On the Town

source: On the Town

I've seen 1945's "Anchors Aweigh" referred to as a "warm up" for "On the Town." This is strange, since the former is better in almost every way. The former had a warmth that "On the Town" simply didn't. "On the Town" features three sailors on a 24-hour liberty in New York City... Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and.. Jose Carerras. No, seriously, the third one was Jules Munshin, but it might as well have been Jules Verne given that his name probably lives on only in the hearts of aficionados at this point. Anyway, the film starts out smashingly with the legendary song "New York, New York" and then the boys seek to find a few hours of true love. The basic love story between Kelly and "Ivy" is believable and of course both are incredibly telegenic. The other two haven't stood the test of time so well with Sinatra - who believe it or not was around 34 at the time of the movie but looks about 12 - appears to be on the wrong end of the "statutory" stick at some point in what appears to be a highly inappropriate relationship. The "neanderthal" song where munshin's ozzie meets his girl is quite racist by today's standards in that it basically equates modern traditional cultures with cave men. nice. Anyway, hi-jinks ensue including near the end a tacked on chase scene but of course they are really just filler for the musical numbers. sinatra's voice is a thing of beauty, as are kelly's moves. but, the chosen songs themselves were horrible. other than new york new york, i can't remember one song from the thing, which is unfortunate given that I just watched it less than 3 hours ago. but, the dancing was something else and the choreography was excellent. again, not as good as "anchors aweigh" (well, this one had more 'ensemble' dance numbers, thus meaning kelly was often limited to moves that his costars could also do), but still excellent. if you're in the mood, it's a nice little film. but, if you have only time for one such vanity, see "anchors aweigh."

If you've seen ANCHORS AWEIGH, the 1945 Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra musical about sailers on leave in Los Angeles, quit while you're ahead. This is basically the same story except it takes place in New York and has co-stars another sailer played by Jules Munshin, who doesn't really add much to the film. ON THE TOWN has slightly better music and songs than ANCHORS AWEIGH mostly because Leonard Bernstein was involved and there are one or two funny one liners ("Dr. Kinsey, I presume"). The one scene that stands out involves brilliant comic timing of Kelly's character down on his luck after Vera-Ellen leaves him and the new blind date that replaces her played by Alice Pearce (who later played Mrs. Kravitz on "Bewitched").

Seldom has a film had a more talented cast and crew of supporting talent than "On the Town," yet the result is just a mess of Average. One good number - the eponymous "On the Town" - has to carry a frail storyline which is pushed to exhaustion by the overacting of the cast, who seem to be on amphetamines. I love the musical genre and generally look forward to seeing any of these people's work, but this was a real disappointment.

I have found that On the Town is one of the best movies from the 1940's. It has the perfect chemistry for a movie. From the all-star cast of Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, Vera Ellen and others to the script itself written by the wonderful Betty Comden and Adolph Green, it is no wonder that this movie is still around. When 3 sailors have a leave in NYC, and their main objective is to pick up girls, you know that you are in for some laughs. From the dinosaur to the cab drivers, this movie is a score on my list. The dancing is also great. Ann Miller taps her heart away and Gene Kelly amazes us yet again. This movie is here to stay!

