, "Yes, well, it is a bit of a strain."
Quotes were taken from Dancing On The Ceiling, Stephen Silverman's biography of director Stanley Donen.
Kelly meant it as an insult and you know it.
shareI keep hearing that Gene Kelly was often a pretty major douche when it came to his movies. He ran the show, didn't accept anyone else's opinion, and his costars were terrified of making a mistake.
It's funny the characters he plays are almost always pleasant and friendly. From everything I've heard, he was the opposite of that in real life. It doesn't take away from me enjoying his performance though.
No one ever said life was a picnic on a Gene Kelly film set; he drove the cast hard, drove the crew hard and drove himself hard. His occasional blow-ups weren't fun to deal with. Some even felt his headaches filming Hello, Dolly! (coping with Streisand's insecurities, Matthau's resentment and open hostilities between crew members) were a kind of divine retribution for the tough times he'd put others through on his MGM films.
But despite the tensions and the exhausting, unrelenting pace, some reveled in all the hard work; Betty Garrett described the hours she spent rehearsing and filming On The Town as the most "joyous" of her career.
Let's face it; art isn't easy. And even Stanley Donen and Michael Kidd have had difficulties with performers; Esther Williams hated Donen and refused to let him direct one of her films because (she claimed) he was nasty & rude to her throughout the filming of Take Me Out To The Ball Game, and Michael Kidd got into a slap-fight with Dolores Gray during rehearsals for the Broadway musical Destry Rides Again.
It should be noted that in 2002, on the 50th anniversary of Singin' In The Rain, Kelly's former collaborators had nothing but praise for him and the film they'd made together. Debbie Reynolds called Kelly "the mastermind of the picture" who carried the burden of the film on his shoulders; she said he was "exacting, highly disciplined and demanding" and it was understandable that he expected others to do things his way - "Well, why not? He was only the greatest, so it should be his way." Reynolds always credited her long show business career to Kelly's teachings: "He taught me an incredible work ethic, and after all these years it lives on. So thank you, Gene."
"Absolutely brilliant" and "terribly talented" were the words Cyd Charisse used to describe Kelly. "He knew just what he wanted. He didn't want to hear 'no,' he always said 'that's the way it's going to be and that's the way it is.' And he was right."
Donald O'Connor called Kelly a "great director" who accommodated everyone's style in dancing or acting. "He could do anything and he was wonderful."
After Kelly passed away in 1996, Donen's mixed feelings about his former co-director gave way to a thoughtful summing up: "We have the films, but we've lost him. And we've lost the ability to thank him for giving us that. And that's our loss, that he's no longer here to be loved and appreciated."
Commenting on the film's title song, Kathleen Freeman (aka elocution expert Phoebe Dinsmore) talked about how lucky she was to be present when the number was filmed. "The dance that he does is not even about dance; it's about love. And he was magical."
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(Quotes taken from Singin' In The Rain: The Making Of An American Masterpiece and Gene Kelly: Anatomy Of A Dancer.)
VERY well said. Thank you.
My gosh, when you think of how many actors have behaved horribly to everyone around them and made both their co-workers' and their loved ones' lives a living hell, it's incomprehensible that Gene Kelly gets so much grief just for wanting everybody to work hard!