Un jour à New-York

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

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.

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.

This film has a very simple plot. Three sailors have 24 hours shore leave in New York. They met three attractive girls, and three romances blossom. And that's about it. The characterisation is really no more advanced than the plot development. The sailors and their sweethearts are each given their own idiosyncrasies, but none of them really emerges as a rounded individual. Fortunately, however, a complex plot and well-developed characters are not always essential to the musical genre, and "On the Town" manages to succeed reasonably well without these elements.

The film's most important quality is the energy and vivacity of its song-and-dance numbers. It was shot on location in New York itself, and the city is portrayed as a vibrant, exciting place, a new world as far as the sailors, who are all country boys, are concerned. There is also plenty of humour, such as the scene where Frank Sinatra wants to go sight-seeing, unlike his new-found girlfriend, a man-hungry female cab driver, who would rather take him back to "my place", Gene Kelly's search for "Miss Turnstiles", whom he imagines to be a glamorous and famous beauty queen, and the scene where the three men manage to demolish a dinosaur skeleton in the city's Museum of Anthropology. (Jules Munshin's girlfriend is described as a lady anthropologist, although the scriptwriters seem to have blurred the difference between anthropology and palaeontology). The songs are tuneful, although with the possible exception of "New York, New York" none of them are particularly memorable. Some have criticised the more formal balletic sequence near the end, but as far as I was concerned this was one of the best parts of the movie. After all, if you are going to make a film starring a dancer as talented as Gene Kelly, you might as well use his talents to the full.

This is not really my favourite musical. It lacks, for example, the indefinable magic of "Singin' in the Rain", which also starred Kelly, or the depth and social comment of "West Side Story", Leonard Bernstein's other New York musical made twelve years later. (The contrast between these two films shows just how far the genre had progressed in just over a decade). Nevertheless, it is enjoyable enough for anyone in the mood for soft-centred escapist entertainment. 7/10

Grand, sure-fire musical entertainment courtesy of MGM, "On the Town" brings euphoric life to the 'Big Apple' like no other piece of celluloid, comedy or drama, before or since. More than just a breath of fresh air, this breezy souffle of a movie is like taking a huge whiff of pure oxygen, leaving you so exhilarated you'd swear you were on some kind of substance-induced high. Drenched in old-fashioned innocence and loaded with dazzling footwork, it gave a tremendous boost to the careers of all involved and helped to create a whole new style of musical film.

Three swabbies on a 24-hour shore pass during WWII bask in the sights and delights of NYC while running into new lady loves in the interim. That's all there is to it. The first musical to actually shoot on location, the viewer has the surreal-like thrill of a first-time vacationer as the movie juxtaposes every tourist trap imaginable, plus some, while capturing the pulse and heart of the City to endless effect.

Briskly co-directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, the movie would initially appear to have everything going AGAINST it. The plot is so thin and flaky it almost evaporates into thin air. Moreover, the directors made the seemingly unwise choice of dumping nearly all of the charming Leonard Bernstein score and Betty Comden/Adolph Green libretto for newer, untried songs by Roger Edens. Well, in good reliable hands, this not only works, it dances circles around the original!

There's so much going for this movie in the name of talent that its hard to know where to begin. Gene Kelly prepped his choreographic talents here for the later landmark musicals "An American in Paris" and "Singin' in the Rain." He is sheer delight as the lovelorn sailor who pines for "Miss Turnstiles," a billboard fantasy. Jules Munshin unleashes pure Ed Wynn buffoonery as the sailor with the least animal magnetism. Even Frank Sinatra, allows himself to get caught up in all the fun.

And the girls are irresistible too. Betty Garrett shoots with both barrels as the man-chasing cabbie and proves she is quite capable of stepping up to the plate in the dance department. Lithe and lovely Vera-Ellen, who never won the attention she fully deserved, is poetry in motion as Kelly's dream come true. In particular, her adagios with Kelly are imbued with such unsullied passion that it can't help but tug at the ol' nostalgic heart-strings. Peppy Ann Miller is, as always, a revelation as the toe-tapping anthropologist, taking full advantage of the zingy score's newer songs and embellishing them with now-classic dance routines.

As a special treat, my favorite character actress, Alice Pearce, offers side-splitting comedy relief as Kelly's impromptu blind date managing to steal one song from the star ensemble while finding a touching moment of pathos in her final scene. The homely comedienne went on to play nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in the "Bewitched" TV series to Emmy-winning acclaim. Florence Bates also makes the most of her patented huff and scowl as a tipsy ballet mistress, and see if you can scout out an unbilled Bea Benadaret (Kate in "Petticoat Junction") as a subway tootsie.

Still the highlight, and there are many highlights, is the infectious title tune atop the Empire State Building with Kelly & Company. Nowhere in the history of filmed musicals will you find such barn-storming talent and exuberant fun packed into one simple little tune. That sequence is a natural tape-rewinder.

You know the old saying, "They don't make 'em like this anymore?" Oh, they are so right.