On the Town | Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly

On the Town | Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly | On the town

DVDs:

On the Town

	On the Town Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly Warner Home Video, 2000 average customer review:based on 66 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

New York, New York--it's a helluva town; the Bronx is up and the Battery's down; the people ride in a hole in the ground.... Well, you get the idea. Those lyrics (by Betty Comden and Adolph Green), set to Leonard Bernstein's music, have made On the Town a permanent part of the psychological landscape of New York City. The story (inspired by Jerome Robbins's ballet Fancy Free) is pretty slight: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin play sailors with 24 hours' leave to take their bite out of the Big Apple. When they meet, and then lose, this month's Miss Turnstiles (Vera-Ellen), they scour the town in search of her, bumping into a lady anthropologist (Ann Miller) along the way. Shot mostly in the studio, but with location exteriors all over town, from Coney Island to the Statue of Liberty to Central Park, this 1949 gem was the first of three great musicals codirected by Kelly and Stanley Donen, followed by Singin' in the Rain (1952) and the underrated It's Always Fair Weather (1955). --Jim Emerson

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Classic you should own

There's nothing wrong with good, clean fun. Plot is easy and even amuses my kids. Song and dance numbers are great to show the new generation.

On the town

On the town was so much fun to watch and I loved the musium secean and I can't wait to watch it again

Top notch musical from co-directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen a pity Warner couldn't chip in some extras...

The story of three sailors Gabey (Gene Kelly), Chip (Frank Sinatra) and Ozzie (Jules Munshin)looking for love (in the form of Ann Miller, Betty Garrett and Alice Pearce)while on a one day leave for the first time in New York , "On The Town" continues to be a marvelous musical. It may lack the flash of later Donen-Kelly collaborations but it never loses sight of its purpose--to entertain. That along with marvelous location shooting in New York (a rarity at the time) makes "On the Town" unique.

Based on the popular 1944 Broadway musical co-written by Leonard Bernstein and directed by Jerome Robbins, "On the Town" was notable for a number of firsts. It was the first musical shot on location in New York City. It was the first collaboration between director Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly. It was Donen first film. It also marked the first films of Carol Haney and Bea Benaderet. Although it was lost in the wake of later Kelly-Donen films including "Singing in the Rain", "On the Town" perfectly captures the magic of the play and cast.

Many of the original songs were replaced by new material as producer Arthur Freed felt that they were a bit too sophisticated for the average American filmgoer. The result is that we have a mixed score with material by Roger Edens and Bernstein (with lyrics co-written by Adolph Green and Betty Comden). Although the new material isn't as strong as the Bernstein material, the film overcomes these hurtles by incorporating strong choreography.

The re-release of this film accompanies a new boxed set of Kelly-Sinatra musicals although all the titles for that box set are available individually.

"On the Town" looks terrific with nice robust colors that capture the look of the early three strip Technicolor process. Although a bit grainy at times, the film looks quite good. Sure, the studio could have cleaned up the look of the film a bit more but films that have that digital sheen often lose much of their character in the process. I'm not sure if this has been reissued because a new high definition master has been prepared or not but it looks extremely good in its new presentation.

The mono soundtrack sounds great with a nice dynamic range and no noticeable drop outs. There was some minor clipping but on the whole the sound is terrific.

No new special features in this reissue with only the original theatrical trailer included. It's a pity because there are BBC interviews with Kelly and recent TCM interviews with other cast members discussing the making of the film. If they were well integrated with production/promotional stills, new observations by film historians and footage from the film we could have a fine featurette. We could also find out bits of trivia about the shooting of the film for example co-star Jules Munshin's fear of heights. That necessitated that he perform at least one musical number with a rope tied around him (the other end was tied to co-director Stanley Donen who was off screen) and it would also explain his almost obsessive need in one particular dance sequence to touch and run his hands across the various props.

A marvelous musical with Kelly, Sinatra and the rest of the cast in top form, "On the Town" has lost none of its charm, wit or entertainment value. The vintage footage of New York City during the late 40's will also be delightful to viewers. It's a pity this wasn't spiffed up for release.

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