Cinema Sunday: On The Town

This week's Cinema Sunday takes us back to 1949 to a 1949 Technicolor musical about 3 sailors who hit New York City looking to see the sights, get laid and some other third thing.

This week we present  On The Town starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, and Ann Miller.  This film is also the directorial debut of Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen before they would go on to direct Singin' In the Rain.  

Three US Navy sailors – Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie – begin their shore leave, excited for their 24 hours in New York. While riding the subway, Gabey (Kelly) falls in love with the picture of the monthly "Miss Turnstiles," whose name is Ivy Smith. He imagines she must be the most sophisticated kind of celebrity to be named "Miss Turstiles". And he makes it his mission to find her.

Chip (Sinatra) does not have to go looking for love. Love throw itself at him in the form of Hildy (Garrett), a New York City cab driver.  

Ozzie's own quest for love resolved with an encounter in museum with leggy anthropologist Claire who is played by leggy actress/dancer Ann Miller. Claire is attracted to Ozzie because of his resemblance to Cro-Magnon man. Which is because Ozzie is played by Jules Munshin who had a passing resemblance to Cro-Magnon man.  

The "Boy, This Did Not Age Well" Department

There is an extended musical and dance number early in the film in the museum where Ozzie and Claire first meet. It's a very clever and intricate piece of choreography but this is the awkward part, it involves our characters dressing and behaving like various indigenous people from around the world. Watching a group of white people acting like people from "primitive cultures" is a bit off-putting.

Since Gene Kelly is behind the camera, the film has a surreal dreamscape dance sequence. If you've seen An American In Paris or Singin' In The Rain, you know the drill: a fever dream of a dance scene where you wonder what drugs Gene Kelly was taking.  

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department

Betty Garrett is Brunhilde "Hildy" Esterhazy, the sex mad cab drive with an overheated mad on for Frank Sinartra's Chip.  And if a young woman with a burning passion for Frank Sinatra's character seems a tad familiar, it's because Betty Garrett played the same damn role in Take Me Out To The Ball Game.  

A strong part of On The Town's New York vibe is Gene Kelly's insistence that some scenes be shot in New York City, including at Columbus Circle, the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Bridge and Rockefeller Center.

Basically there's not much more On The Town than what I said in the opening paragraph,  just a story about 3 dudes hitting New York City looking to see the sights, get laid and some other third thing.

As our principals run about New York City, getting into and out of trouble, falling into, out of and back into love,  On The Town is basically a love letter to the city that never sleeps where anything can happen and anybody can meet anyone.   

In 2006, On The Town ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of Best Musicals. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Me, I thought On The Town was OK. I think I wanted there to be more stakes for our trio of sailors.  But maybe that's asking too much.

Sometimes it's enough of an adventure to watch 3 guys run around New York City to see the sights, get laid and some other third thing.