..but you can give it your best
April 26, 2010 (Monday)
Last night, “Singing In The Rain” was televised on the Turner Classic Movies channel. It’s a favorite of many people, and they like watching it even if they’ve seen it numerous times. It is truly a classic movie.
The actress with the horrible voice that reminds us of the scraping sound of chalk is Jean Hagen. Her part in the movie is supportive for the big stars, Debbie Reynolds and the gang. But had she not played her part so well, the movie would not have been such a big success.
Jean played Lina Lamont, a successful silent movie star whose voice was not suited to “talking movies.” IMDB reports, “Ironically, for the speaking part, it was Debbie Reynolds lip-syncing to Jean Hagen, but for the singing, it was Reynolds lip-syncing to Betty Noyes in the dubbing scene, in which Noyes had earlier dubbed Hagen.”
Jean was nominated for an academy award for the part, but Gloria Grahame won it that year. Jean later played Danny Thomas’ wife in “Make Room for Daddy,” a very popular TV series in the 1950’s. After four seasons, she left the series and was soon stricken with throat cancer, which eventually took her life. She died at 54.
Next time you see “Singing in the Rain,” pay attention to Jean Hagen and ask yourself what kind of movie it would have been without her. She deserved an award. It was her big chance.
Life is not fair. Life is life. It’s what it is, not what we wish it were. Most of us would be a lot happier if we could accept that simple fact. Trusting Christ enables us to say with Paul, “To me to live is Christ.” We choose how we think and how we live. We can have inner peace, no matter what.