Un giorno a New York

The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, and Kelly and Sinatra are back in sailor suits, in this effervescent MGM musical. The three matelots (our two heroes are joined by Jules Munshin for this caper) have a 24-hour shore leave in which to savour New York City. "What can happen to ya in one day?" asks a shipyard worker, and the guys answer the question by picking up girls, destroying a dinosaur and getting chased to Coney Island by the cops... in just one day.

Leonard Bernstein composed the tunes, and the writers of the stage show (Green & Comden) provided the lyrics, supplemented by Bernstein himself and the associate producer, Roger Edens. Of the songs, "On The Town" and "You Can Count On Me" are nerve-tingling showstoppers. "Prehistoric Man" is much weaker, but saved by crisp, playful choreography. The two expressionist ballets, "Miss Turnstiles" and "A Day In New York" bear the hallmark of Kelly's directorial style, which first reached its maturity in this picture. Kelly's slide on his knees towards the 'Miss Turnstiles' poster is a piece of cinema magic.

Kelly plays Gabey, a supposedly worldly-wise lady's man who turns out to be a Mid-Western innocent in the big city, and who falls in love with a struggling hoofer(Vera-Ellen), a girl he takes to be a celebrity. Sinatra is the serious-minded Chip, the enthusiastic sightseer who gets snapped up by Hildie Esterhazy (Betty Garrett), a knowing cabbie who has one aim - to get Chip alone in her apartment. Ann Miller sings and dances impeccably as Claire Huddesen, the bluestocking who gets turned on by Ozzie's primitive quality.

"On The Town" has a daffy story, as musicals often do, but it fizzes with flirtatious youthful energy. Each of the three couples has its own song and/or dance, and these are sensitively tailored to suit the individuals' personalities. The Empire State Building observation platform set is a knockout, and the film's sense of fun even extends to a sly Ava Gardner joke at Sinatra's expense. Notional time runs from 6am at the start of the boys' leave ('boys', or 'kids' as they are twice described, is not quite accurate - Kelly was 37 and the other two 34 at the time of filming) until 6am the following morning, as it ends. Three new sailors come charging down the gangway to start their 24 hours in the Big Apple, reminding us that love and youth are eternal, and New York's a wonderful town.

On the Town bristles with energy and humor and terrific performances by a great cast.

Three sailors on a one day pass in 1949 New York City meet three girls, fall in love, and go back to sea. That's about it for plot but this great musical is filled with top songs and dancing.

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin are the sailors; Vera Ellen, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett are the girls. Vera Ellen is Miss Turnstiles whom Kelly thinks is a swanky society girl. In reality she's a dance student who works at Coney Island to pay for lesson to despotic teacher Florence Bates. When the three couples go "on the town," Vera Ellen has to leave to go dance. Garrett calls her roommate--hilarious Alice Pearce--to fill in. Kelly is despondent and the gang's attempt to cheer him up leads to one of the best numbers, "You Can Count on Me." While the Leonard Bernstein tunes are not exactly top 40 hits, they are wonderful and lively. Great dancing (of course) from Kelly, Miller, and Vera Ellen, and Sinatra gets a few songs for himself. Garrett may be the big surprise for those who only know her from "Laverne and Shirley." Film buffs will recognize Carol Haney and Jeanne Coyne as the dancers in Kelly's big dance number. Also notable are Bea Benaderet on the bus, Sid Melton as Spud, George Meader as the professor, Tom Dugan as the cop, Hans Conried as the club manager, Bern Hoffman is the singing dock worker, and Claire Carleton is the red-headed floozie.

Kudos to writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green as well as co-directors Kelly and Stanley Donen. Haney and Coyne assisted Kelly in choreographing the film. Haney and Coyne were also featured dancers in Kiss Me Kate's "From This Moment On" number.

Not to be missed.

After finally seeing this film, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this film. There are faults though, one is the substitution of dancers for Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin in the ballet, while it worked in Oklahoma, I for one found it distracting here. The other fault I had was the omission of "Some Other Time", that is a truly beautiful song and could've worked so well, but alas it was missed out.

Other than that, there is still much to enjoy, namely the magnificent title number, "New York, New York", as Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin hail the delights of New York, New York. Also a delight was "Prehistoric Man", mostly because of the dancing of Ann Miller. While songs from the original score are missed out, regrettably, the score and songs here are still a treat, and the choreography is fabulous.

The performances are terrific. Gene Kelly is wonderful once again as Gabey, and Jules Munshin puts real energy into his role of Ozzie. While Frank Sinatra is exceedingly charming as Chip, possibly even the best of the three male performers. As for the ladies, Vera Ellen looks alluring and dances a dream, while Betty Garett is deliciously sassy as Brunhilde. With her impeccable dancing talents, it is Ann Miller who I would deem as my personal favourite, as I have said already her dancing in "Prehistoric Man" is simply incredible.

Other advantages are a witty script, a delightful supporting turn from Alice Pearce as Lucy Schmeeler, fast pacing and some lovely costumes and sets. Plus I loved the depiction of New York and the film's feel good nature. Overall, flawed but nonetheless exhilarating musical. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Another Comden-Green triumph! Although it may not be as good as "Singin' In The Rain", it's truly a masterpiece that no home should be with out!

Jules Munshin is energetic in the role of Ozzie! Gene Kelly plays the part of the lovesick Gabey absolutely perfect! And although I am a die hard Kelly fan, I must say that the best male performance given in this film was from Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Mr. Frank Sinatra! In the role of Chip, he brings a certain innocence as well as that sailor spunk and vitality! And the three of them crooning songs such as "New York, New York", "Let's Go To My Place" and "On The Town" is absolutely wonderful (especially Kelly and Sinatra)!

Ann Miller is fantastic as the leggy anthropologist, Claire! She brings a lot of zest to her role! (It's hilarious to hear her refer to Ozzie as "Specimen"!) Vera-Ellen also is WONDERFUL in the role of Ivy, or "Miss Turnstiles"! She is a highly underrated actress... and her dancing is truly DIVINE! However, another highly underated actress is Betty Garrett, who portrays the female cabbie, Hildie! She makes the role zippy and sassy... and she and Chip singing "Let's Go To My Place" is an absolute knee-slapper that will have you laughing and singing with it every time! Alice Pearce is also rather funny as Hildie's roomate, Lucy Shmeeler.

I recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of musicals, especially the older ones, such as "An American In Paris", "Singin' In The Rain" and "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." This carefree frolic of a film will leave you laughing and singing for days!

It is surprising how many people don't seem to realise (or don't care) that a large fraction of Leonard Bernstein's music score, written for the original stage musical of 1944, was dropped when this film was made. Only four of the original numbers were retained. The replacement music, credited in the titles to Roger Edens, is serviceable enough but simpler and decidedly more brash, and as such it detracts somewhat from the character of the original. In particular the absence of such numbers as 'What's more I can cook' and 'Some other time' is highly regrettable. It seems odd to me that that having done the maestro such a disservice the film was still awarded a music Oscar in 1950. Nevertheless it remains a highly entertaining romp – how could it fail with a cast that includes Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen. It's just that it could have been even better.

For anyone who wants to find out what Bernstein's original score was like, there is a live recording of a semi-staged performance of the musical made in London in 1992 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas and a magnificent cast of singers including Thomas Hampson and Frederica von Stade. The only thing you don't get is the dancing! It is available on CD and hopefully a few copies of the video may be knocking around. Unfortunately it seems that no DVD was ever released.