On the Town

Three sailors on 24-hour shore leave look for love and adventure in On the Town, one of the most enthusiastic musicals to come out of Arthur Freed’s unit. This was the first musical to film on location, with the “New York, New York” number racing through all of the infamous sights and locations the city had to offer in 1949. If the film has any flaw, it’s that the central romance between Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen isn’t as fun as the other lusty pairings.

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin are the three sailors looking for a good time, and Vera-Ellen, Betty Garret, and Ann Miller are very happy to provide one. The stakes are fairly low, but my god is it irresistible. On the Town charms you with its high-energy thrills, and with dance choreography that is both graceful and athletic. There’s an optimism here that’s quite refreshing in contrast to our modern cynicism.

Where On the Town really excels is in presenting a group of characters that we want to spend time with, that we root for, and want to succeed. It’s a bit funny to see Sinatra play the aww-shucks viriginal good boy, but he keeps the wide-eyed wonder believable. Kelly and Munshin are the lady-killers, along with both being huge wiseasses. They’re a fun trio, with each of them working effectively as individuals and a unit.

Even better are Betty Garrett and Ann Miller. They’re working in their primary modes, with Miller being the horny best friend and Garrett as the dominating force. Garrett’s frequently pining Sinatra down while he looks up in erotic fixation and slight terror. “Come Up to My Place” is a back-and-forth between them that ends with Sinatra submitting to Garrett’s romantic aggression. And Miller gets a line about liking bare skin, a pun during her big number “Prehistoric Man,” that causes Sinatra and Kelly to swallow hard and blush in demureness to her sexual prowess.

The only true flaw in the ensemble is Vera-Ellen, who is a beautiful and graceful dancer, one of cinema’s best, but severely limited as an actress. Her “Miss Turnstiles Ballet” is a highlight of her consummate skills, but she can’t sell some of her jokes or big dramatic scenes. It’s best to watch her successfully emote in “A Day in New York,” one of Kelly’s patented dream sequence dance numbers.

A wonderful musical from the Dream Factory, On the Town is an almost-masterpiece. Perhaps another actress in the lead role would have improved matters, but everything else zips and pops with tremendous energy. Maybe not one of their top-tier musicals, but definitely one of their better efforts as it delivers on the promise of gaiety, romance, and solid musical numbers.