I HATE this movie. It has everything going for it, except (1) taste, (2) music, (3 )intelligence. Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green wrote a great musical called "On The Town." It's about three sailors with a 24-hour leave in New York City in the middle of WWII. It's still a great musical, a musical with a great book of the quality of that of "Oklahoma!" that tracks the adventures, romantic as well as touristic, of three guys who cross the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan and want to drink in the whole city at once. MGM takes an estimable amount of talent: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, Vera- Ellen (the prosecution exhibit for "Tap Thighs," but lovely nonetheless), Betty Garrett (the least well-used comedienne of the era) and Ann Miller (exploited but never really employed), and turns what could have been a landmark film into a dismal excursion that would leave the average guy wondering why anybody would want to live in NYNY. This is one of the supreme examples of why I hate MGM, the outhouse of the movie musical. They dump the wonderful "Carried Away" number in favor of the inane "Prehistoric Man" number for Ann Miller to dance to. Gee, thanks, Roger Edens! They eliminate Hildy's great "I Can Cook, Too!" not to mention "Ya Got Me," "I Wish I Was Dead," "Imaginary Coney Island," "The Real Coney Island," and the incredibly lovely "Some Other Time" with more Roger Edens crap. The stars that MGM hired to do this movie were capable of making a masterpiece, but MGM, in its infinite wisdom, knew how to turn it into a colossal dump, and they did. Part of the problem was the pretentious image it decided to project for Gene Kelly (speaking of crap, what about "American in Paris*?") This is part of my prelude to "Why MGM Musicals Suck" essay; You can see my top 10 movie musicals (there are really 12 so far) in my review for "You Were Never Lovelier." Stanley Donen went on to make some wonderful movies ("Charade" and "Bedazzled," which features Raquel Welch as one of the seven deadly sins, guess which? among them. But MGM, especially when "adapting" Broadway musicals, showed an uncanny propensity for turning great theatre into execrable cinema, piling Pelions of goo on Ossas of substance, and doing no one any good in the process. MGM certainly didn't bring out Donen's best. *In its Ferde Grofe orchestration, the most perverted of George Gershwin's great works--but that's for another discussion!

Three soldiers on shore in New York City have a 24-hour romp in the city. That's it. There is nothing else to the plot of this fantastic musical, but that doesn't hurt ON THE TOWN one bit. New York has been the focus of film since the beginning of film itself when a 10 minute short about the New York City subway system was made. Here, although not all scenes were actually filmed in New York (and according to Betty Garrett, she and the other girls never saw the city except for the final scene on the harbour, the subject and main character of the film is New York itself: bustling energy, its loud, screeching subway system complete with adverts and pin-up posters (one of Ms Turnstiles which catches Gene Kelly's attention), its (then) tallest building the Empire State Building, its urban landmarks. As I said in the beginning, there is not much plot. What plot there is consists mainly of the three soldiers pairing off with three women: Jules Munshin with Ann Miller, Frank Sinatra with Betty Garrett, and Gene Kelly with Vera-Ellen, the only one with a back-story and a secret, one that has her slipping from Kelly's arms and leading to a remarkable chase against the clock to find her. The musical numbers are outstanding (especially Garrett's and Sinatra's frantic duet "My Place" which, if this weren't a musical-comedy, would send men running to the hills at the sight of an aggressive man-hungry cab driver) and all women dance admirably, but the only one who one remembers is Miller in the museum sequence, twirling like a Tasmanian devil and looking fabulous while doing so. Not a great actress, she could move like not many dancers-turned-actresses could, and it's a pity she decided to basically retire from movies so early and only came back for her small role in MULLHOLLAND DR. As a matter of fact, all except Kelly and Sinatra virtually stopped acting in the late 50s, possibly due to MGM-styled musicals coming to an end at that time. As a curious note, there's a cute appearance as well by Alice Pearce who would later be remembered as the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravits in the TV series "BEWITCHED." According to facts, she is the only one from the theatrical version to reprise her role here and this role made her career move ahead as well as it gave her a chance to walk away with the movie as well. ON THE TOWN is one of the best musicals of all time, up there with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and WEST SIDE STORY.

It is surprising how many people don't seem to realise (or don't care) that a large fraction of Leonard Bernstein's music score, written for the original stage musical of 1944, was dropped when this film was made. Only four of the original numbers were retained. The replacement music, credited in the titles to Roger Edens, is serviceable enough but simpler and decidedly more brash, and as such it detracts somewhat from the character of the original. In particular the absence of such numbers as 'What's more I can cook' and 'Some other time' is highly regrettable. It seems odd to me that that having done the maestro such a disservice the film was still awarded a music Oscar in 1950. Nevertheless it remains a highly entertaining romp – how could it fail with a cast that includes Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen. It's just that it could have been even better. For anyone who wants to find out what Bernstein's original score was like, there is a live recording of a semi-staged performance of the musical made in London in 1992 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas and a magnificent cast of singers including Thomas Hampson and Frederica von Stade. The only thing you don't get is the dancing! It is available on CD and hopefully a few copies of the video may be knocking around. Unfortunately it seems that no DVD was ever released.

