Our Top 5 Debbie Reynolds Musical Moments (…that aren’t from SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN…)

I don’t know about you, but when the news came that Debbie Reynolds had passed at the age of 84 in late December, just hours after the unexpected death of her daughter Carrie Fisher, it felt like a gut punch. Debbie Reynolds had always — even well into her ‘8os — been nothing but a 5-foot-2 dynamo of charm, vitality, and limitless energy. Even now, nearly a month later, it’s hard to imagine that a light that burned as brightly as hers is now extinguished. Except, of course, it’s not.

Thankfully for us — and for generations yet to come — the legacy of Debbie Reynolds is preserved forever on film. And while most people think of her primarily for Singin’ in the Rain (as well they should!) her career spanned from 1948 right up to 2016 and it is a treasure trove of joy, merriment and … of course, music.

Here at Warner Archive, we’re honored to have a number of Debbie Reynolds’ films under our wing, and we’ve chosen 5 of our favorite Debbie Reynolds musical moments, all available right now on streaming. Join Warner Archive, now available for streaming on Roku, iPhone, Android and Desktop, and receive a 40% discount!

5. “Something Called Love” THE GAZEBO (1959)

Fair warning: The Gazebo (1959) is not a musical. The director, George Marshall, was no stranger to musicals, but he was also a studio director therefore was no stranger to Westerns, film noirs, and romantic comedies. Which is why The Gazebo works: it’s a black comedy with plenty of film noir influences and a musical number that’s to-die-for. Glenn Ford is a harried TV exec, confronted by a blackmailer peddling compromising photos of his wife (Debbie Reynolds) he resorts to desperate measures… as in, burying him under their gazebo in the backyard. Watch The Gazebo now on Warner Archive!

4. “The Balloon Dance” from GIVE A GIRL A BREAK (1953)

What’s better than Debbie Reynolds? Debbie Reynolds and Stanley Donen. What’s better than Debbie Reynolds and Stanley Donen? Throw in some Bob Fosse. In Stanley Donen’s GIVE A GIRL A BREAK (1953), Bob Fosse, one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century (along with Donen) leads Debbie in a musical number that is everything a classic movie musical number should be. With the floating confetti and balloons, Debbie and Fosse look like they are literally flying through the air. (Fans of La La Land will love this one.) Watch Give a Girl a Break now on Warner Archive!

3. “Loo Loo” from HIT THE DECK (1955)

Hit the Deck (1955) hits all the right notes as three sailors (Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn) and three cuties (Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller) flirt, squabble, run afoul of shore patrol and of course, fall in love to a hit parade of Vincent Youmans tunes. It’s astonishing to know that in 1955, Debbie was only 23 years old, but had been in the business since age 17 which made her — in Hollywood years — already a vet. Her career would last 61 more years. Watch Hit the Deck now on Warner Archive!

2. “Where Did You Learn to Dance?” from I LOVE MELVIN (1953)

I Love Melvin (1953) is a charming and witty musical reunites Singin’ in the Rain’s Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor in the tale of a go-fer’s quixotic quest to get his lady love plastered on the cover of Look magazine. Melvin Hoover (O’Connor) is a bumbler (except when he’s dancing on skates), a workaday schlep for Look magazine in love with Broadway chorine Judy LeRoy (Reynolds). Melvin convinces Judy he can send her star aloft by putting her on the cover of Look, due to his photog credentials. Too bad he doesn’t have any — now he has to make it happen! Watch I Love Melvin now on Warner Archive!

1. “Lady Loves” from I LOVE MELVIN (1953)

Another gem from the underrated I Love Melvin (1953) is the number “Lady Loves”. I Love Melvin was released by MGM on March 20th, 1953, and didn’t fare well at the box office (although there are striking similarities between this number and Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which was released four months later). Debbie has rarely been as lovely as she is here. And that’s saying something!

Watch Debbie Reynolds on the new-and-improved Warner Archive! Sign up now and get access to this film — and hundreds more — from Hollywood’s golden age for only $4.99!