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."
"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."