Debbie Reynolds rains on the “Artist” parade. (WireImage)
HOLLYWOOD — No, “The Artist’’ didn’t get Debbie Reynolds’ vote for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. As the sole surviving star of the classic “Singin’ in the Rain,’’ she certainly knows a thing or two about depicting Hollywood’s awkward transition to talkies.
“I thought ‘The Artist’ was a very good film, with talented personalities,’’ says Reynolds, who will introduce the world premiere of a 60th anniversary restoration of her film at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles on Saturday.
“But while they took the basic premise of ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ it’s not in color, and it doesn’t have Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. And its musical numbers aren’t as good.’’
Though many people regard “Singin’ in the Rain’’ as the greatest of all Hollywood musicals, it didn’t get much love from Oscar back in the day. It wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture. Its sole nods were for Best Supporting Actress (Jean Hagen) and Scoring (Lennie Hayton), and both lost.
Reynolds, 80, blames the previous year’s Oscar-sweep by “An American in Paris’’ (which also starred Kelly), only “moderate’’ box-office success and the film’s relatively modest goal: to build a movie around songs producer Arthur Freed had written with Nacio Herb Brown in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
“When we made the picture, nobody had the slightest idea that it would someday be listed among the greatest films of all time,’’ Reynolds tell The Post. “We just thought it was a big, splashy MGM musical.’’
Reynolds was only 19 when shooting began in June 1951. It was the former Miss Burbank’s first lead after several supporting roles, and the first time she did major dancing in a picture — opposite two legends, Kelly (then 38) and Donald O’Connor (25).
“Gene was sort of stuck with me by [MGM boss Louis B.] Mayer, but he worked really hard with me. He was a taskmaster, and I worked really hard. I had five dance teachers, including Fred Astaire, who was doing a picture on the next stage. So with everybody’s help, I became a dancer.
“We’d dance 15 to 16 hours a day, with only Sundays off. My first day on the picture, my feet were bleeding afterwards. But when I look at the performance now, I’m very pleased.’’
“Singin’ in the Rain’’ didn’t begin to achieve legendary status until a decade after its release — it opened on March 27, 1952, at Radio City Music Hall — “when Gene and Donald and I started getting calls from colleges to attend screenings.
“It was a sneak attack; students went wild for it,” she recalls. “And then the clips that appeared in ‘That’s Entertainment’ in 1976 really cemented its reputation. I mean, how can you beat Gene’s title number?’’
Reynolds will also be introducing the epic “How the West Was Won,’’ which will be having a 50th anniversary screening Sunday morning in its rarely seen original Cinerama format, which employs three curved screens for a huge picture.
“Cinerama was harder and less rewarding to work with, because you couldn’t look at the other actors. You had to look in the camera,’’ she says. “But I enjoyed the opportunity to play the same character [in the film] from [ages] 15 to 95.’’
Reynolds has also appeared at the two previous TCM Classic Film Festivals. “Everybody’s very enthusiastic and a fan,’’ she says. “If I wasn’t in the movie business, I’d buy a ticket myself.’’
Just don’t ask her what she voted for instead of “The Artist’’ for Best Picture: “I never say.’’
For Lou Lumenick’s coverage from the TCM Classic Film Festival, go to nypost.com/blogs/movies