Debbie Reynolds - Debbie Reynolds: 'The Artist Borrowed From Singin' In The Rain'

The black and white silent movie ruled the 2012 Academy Awards in February (12), winning five trophies including Best Picture and Best Actor for its lead Jean Dujardin.

The movie was based around a silent movie star who fell on hard times after the introduction of sound and drew comparisons to the story of Singin' In The Rain, which featured Gene Kelly in a very similar role.

Reynolds, who starred alongside Kelly and Donald O'Connor in the popular musical, has now spoken out about the similarities between the two pictures, insisting she enjoyed The Artist but felt it failed to shine in the same way as Singin' In The Rain.

She tells the New York Post, "I thought The Artist was a very good film, with talented personalities. But while they took the basic premise of Singin' in the Rain, it's not in colour, and it doesn't have Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. And its musical numbers aren't as good...

"When we made the picture, nobody had the slightest idea that it would someday be listed among the greatest films of all time. We just thought it was a big, splashy Mgm musical."

Unlike The Artist, Singin' In The Rain failed to win a single Oscar, but it was named fifth in the American Film Institute's (AFI) list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.