NFR Project: 'On the Town' (1949)

NFR Project: “On the Town”

Dir: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen

Scr: Adolph Green, Betty Comden

Pho: Harold Rosson

Ed: Ralph E. Winters

Premiere: Dec. 8, 1949

98 min.

On the Town germinated from a stage project initiated by the talented composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. In 1944, he wrote, for choreographer Jerome Robbins, a short ballet titled Fancy Free, which highlighted three sailors on shore leave, mixing jazz and vernacular musical styles with classical.

The piece was a big success, and prompted Bernstein and the talented writing team of Adolph Green and Betty Comden to expand the selection and turn it into a musical that same year. The story of three sailors with only 24 hours’ leave in New York City was a novel idea. On the Town was a hit, and soon discussions about adapting into a film began.

Eventually, the film was made, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin as the three sailors. The radical idea of filming on location made this the first musical to stage scenes on the streets of New York. 

At 6 a.m., the sailors run down the gangplank from their ship and sing about how excited they are to be in the city. We are offered a montage of them traveling to all the great tourist destinations in the Big Apple. Then one of them, Gabe (Kelly), sees a picture of a girl, Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen) on the subway (she is “Miss Turnstiles,” a monthly honor bestowed on an attractive subway rider) and falls in love. He vows to find her, and his buddies join with him. 

The three try to track her down by going to all of New York’s cultural institutions. They travel to the Museum of Natural History, where Ozzy (Munshin) grabs the attention of the brainy Claire (Ann Miller). The boys go next to Symphonic Hall. They grab a cab piloted by Hildy (Betty Garrett), who falls for Chip (Sinatra). Gabe finds Ivy and makes a date with her, believing her to be a member of high society.

The six go out night-clubbing. At 11:30 p.m., Ivy must go to Coney Island, where she works as a “cooch dancer”. Gabe finds her, and she confesses her humble origins and reveals that in fact she is from the same small Indiana town as him. Meanwhile, the police and the Shore Patrol are hot on the group’s heels, and apprehends them, sending the sailors back to their ship. The girls wave goodbye. And another batch of sailors springs out of the ship, ready to go on the town.

Oddly, the film tosses many of the musical’s original numbers, including the excellent “Carried Away” and “I Can Cook, Too,” and substitutes songs not written by Bernstein for them. Fortunately, they are decent and move the plot along. The production is in vivid Technicolor, with some bravura dancing and singing scenes. It’s a pleasant enough excursion, and continued the trend of location shooting in New York.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Adam’s Rib.