Vorwiegend heiter

I just saw this again on TCM, in the only format it deserves to be viewed in: letterbox. While it is a Gene Kelly vehicle and the leads are three buddies from wartime, that's pretty much where the "On The Town" similarities end. It is a surprisingly sharp, cynical story in which the heroes' dreams are voiced, but not realized (at least not at first), due to life circumstances. The daring plot of three soldier buddies who part company at the end of the war, reunite 10 years later to settle a bet they've made with a barkeep, and then realize that they really don't have anything in common except a dislike for each other, probably broke amazing ground back in the 1950's when it dared to show what happens to friends who 'don't' live happily ever after. (After all, musicals are usually free of such cynicism and vulgarity.) Betty Comden and the late Adolph Green- responsible for so many great film scores as well as the scripts of "Auntie Mame," "Bells Are Ringing," and "What A Way To Go-" contribute very witty songs here, including the three-way, split-screen dance "Once Upon A Time-" which shows the three buddies reflecting on their wartime friendship and whether or not they'll ever get it back; Dolores Gray's wicked "Thanks A Lot, But No Thanks;" and the requisite Gene Kelly solo (on roller skates), "I Like Myself." The big revelation, however, is Cyd Charisse- fine as ever, but in a rare, 'real' acting role which calls upon a bit of cynicism and smug defensiveness. Her cool demeanor is wonderfully thawed by the wise-guy boxers who worship her in the the gymnasium ditty, "Baby, You Knock Me Out." She goes from a diva to a siren in a tight green sweater and skirt in just 2 minutes. Have mercy!!

Keep in mind that the era of the movie musical was pretty much in the dust when IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER hit the screens in 1955. Yet the story is an odd hybrid for benign musicals, and a rather dark story of three GI's coming home from the war, vowing a loyal, buddy-buddy reunion, then, upon reuniting years later, realizing they have outgrown one another and have virtually nothing in common. There is a reunion dinner at a posh nightclub, and try as they might, hostility and acrimony flare up among the men as they gradually discern they have now little in common. The movie also teams Dan Daily and Michael Kyd with Kelly, a Grade A, winning combination for the few, but excellent numbers, they perform.

However, this movie should be seen for one and one reason only: Gene Kelly's dance on roller skates to one of the most beautiful tunes ever written by Comden and Green. As the story goes, Kelly had been searching for just the right opportunity to dance on skates in a film for years. Betty Comden has said she lived close to Kelly in Beverly Hills and that he had purchased skates years before at a hardware store near-by and that she'd watched Kelly take his daughter skating many times. It's not a stretch that Kelly spent a lot of hours imagining just where and when he'd do a roller skates number as he flew around Beverly Hills on wheels.

Another delight is the very robust and creative "trash can lids" number featuring Kelly, Dan Daily, and Michael Kyd. With a trash can lid stuck to one foot, the trio bounce up and down a street to a snappy melody while still in uniform. For those who thought lanky Dan Daily was "just another hoofer," this number proves he could hold his own with the best of them.

I have heard Comden and Green also relate the story that after the movie opened someone told them they had seen the film in a drive-in. "I knew that the end had come," (for the movie musical) commented Adolf Green.

IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER is very much worth seeing for being one of the last studio movie musicals of its kind. Moreover, the novelty of watching Kelly teamed with Dan Daily and Michael Kyd--the only time those three dancers appeared together--is supremely enoyable. IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER remains underrated to this day and serves as one of the final signposts for the demise of the great screen musical.

Dennis Caracciolo

A perfect antidote or bookend to ON THE TOWN this excellent, mature and solid cinemascope musical is an absolute knockout. Made by MGM to placate Kelly for refusing to loan him to Samuel Goldwyn for GUYS AND DOLLS this film is probably one of the few 50s MGM efforts that plays well to audiences in 2004........but only of one sees it in cinemascope. Inventive use of the widescreen allows superb choreography to become ironic and witty......and the bewildering idiocy of TV stations to only show the center of the screen is an insult to any audience seeking to enjoy this clever and thoughtful musical. A small profit on first release and a drive in future saw this pic drop from view early in its life. the dance numbers are uniformly (no pun) astonishing and sometimes hilarious (especially Dolores Gray) BUT... I yi yi...Cyd Charisse in Baby You Knock Me Out lives up to its title. Trivia alert: one of the old boxers at Stillman's Gym is Gus Mecurio, father of STRICTLY BALLROOM lead dancer and actor Paul Mecurio. Kelly on skates is as good as Kelly singin in the rain...it's the same number but on wheels!.....this is a great film and a perfect musical. Imagine Kelly's rage at MGM after refusing him the Guys and Dolls loan out and they they distribute that film for Goldwyn anyway! No wonder WEATHER is such a suitably dark film of the disillusionment met head on in the American mid 50s. A full revival is much deserved.

Just an aside,really:

You notice how sparsely Gene Kelly's finest numbers are shot? Long takes,little in the way of cinematic flair? Well,ponder this for a moment-he will often do something truly spectacular at the end of a take,leading one to wonder just how many times the poor chap put himself through the preceding minutes before getting it right...

A case in point is the justly famed (among those in the know) "Rollerskate Number":In order to demonstrate that the skates are,indeed,authentic,Kelly will swap-flawlessly-from "tap" to "glide" at the end of each take.

Incredible.

Compare and contrast,by the way,with protege Donald O'Connor's emulation in "I Love Melvin"-we never see thetwo movements co-existing within the same shot.

Gene Kelly made me want to dance when I was 11,and not feel like a poof for doing so.

For a guy like me who can't dance his way out of a closet, musicals like this are a guilty pleasure. The choreography is great-- flying feet, trash can lids, roller skates—is there any step Kelly can't do. I especially like the boxing gym with its unlikely array of chorus boys. But it's got nothing on Kelly's solo glide over city streets. Nonetheless, Dailey and Charisse appear under-used; this really is a Kelly showcase, which is plenty. Musicals, of course, were right up MGM's alley. Their lavish production budgets could fill up a screen. Here it's a mesmerizing sample of candy-box colors, along with a Cinemascope canvas to color on.

But catch the storyline. It's a little on the dark side for a bon-bon like this. Our three musketeers return from WWII great buddies, swearing to meet again after ten years. But the decade passes and they've changed. Now they can hardly stand each other. Trouble is, as civilians, each has compromised himself. That is, Kelly fixes boxing matches, Dailey cheats inside his swanky position, while Kidd gets pretentious with his hotdog stand. What they have to do is rediscover the ex-GI's they really are. Good thing a leggy Charisse is there to help kick in. Especially for oglers like me. And what a send-up of the old TV hit This Is Your Life. An obnoxious Madeline (Gray) of "Midnight With Madeline" may make you turn off your sets at 9pm, and none too soon.

Anyway, the 100-minutes is a delightful way to pass a slow evening, and even made me want to give the closet another try.