hacoach The story is pretty familiar, 3 sailors get 24 hours shore leave, and sing and tap dance there way through New York City circa 1949. The film seems to harken back to a few years earlier when every mothers son was going off to save the World, and a 24 hour leave could be the last chance to be alive before heading out to The South Pacific or tangling with Uboats in the Atlantic. With the War as a backdrop the film would have little more poignancy and charm. Three sailors who have never been within a thousand miles of a real battle, and biggest problem is boredom, desperately need to fall madly in love within 24 hours, is a bit silly, but who cares , certainly not me, when the cast is charming and the songs catchy. The entertainment outweighs the shell of a story. The film begins with a bang, the show stopping number of show stopping numbers; "New York,New York" . 1949 New York was sort of the unofficial capital of the "New" world. This is a romanticized version of New York to be sure, a sweet Disney version of it, a city of museums, dance studios, night clubs and tourist attractions, even the police are whimsical. Anyone seeing this and thinking its the real New York City will be disappointed , its the flip side of more realistic movies from that era like "On the Waterfront" or "Sweet smell of success" but to be frank it's a New York we would all like to live in, or revisit many times especially with Navy men dancing around the top of the Empire States building and pretty cab drivers on every corner, a city of magic and magical happenings.Of the three sailors Sinatra comes off as the sweetest, Kelly comes off a bit strange, feeling it is his mission to find the girl he spots on a poster, and spends the next hour doing just that, but it's okay because she wouldn't have it any other way.-hey, its a musical after all.There is a nice ballet sequence with Kelly towards the end, that foreshadows his work on " American in Paris"In short it's a delightful way to spend 2 hours and wonderful entertainment. As well as an interesting time capsule of New York in the Golden age of post war America.

Spikeopath As would be tradition, the story at the core of On the Town isn't anything to sing from the roof tops, but it plays out as one of MGM's most memorable slices of froth. Propelled by talented stars and singers, it's a musical of comedic delights. Adapted from the successful stage production, charges of being dated and that not all the songs are great, is correct. The dated thing is not always a viable debating tool, but certain stereotype and sexist elements here will ring a little hollow with some folk. Yet if you can just run with it and accept the era of film making it comes from, then this is mostly a joyous and uplifting picture. So roll with the boys and girls, with the wonderful dances and the wonderful singing, for New York New York, A Wonderful Town. 8/10

secondtake On the Town (1949)There is so much going right with this movie--from the photography (yes) by Harold Rossen and the music (famously) by Leonard Bernstein, from the leading actors (Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly) to the directors (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly)--it's hard to realize how dated or almost bad some moments have become. This is delightful, fantastic, and inspired stuff, total fun top to bottom. But it also has moments that are cringe inducing.And I like musicals.If you don't like musicals in particular, you should start with specimens with wider appeal, and higher standards: "Singin' in the Rain" and "West Side Story" would work for me, if we're talking classics. Throw in "Swing Time" or "Top Hat" if you want an Astaire classic, too. Or a Garland singing musical.This one is from the amazing run of polished hits by producer Arthur Freed. The choreography varies from excellent to wonderful. If it's choreographed dancing you like, check this out. Some of the format it is from the standard style of the Golden Age, where the characters break into song or dance in the middle of their normal doings--in this case, three sailors racing through Manhattan on 24 hour leave.Other parts have choreography, probably by Gene Kelly, that becomes abstract and cinematic, a Hollywood innovation (also seen, famously, in "Singin' in the Rain" and "An American in Paris"). The scenes, whether stylized or realistic, are fabulous. The standards are high--space, light, and control of color (Technicolor, of course) inside and out.What drags the movie down is some awful writing, both in the dialog and even in some of the songs. I know lots of musical lovers who don't give a hoot if the lyrics make sense or are especially good--they become secondary to the rest of it, and the artifice is part of the game. But I know others who, like me, prefer the clever, the lyric, the original. And there are some real wincing moments.And in fact, the movie as a whole is awkward, a series of vignettes that do eventually string together into a chronology, but they hardly have to. They survive, or struggle, independently. Some of the acting is forced and you may or may not like the sidekicks like the third sailor, who's just too comic and goofy for my taste. Even the lead actresses, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen, are no match for Debbie Reynolds, let alone Judy Garland.Now, let's finally add--the best of the songs, and the dancing and photography, are top notch. For all musical lovers. The great final pieces at about 1:17 into the movie is amazing stuff.Note: Bernstein's music originated in a ballet, "Fancy Free," which turned into the Broadway play "On the Town" in 1944. But when this film was made, most of Bernstein's music was replaced with new stuff--some of which is the mediocre music that brings the production down a notch.At times the biggest star in the show is New York itself. Love it.

