jpm-15

What shines in this movie are a few musical numbers, especially Bobby Van's delightful "Hippity Hop" dance. Even with cuts, the ability to hop in time for as long as he does is impressive, and as in his work in "The Affairs of Dobie Gillis" (where he and Debbie Reynolds perform a simple but sublime version of "All I do is Dream of You"), Van looks like he's having a wonderful time! Ann Miller and Nat King Cole are also great,but the songs Eleanor Powell is forced to sing are second-rate, and her operatic voice is impressive but seems out of place to me in a Hollywood musical. I'm not sure where Farley Granger is best cast. I thought his work was good in "Strangers on a Train", but he seems pretty one-dimensional and doesn't offer much here. In summary, "Small Town Girl" is worth seeing for the song and dances, but I can't recommend watching the whole film.

I'm stunned by all the rave reviews. This is the first IMDb review where I've been in such disagreement with so many people. I do agree that the performances are very good- quite natural and authentic. The problem I have is with the story. I like and sympathize with the cute and quirky heroine, but she is a bit much to watch for long. And,other than her I don't find interesting or sympathetic characters. Most of all, the story doesn't really go anywhere to speak of. It's not that I need fast-paced movies (e.g. see my review of "The Smallest Show on Earth"). I very much enjoy character studies, and "slice-of-life" movies; but not this one!