La fille de l'amiral

Having watched this recently on TCM and not being familiar with the film beforehand, I was drawn in by the quick pace and competent acting, not to mention the pretty leading gals Reynolds and Miller.. quite satisfying eye candy. But then.. came the "fun-house" musical number towards the end and that just blew me away: I mean 'psychedelic' before the word existed, perhaps surreal in contemporaneous nomenclature. That segment stood out as the perhaps the very best part, it was a thrill to watch the choreographed-to-the-second, wild and unpredictable ride of a dance routine! That film was a lot of fun to watch on a lonely night home. So reviewer whoever-you-are that hates every movie unless it has something blowing up every twelve seconds, perhaps stick to writing up Popeye cartoons where the plots and characters aren't too complex for your limited imagination. I recommend movie this as essential viewing for every musical fan.. it won't disappoint.

'Hit the Deck' is not one of the classic film musicals (made during somewhat of a twilight period for MGM musicals), but there are far worse film musicals around before and since. To me, 'Hit the Deck' is problematic but underrated, and it's sad that it wasn't more of a hit (it's not anywhere close to being bad enough to deserve making a loss).

It does have its problems that stop it from completely floating. While nobody really goes to see a musical for the story, more often than not being the least exceptional thing about even the classics, the story is barely existent and unevenly paced. Coming to life in the production numbers (which are full to the brim with liveliness), as well as the comedy of J. Carrol Naish and Alan King, but drags when bogged down by the often too talky scenes and in the scenes with Russ Tamblyn, Vic Damone and Tony Martin.

Of this trio of men, only Tamblyn (also the best dancer of the three) acquits himself well in the acting stakes, being lively and likable. Damone sings wondrously, then again when did he ever not, and has some charm but was never the most exciting of actors, being somewhat bland. Worse is Martin, who is very stiff and wooden throughout and generates very little warmth which does hurt the chemistry between him and Ann Miller (making one question what on earth she saw in him). Admittedly though Damone and Martin fare better as singers than Tamblyn, who actually was dubbed and while Rex Dennis does a good job the dubbing was just too obvious, the voice sounding too deep and muscular to come out of Tamblyn.

The ladies however fare much better. Ann Miller steals the show in the knockout that is the exuberantly choreographed and visually dazzling "Lady from the Bayou". Choreographically, a very close second best would be the inventive number in the fun house between Tamblyn and Debbie Reynolds, who beguiles vocally, radiates personality-wise and will make even the most cynical of people go weak at the knees at the sight of her in that blue dress. Jane Powell is cute as a button as always and sets hearts aflutter whenever she sings. Kay Armen kills it in "Ciribiribin" and "Hallelujah", while Walter Pidgeon effortlessly commands the screen whenever he appears and Naish and King are comic delights.

Visually, 'Hit the Deck' is shot in truly ravishing CinemaScope, looking especially fetching in "Lady from the Bayou" and "Hallelujah". The songs are very tuneful and while not unforgettable (generally the exuberant choreography of "Lady from the Bayou" and the fun house duet make more of an impression) they are not unmemorable or unhummable. "Sometimes I'm Happy", "I Know that You Know", and "Hallelujah" come off best, though "Why oh Why" entertains too.

On the whole, uneven and doesn't completely float but has enough great things that stop it from sinking or being a ship-wreck. 7/10 Bethany Cox

When this movie first came out, we had just been exposed to Cinamascope, Cinerama, VistaVision, SuperScope, and Todd-A-O. People where in their living rooms watching television and movies were not making any money, so they had to think of a way to get everyone from in front of the television and back into the theaters, and the WideScreens, 3-D, and Stereophonic Sound did the trick! But, here's the problem, years later, with watching films like "Hit The Deck": We were all fans of actress' like Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds because most of us watched them grow up from children to adult players in films. Tony Martin was a very popular singer. Russ Tamblyn had the look of a Mormon making movies because Russ Tamblyn was/is an Mormon. Ann Miller took over as the Queen of the Taps when Elinor Powell retired, and Kay Armand was a very popular singer at the time. So, we enjoyed these performers and loved seeing them on that immense screen with the 3 channel stereophonic sound which was the Miracle of that Century, and, once again, if you have never experienced these movies like "Hit The Deck" on the large screen with its 3 channel stereophonic sound, then I can see why others in the later generations to come would not appreciate them. Especially when you have song writers like Vincent Youmans, who wrote the score for Hit the Deck, and other composers like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. Thank God, we can still enjoy these composers music today because it's been saved, and if you grew up in this age of the wonderful M.G.M. musicals, yes, even you, would admit that todays music, as the kids say, "Sucks"! This movie is just good old fashioned entertainment. Who needs a story line to get in the way of all this great music and dance numbers! Of course, sometimes things were predictable, such as when Tony Martin is singing "More Than You Know" to Ann Miller, and the look on her face is the same look she had when Fred Astair sang "It Only Happnens When I Dance With You" in the movie "Easter Parade", but who cared? So, we knew the formula: Give meets Boy, Girl and Boy Fight: Gir and Boy Get Back Together; Boy and Girl Find Out That All Along They Were in Love and Didn't Know It, and then the Extravagant Musical Finale with everyone in the audience feeling good that they saw the movie! The finale to this film with the whole cast singing "Halleluah" and Ann Miller tapping her feet off; the general energy you get from the last scene, made you want to dance out of the theater and on to the streets. Hell! Who needed anti-depressants in those days? Our anti-depressants were the energy that these wonderful musicals gave us! It's just a shame that they don't make musicals like this anymore! But, of course, I can see why! Who are you going to put in a song and dance movie musical? Leonardo Di Caprio?

... from six years earlier: three sailors on leave in the big city, except in Hit the Deck, the metropolis is San Francisco. The sailors are played by Russ Tamblyn, Tony Martin, and Vic Damone. They cross paths with Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, and Ann Miller. There are some fun musical numbers, notably Keeping Myself for You, and Lady From the Bayou, fabulously performed by Ann Miller dancing up a storm against rich color backgrounds and sets. Another uplifting tune was Hallelujah!

I found the film's energy peaked whenever Ann was on screen. (Ann also appeared in On the Town.) Jane Powell's part was terribly underwritten. Jane had more chemistry with Gene Raymond, the older married man she was seeing, then with Vic Damone, who ends up winning her heart. Walter Pidgeon is also on hand, playing an Admiral and father to Jane and Russ. Hit the Deck is a second tier MGM musical, which, considering the many masterpieces the studio turned out, is still very good.

Three sailors can't stay out of trouble. Be it with the girls, mom, or conniving dandies. Plenty of action is provided through song and dance routines where everyone gives fine performances. While this was not a great musical, it was still a nice little story with some good funny spots supplied by J. Carroll Naish and Alan King.