weezeralfalfa Simply the most fun Hollywood dancical romantic comedy of all time! I call it a dancical, rather than a musical, because there is comparatively little singing or background music that doesn't include some dancing or prancing around(outside of the opening and closing "New York, New York", two Sinatra-Garrett duets, and an opening and closing song by an uncredited shipyard builder). Also, aside from "New, York, New York", there are no standard songs, although several fine songs that express the mood of the person or persons. With 3 of the most celebrated Hollywood dancers of the '40s and early '50s(Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, and Vera-Ellen), and the remainder of the stars being competent show singers and dancers, it's no wonder that song and dance was emphasized over pure crooning. But, what makes it the top entertainment dancical is the near perfect blend of story, comedy, and musical numbers, the sheer energy of the performers, and the comradery between the 3 male and 3 female stars. Too many musicals and dancicals of this era stuffed the between musical scenes with complicated romantic or professional conflict drama, which soon gets tedious and sometimes dominates your attention away from the often great musical numbers. That's minimal here.There's no misunderstanding whose girl is whose. The main drama elements involve the occasional disappearance of 'Miss Turnstile'(Vera-Ellen), the periodic police chases, and the problem of homely Alice Pearse as Kelly's enforced substitute date, after the unexplained disappearance of 'Miss Turnstile', all leading to comedic incidents. Of the 6 stars and Alice Pearse, only the Sinatra and Vera-Ellen characters weren't gifted at comedy in this action-packed film, with emphasis on 3 24 hr romances by sailor buddies on limited NYC leave. Sure, Ann Miller and Betty Garrett's characters come across as brazen big city hussies, but they are lots of fun as dates. In contrast, Vera-Ellen is the shy unsophisticated small town girl-next -door who appeals to Kelly as something more than just a one-night stand trick.(It turns out they are from the same small town!). Alice Pearse is great as the primary supporting actress, with her trademark homely old fashion spinster act, complete with periodic raucous cackles, exploited to the comedic fullest. She played a similar character in the Fred Astaire-Vera Ellen dancical "The Belle of New York". She was also the only member of the Broadway version of "On the Town" to play the same role in the film version. There is one highlight after another. Among the tops are: the "Prehistoric Man" museum scene, led by Anne Miller's sexy tap dancing, and the comedic Coney Island hootchy-kootchy episode, near the end. Vera Ellen does a pantomime ballet dance illustrating her various talents and interests.Also entertaining is the long comical "You Can Count on Me" number, performed by the gang, especially featuring Alice Pearse. This was soon followed by the long Kelly-featuring "A Day in New York", pantomime ballet, in which Kelly recounts an outline of the Day's salient events, and demonstrates his infatuation with the vanishing "Miss Turnstile". Actually, the song that sticks with me the most is "Main Street", a soft shoe number which Kelly sings to Vera-Ellen, while they begin to get acquainted, and then they dance to, seemingly effortlessly floating back and forth over the stage. Yes, I live on Main Street, in a small town.This film was an adaptation of the Broadway play of the same name.As often happens, there were many changes in the details. Many of Leonard Bernstein's songs were dropped in favor of new ones, causing Bernstein to boycott the film. Nonetheless, it won the Oscar for best music, and the Writer's Guild of America's award for the best written musical. I would rate the choreography and cinematography as superb, as well. Partially filmed in NYC, poor weather and crowds of onlookers limited more extensive on-location shooting.This film was released only months after the well received "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", with a very similar format, and which I rate as near the equal of the present film. Kelly, Sinatra, and Munshin were again in uniform, enforcing their comradery. Garrett was again immediately smitten by Sinatra's character, and Kelly again winds up with that female star characterized as the most wholesome, having had his fill of easy pickings. It too is much fun, but lacks any female star with exceptional dancing or singing talent, and also lacked Alice Pearse.Six years later, MGM would make a musical "It's Always Fair Weather", which was originally conceived to be a sequel to "On the Town", in which the 3 sailor buddies meet in a bar, after 10 years of not seeing nor corresponding with each other. However, of the 6 "On the Town" stars, only Kelly returned.Although this film included a number of technically more challenging dance numbers, such as the 'trash can lid' dance, Kelly's roller skating street dance, along with Cid Charisse's 'Boxing Ring" routine, it simply lacked the charm, romance, sustained comedy, and youthful exuberance of the original, and was rather coolly received by audiences. Nonotheless, it has its moments, and you might want to check it out. It is currently offered very cheaply as part of a 5 MGM musicals DVD package.