Moses Supposes in Style: A Close Reading of an Iconic Scene in Singin' in the Rain Anonymous College

Within the film Singin’ in the Rain, the marvel of how process becomes product is brought front and center. One of the most interesting sequences in this regard is the “Moses Supposes” scene, which makes the otherwise-dull process of vocal exercises into a spectacle. However, the scene reveals layers of complexity that show that this particular sequence is imbued with a strong sense of style. Many deliberate details of the scene contribute to the film’s overall meditation on how small details come together to make singular and complex wholes.

The scene opens with Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) reciting a silly tongue twister, the “Moses Supposes” from which the sequence gets its name. When the sequence begins, the two stand in sweater vests on either side of the diction coach (Bobby Watson), and form a small triangle with little depth as the camera depicts them in medium depth. The effect, especially as the sequence explodes into a complex dance number, is to eventually offer additional depth and spectacle to the dance number, since it is only then that the principals in the scene begin to utilize the full depth of the space. Visually, the scene opens in a way that evokes the dreariness of such...