Here's an idea: Get a group of exceptionally talented performers together, sketch in an outline of a story based on a successful Broadway show, then supply the score, songs and setting in which they can individually and collectively showcase their respective gifts, turn them loose and see what happens, see if it works. Of course, by the time this film was made in 1949, MGM knew it would work, as it had for them many times previously; there was no guess work involved. The result this time around was `On The Town,' a lively musical which marked the directorial debut of co-directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly starring and also doing the choreography. The plot is simple: Three sailors get twenty-four-hour shore leave in New York and set off to make the most of it. Chip (Frank Sinatra) wants to see the sights; Ozzie (Jules Munshin) wants to play; and Gabey (Kelly) immediately falls into an obsession over a girl he sees on a subway poster, `Miss Turnstiles' of the month, Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen), and vows to find her. Along the way they run into a quirky cab driver, Brunhilde (Betty Garrett), and a young woman, Claire (Ann Miller), doing some research at a museum. But what this movie is really all about is entertainment, and it delivers it by the songful. Kelly and Donen bring it all to life through the words and music of Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Leonard Bernstein, and the score, which earned an Oscar for Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton. it kicks off with Sinatra, Munshin and Kelly doing `New York, New York,' in which they enlighten you to the fact that `The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, and people ride in a hole in the ground--' a dynamite opening that sets the stage for all that comes after. And it's pure entertainment that just sweeps you away with it while you hum along with the six stars of the show as they do what they do best, and it's a delight from beginning to end. Without a doubt, Kelly emerges as the star among the stars, and his solo numbers and the ones he performs with Vera-Ellen are especially engaging; but this is one of those musicals in which one memorable number follows another, with each of the principals getting their own moment in the spotlight. Vera-Ellen has a great number early on in the film, in which Miss Turnstiles is introduced; Ann Miller taps her way through a rousing routine in the museum (in which she is joined by Sinatra, Munshin, Kelly and Garrett) that really gives her a chance to show her stuff; and Sinatra and Garrett engage in a memorable bit in song, as she attempts to get him to `Come Up To My Place.' Through it all, Sinatra exudes a certain boyish charm while Garrett and Munshin provide the comic relief. All of which makes for a fun and thoroughly entertaining movie experience. The supporting cast includes Alice Pearce (Lucy), Sid Melton (Spud), Hans Conried (Francois) and Florence Bates (Madame Dilyovska). Some movies are made simply to transport you to another place for a couple of hours, put a smile on your face, a song on your lips and just make you feel good; and `On The Town' is certainly one of them. This is pure, uplifting and satisfying Entertainment, beautifully crafted and delivered and guaranteed to make your day a little brighter. The fact is, they just don't make ‘em like this anymore, and it's a shame. Because this is what the magic of the movies is all about. I rate this one 9/10.

Another Comden-Green triumph! Although it may not be as good as "Singin' In The Rain", it's truly a masterpiece that no home should be with out! Jules Munshin is energetic in the role of Ozzie! Gene Kelly plays the part of the lovesick Gabey absolutely perfect! And although I am a die hard Kelly fan, I must say that the best male performance given in this film was from Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Mr. Frank Sinatra! In the role of Chip, he brings a certain innocence as well as that sailor spunk and vitality! And the three of them crooning songs such as "New York, New York", "Let's Go To My Place" and "On The Town" is absolutely wonderful (especially Kelly and Sinatra)! Ann Miller is fantastic as the leggy anthropologist, Claire! She brings a lot of zest to her role! (It's hilarious to hear her refer to Ozzie as "Specimen"!) Vera-Ellen also is WONDERFUL in the role of Ivy, or "Miss Turnstiles"! She is a highly underrated actress... and her dancing is truly DIVINE! However, another highly underated actress is Betty Garrett, who portrays the female cabbie, Hildie! She makes the role zippy and sassy... and she and Chip singing "Let's Go To My Place" is an absolute knee-slapper that will have you laughing and singing with it every time! Alice Pearce is also rather funny as Hildie's roomate, Lucy Shmeeler. I recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of musicals, especially the older ones, such as "An American In Paris", "Singin' In The Rain" and "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." This carefree frolic of a film will leave you laughing and singing for days!