On the Town

ON THE TOWN (COLOUR, 1949)

Director: 

Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

Cast: 

Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin, Vera-Ellen, Alice Faye and Judy Holliday

Ages: 

4 and up

Plot: 

The navy has just arrived in New York for a shore-day. Out of the boat comes Chip (Sinatra), Gabey (Kelly) and Ozzie (Munshin), good friends and fellow sailors. Chip falls for taxi driver Hildy Esterhazy (Garrett) while Ozzie meets a lady scientist (Miller) in a museum, where the two fall in love. Gabey meets the "Ms Turnstiles of June", Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen) and they immediately fall in love. Gabey later learns she is only a dancer rather than a celebrity.    

From left: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin.      

Why it’s good: 

This is one of MGM's musicals which is quite excellent.

This one centres on the romance between sailors and New York women. A bit of parental guidance required, so you better your over young children who’ll see lots of kissing between the characters.

The film also has a wealth of extremely good songs, like "New York, New York" and the dances where Ivy Smith dresses as an athlete and the rest of the Ann Miller stuff, which you would know if you had seen her films before.

Parent’s guide: 

Quite a lot of kissing for a musical made by MGM.

Trivia: 

In the part where Gabey dismisses a New York girl, Frank Sinatra makes a reference to actress Ava Gardner. Ava Gardner turns out later to be Frank Sinatra’s wife.

If you like this…: 

This movie is similar to another Frank Sinatra-Gene Kelly musical, "Anchors Aweigh" (1945). It is too similar, in fact, it is another navy film, this time set in San Francisco.