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#218 - On the Town
Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1949
Three sailors have one day of shore leave in New York City and decide to go looking for adventure and romance.
Though I'm still not all that well-versed in the works of Gene Kelly - I think this is the only other film of his I've seen other than Singin' in the Rain, which I did like - I hold out hope that his films, while not exactly the most profound or thought-provoking of films, are at least fun and make for dazzling visual feasts. On the Town may not quite reach the level of Singin' in the Rain, but it at least delivers reasonably well on its promise of a fun little romp as it follows its three plucky protagonists (Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin) as they get into all sorts of hijinks during one day in New York. They all manage to find some counterparts - Kelly spends much of the film searching for Vera-Allen's poster girl after they have a meet-cute in a train station, Munshin manages to attract the attention of Ann Miller's Neanderthal-loving anthropologist, while Sinatra is initially more interested in visiting the city's landmarks than the amourous advances of Betty Garrett's taxi driver. Shenanigans (and song-and-dance numbers) ensue.
Obviously, On the Town is the kind of old-school Hollywood musical where you have to suspend some considerable disbelief and the fact that much of the film is overly cheerful to the point of becoming grating. Fortunately, the quality of the numbers - both in terms of the songs and the choreography - is enough to overcome that (with the possible exception of "Prehistoric Man", which was perhaps a bit too silly for my liking, and to a lesser extent the "Comedy in Three Acts" fantasy sequence). The same goes for the between-numbers scenes, which are carried by the considerable abilities of the lead actors and actresses. The humour is also warm and solid - I don't think I'm likely to forget that one scene where one of the heroes tries to evade the police while at the top of the Empire State Building any time soon. It's definitely worthwhile if you have more than a passing interest in classic Hollywood musicals - even if it's not, it's good enough that it might just sway your opinion a little.
Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1949
Three sailors have one day of shore leave in New York City and decide to go looking for adventure and romance.
Though I'm still not all that well-versed in the works of Gene Kelly - I think this is the only other film of his I've seen other than Singin' in the Rain, which I did like - I hold out hope that his films, while not exactly the most profound or thought-provoking of films, are at least fun and make for dazzling visual feasts. On the Town may not quite reach the level of Singin' in the Rain, but it at least delivers reasonably well on its promise of a fun little romp as it follows its three plucky protagonists (Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin) as they get into all sorts of hijinks during one day in New York. They all manage to find some counterparts - Kelly spends much of the film searching for Vera-Allen's poster girl after they have a meet-cute in a train station, Munshin manages to attract the attention of Ann Miller's Neanderthal-loving anthropologist, while Sinatra is initially more interested in visiting the city's landmarks than the amourous advances of Betty Garrett's taxi driver. Shenanigans (and song-and-dance numbers) ensue.
Obviously, On the Town is the kind of old-school Hollywood musical where you have to suspend some considerable disbelief and the fact that much of the film is overly cheerful to the point of becoming grating. Fortunately, the quality of the numbers - both in terms of the songs and the choreography - is enough to overcome that (with the possible exception of "Prehistoric Man", which was perhaps a bit too silly for my liking, and to a lesser extent the "Comedy in Three Acts" fantasy sequence). The same goes for the between-numbers scenes, which are carried by the considerable abilities of the lead actors and actresses. The humour is also warm and solid - I don't think I'm likely to forget that one scene where one of the heroes tries to evade the police while at the top of the Empire State Building any time soon. It's definitely worthwhile if you have more than a passing interest in classic Hollywood musicals - even if it's not, it's good enough that it might just sway your opinion a little.