Gene Kelly

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q73089: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by Wikidata joins them to Singin' in the Rain, which The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along credits them on.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Singin' in the Rain (1952); Inherit the Wind (1960); An American in Paris; Anchors Aweigh (as 'Anchors Away'); Invitation to the Dance. Count them as composer (1 film) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Clara Bow: 1 line

  1. theme (character model) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Clara Bow ⇒ Singin' in the Rain (the host's read). A speaker says part of the Lena Lamont / Clara Bow type of brassy outsider star is historically real, and Nellie fits it.
    “Well, I think like a little bit of the Lena Lamont Clara Beau stuff is real.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 0:56:43 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Clarence Darrow: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Inherit the Wind (1960), which they acted in: Clarence Darrow ⇒ Inherit the Wind (the host's read). Drummond is loosely based on Darrow.
    “loosely based on Clarence Darrow”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:58:18 · Amanda Dobbins (0.75 sure it was them)

William Jennings Bryan: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Inherit the Wind (1960), which they acted in: William Jennings Bryan ⇒ Inherit the Wind (the host's read). Brady is loosely based on Bryan; the film is loosely based on the Scopes trial.
    “loosely based on William Jennings Bryan”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:56:11 · Amanda Dobbins (0.75 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Babylon (2022): 5 lines

  1. craft (scene mirror) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). Babylon's walk-on bar scene mirrors the flashback that opens Singin' in the Rain, where Don Lockwood gets a walk-on.
    “Um, Don Lockwood gets a walk on part in a bar in that like in that flashback to start the movie.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 0:48:21 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (homage) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). A speaker calls the sound-stage scene a direct Singin' in the Rain homage, 'on steroids times a 1000'.
    “Again, like a very, very direct homage.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:13:47 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. theme (echo) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). The silent-to-sound struggle scene in Babylon echoes Singin' in the Rain, down to the actress who cannot find the microphone.
    “And that is a huge echo of singing in the rain.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:14:54 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. craft (scene mirror) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). A Babylon moment is said to echo Don and Kathy Selden from Singin' in the Rain.
    “Also, echoes of Don and Kathy Selden.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:44:09 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (homage) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). The speaker says Babylon is deliberately built around Singin' in the Rain, with specific scenes mirrored on purpose.
    “But it is so intentionally built around singing in the rain that I do think the mirroring of the specific scenes are intentional.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 2:51:30 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022): 1 line

  1. theme (plot borrowing) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Downton Abbey: A New Era (the host's read). The Downton film's film-within-a-film plot, with Lady Mary dubbing a silent star, is a pure crib from Singin' in the Rain.
    “it's just pure crib from singing in the rain, but it starts as a silent film and then, you know, they go to see uh, the jazz singer”
    The Big Picture · The 2022 Movie Draft · 0:55:28 · Amanda Dobbins (0.90 sure it was them)

Paula Abdul: 1 line

  1. lineage (influence) · them, directly: Gene Kelly ⇒ Paula Abdul (the host's read). Gene Kelly is named as Paula Abdul's biggest inspiration.
    “And of course, her biggest inspiration is a child, the aforementioned Gene Kelly.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 1:02:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

The Player (1992): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Singin' in the Rain (1952), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ The Player (the host's read). Sean says movies about movies go back long before The Player, e.g. Singin' in the Rain, but this one is far more inside the joke.
    “Going back to singing in the rain.”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 0:04:08 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Music (1) everyone in music

Acting (6) everyone in acting

Other (2) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

craft (1)

  1. craft (craft): Jim Carrey → Gene Kelly. Carrey glides through the film like Gene Kelly and knows to take it down 5% to avoid The Mask.
    “he's almost like Gene Kelly in this movie.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:24:35 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)

lineage (1)

  1. lineage (influence): Gene Kelly → Paula Abdul. Gene Kelly is named as Paula Abdul's biggest inspiration.
    “And of course, her biggest inspiration is a child, the aforementioned Gene Kelly.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 1:02:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (people): Gene Kelly → Inherit the Wind. Kelly plays an HL Mencken-style newspaper man who sits at the lawyer's table.
    “an HL Menken style sort of sing-songing newspaper man”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:56:49 · Amanda Dobbins (0.75 sure it was them)

unmapped (2)

  1. unmapped (physique): Gene Kelly → Brad Pitt. A speaker says Gene Kelly and Pitt share an ideal male form, in a riff on Babylon's wardrobe.
    “I mean, he and Brad Pitt share a ideal male format.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:45:33 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (song over credits): Gene Kelly → A Clockwork Orange. The Gene Kelly version of Singin' in the Rain plays over the end credits.
    “especially when they play the Gene Kelly version over the end credits.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · A Clockwork Orange with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 1:37:11 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

what-if (1)

  1. what-if (what-if casting): Gene Kelly → Sterling Hayden. Kubrick's first choice for Ripper was Gene Kelly; when Kelly was not available he cast Scott, who asked for Turgidson, and then brought in Hayden.
    “He wanted Gene Kelly when he doesn't get Gene Kelly. He casts George C. Scott and George C. Scott then was like, I want to play Buck Turgison instead.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:58:41 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Gene Kelly: The original plan for Jack D. Ripper was Gene Kelly. Kubrick then cast George C. Scott, who asked to play Turgidson instead, and brought in Sterling Hayden.
    “You know who the original plan was to cast for Jack D. Ripper, the Sterling Hayden Row?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:58:19 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)