The Best Movie Of Each Year From 1925-2025

74. 1952 - Singin' In The Rain

Honourable Mentions: High Noon, Ikiru, The Quiet Man

Singin' in the Rain exemplifies pure joy - the cinematic equivalent of a warm blanket draped around your shoulders on a crisp spring day. Gene Kelly co-directed, choreographed and starred in the film about silent movie stars transitioning into the talkie era, and birthed arguably the definitive Hollywood musical in the process.

It's thoroughly resplendent viewing - an ode to expression and happiness at a time of dour conformity. Its technical merits alone make it essential viewing, but placed within that historical context, Kelly and Stanley Donen's film makes for as much of a spirited refutation of the times as Stanley Kramer's High Noon.