JSB's Whiz Bang #12

Dignity, always dignity

By the way, what do I mean by “Dignity, always dignity”? It comes from Singin’ in the Rain, the greatest musical ever made (which I wrote about here). The movie begins with a big Hollywood premier of a new talkie starring Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Don steps up to a microphone to say a few words about his rise to stardom. He starts by telling how he and his lifelong friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) started out as kids, dancing together, and had one rule they followed: “Dignity, always dignity.” The flashbacks show that their act was anything but dignified, being mostly slapstick, which is “a style of humor with exaggerated, physical comedy, often involving intentional or unintentional physical abuse and the clumsy use of props.” Which feels a lot like modern life.

So on we go with a new Whiz Bang, because if we don’t laugh we’ll curl up into little balls and dry up.