"The Artist" & "Singing in the Rain" Comparison

        The dramatic structure of the movies “The Artist” and “Singing in the Rain” is very similar. Both are love stories. Also both are movies about people dealing with the birth of talking films. The exposition or the first step in dramatic structure in both “Singing in the Rain” and “The Artist” presents background information on both main characters, Don Lockwood, the main character in “Singing in the Rain” and George Valentine, the main character in  “The Artist”. Both are unhappy men in relationships that are not working.  Both meet new women. “Singing in the Rain” begins with the two main characters Don and his co- star Lena going to a showing of their latest film. So the scene is set for two silent film actors who work together.  In “The Artist” the scene is set with George and his wife sitting at the breakfast table. The conflict in “Singing in the Rain” begins when Lockwood’s boss realizes their latest movie must be turned into a talkie, and that it will be difficult because Lena the co-star has a squeaky, high voice. In a similar, manner the conflict arises in “The Artist” when George Valentine is pushed to do a talkie.  He loses his wife, goes broke, and has a nightmare about sound. The climax in “Singing in the Rain” occurs when the director shows the talkie version of the film, and the audience laughs at Lena.  They determine that Don’s new friend Kathy has a good voice that can be dubbed in. The climax is more comedic in “Singing in the Rain” whereas in “The Artist” it’s more desperate and serious.  The character, George, in “The Artist” is so filled with self-doubt, he sets his house on fire, burning all his films, but for one that he has done with his new friend Peppy Millar a dancer. He ends up in the hospital where she finds him and takes him home. The falling action in “Singing in the Rain” occurs when Don and his friends expose the fact that Lena is not really doing the talking in the film. The falling action in “The Artist” involves George trying to kill himself and Peppy convincing him to dance and act with her in a talkie.  In “Singing in the Rain” the final part involves Don and Kathy Selden making a movie together.  The same thing occurs in “The Artist” when George Valentine and Peppy Millar dance and act together in a movie. In both movies the climax revolves around the main characters coming to terms with changes they have been fighting, and the resolution shows them appreciating the new women in their lives and their place in “Talkies”.