Gene Kelly is undeniably one of the greatest musical talents of all time. A world-class dancer, choreographer, singer, and actor—he had it all. However, his biggest fear was that he would be forgotten. This fear is ironic, considering that one of his films is ranked No. 5 on the American Film Institute’s “100 Years … 100 Movies” 2007 list, and he himself is ranked No. 15 on their list of top stars.
The film which earned the No. 5 spot, as well as No. 1 in the ranking of movie musicals, is the 1952 film “Singin’ in the Rain.” In the original AFI list, released in 1998, No. 68 was another Kelly tour de force, 1951’s “An American in Paris.” Sadly, in the 2007 updated ranking, this film was removed. However, it still sits proudly as No. 9 in their ranking of movie musicals. While the storylines don’t have much in common, these two films are both excellent showcases of the truly exceptional talent that was Gene Kelly.
