Customer Reviews

Hit the Deck [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a pleasant musical of its period with excellently staged numbers, good songs and a talented cast. I've been looking forward to seeing it ever since I glimpsed that fabulous clip from it in "That's Entertainment" back in the 80s in which the cast did "Halleluja" (the finale). And who could fail to enjoy a movie with Ann Miller and Tony Martin in it? But, I have to say that one's enjoyment of it is badly impaired by the terrible quality of the video. It is appallingly framed from the Cinemascope original, cutting out characters and ruining the dance design - someone forgot to turn up the color, so that it's so pale it looks almost like black and white - and worst of all (for a musical in particular), it was obviously recorded on a dirty magnetic sound head, making the soundtrack hopelessly muffled and grating, like an old worn-out phonograph record. Subtle sounds are totally lost and only the loudest noises break through the fuzz. This is quite unacceptable and deeply disappointing to a collector. Whoever produces MGM home videos should be ashamed of doing such a disservice to one of the greatest archives in Cinema history (not to mention the customers). It seems as if the videos were copied without any monitor-control and packaged without being checked. Disgraceful. And it's not the only one! I'm still waiting for a decent copy of "An Ameriucan in Paris".

Hit The Deck, is my favorite musical, with Jane Powell. The music is fantastic, and she was my favorite singer and actress in musicals. The movie is about sailors & girls and a musical production. All the actors are great, and the singing and dancing wonderful. I would reccomend this for everyone who likes musicals. It is well worth viewing. I hadn't seen this movie since it came out in 1955, as it never was on TV, that I could see. Thanks, Amazon, for making it available. It is a spectacular film.

You must not confuse this film with ON THE TOWN or ANCHORS AWEIGH.This film is based on the 1920's Broadway show and was in fact the first ever Sailors-on-leave musical. The dancing is phenomenal with Ann Miller kicking up a storm as the nasal-voiced Ginger,and the rest of the steller cast including such MGM Musical regulars Debbie Reynolds,Jane Powell,Russ Tamblyn,Vic Damone and Tony Martin.The wonderful Kay Arnem also puts in a great performance. It was produced by Joe Pasternak,the producer of most all films with Jane Powell.

The DVD release of 'Hit the Deck' is to be welcomed. Yes, the film was made near to the end of the 'great musicals from MGM' period and, perhaps, it does not rate as highly as some of this studio's earlier musical offerings. But, it does have one thing going for it - the music of Vincent Youmans. Even his peers acknowledged that Youmans wrote some of the most tuneful music one could hope for, as evidenced by the ever-lasting popularity of some of his greatest numbers, like 'Tea for Two', in which the verse is, perhaps, even more appealing than the refrain! So, play the 'Hit the Deck' DVD not so much for the visuals but rather for the words and music abetted by the marvellous arrangements/orchestrations of William Beittel and Robert van Epps, carrying on in the tradition for MGM musicals set by the great Conrad Salinger.

JOHN GRANT-SILVER
Prestwick, Scotland

It's big, it's silly, and it's a fun 1950's musical with lots of great stars. This movie won't solve the mysteries of the universe, but it will entertain with lots of great dances and songs. Ann Miller, Jane Powell, and Debbie Reynolds are at their best. Jane in the Penguin number, and Ann in the "Thinking of You" number are standouts. Some VHS copies may have a sound problem. They should bring this out on DVD

Hit the Deck is like every other musical made at MGM during the 1950s. It stars Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn, Gene Raymond and Walter Pidgeon. Basically the story is about three sailors (Martin, Damone, and Tamblyn) who are on shore leave in San Francisco. While they are there they break into the home of a famous producer (Raymond)and beat him up because one of the sailors (Tamblyn) feels that he is putting the moves on his sister (Powell) while she auditioning for a role in his show. The shore patrol gets a complaint from Raymond so they search for the sailors. During this craziness Martin joins up with an old flame of his, show girl Miller. He wants to marry her but she refuses because he waited too long to propose. Also Tamblyn falls for show girl Reynolds and Damone falls for Powell.

This movie includes some great numbers such as:
"Keeping Myself for You" sung by Miller and Martin and danced by Miller.
"Lucky Bird" Jane Powell sings and dances a little while she is gretting ready to go to her auditon or "Date".
"A Kiss or Two" In this cute number Debbie Reynolds sings and dances with sailors.
"Why Oh, Why?" This song is first sung by the guys then later in the movie by the ladies
"Sometimes I'm Happy" Jane Powell sings this number to Raymond for her auditon.
"I Know that You Know" Damone and Powell sing and dance to this number while they are outside.
"Lady from the Bayou" This is my least favorite number. I really like Ann Miller but I think her voice is horrible in this number. She does do some great dancing in this number though.
"Ciribiribin" Kay Armen plays Damone's mom in the movie and she sings this number to cheer everyone up. Later the cast joins in the singing.
"More Than You Know" Martin sings this to Miller to shows how much he loves her.
There is this cool fun house sequence its sorta like a dance and it has Tamblyn and Reynolds in it.
" Join the Navy / Loo Loo" This is a showcase number in Raymonds show in the movie. It has sailors singing and dancing. Reynolds leads the singing and dancing herself.
"Hallelujah" This is the best number. This is the big production finale number. All the guys sing this led by Tony Martin at first then Kay Armen sings and she leads the girls. Then Ann Miller taps around these sailors. This is a great number!!!!

This is a cute musical but if really aren't the musical type then this movie isn't for you. This movie is a cute musical so if you enjoy musicals then is for you!

I looked forward to seeing this since I saw it in the theatre in the '50's. It was sad to see the poor quality of such a great musical. I was disappointed and doubt if I will purchase more musicals from the same people who put this out. They did a diservice to a fine musical, not only with poor sound quality but by not putting the whole movie in widescreen, not just the end number.

This is a wonderful movie. I have been looking every where for it. I checked ebay and they didn't have it. I am so happy to see it here on amazon. This movie watches three sailors on a weekend away from their ship. We watch them get in to so much trouble and we see their relationships with their lady friends. I was just a pre-teen when I first saw this movie. At the time I hated movies like this, know this movie is one of my favorites.!!!!

'Hit the Deck' on DVD. About time too! The VHS tape was of very poor quality.

Perhaps, not the greatest of the MGM musicals, 'Hit the Deck' is still a worthy example of the studio's output. More than anything else, it is the Vincent Youmans score that is the real treasure - appealingly sung by the film's main stars backed by the outstanding arrangments written by some of MGM's best talent and, as usual, the distintive stylish playing of the MGM Studio Orchestra.

Can't wait to obtain my DVD copy.

[By the way, perhaps, one day if records are still available, it will possible to publish the names of the players in the MGM Sudio Orchestra over the years.]

John Grant-Silver
Prestwick Scotland

This film's unenthusiastic reception is often attributed to its "outdated" style (even for 1955.) However, this is no problem for those of us who enjoy old fashioned movies! The story features three sailors going home on leave; Russ Tamblin to see his sister, Vic Damone to visit his mom, and Tony Martin to patch it up with his fiancé of six years! Although the multiple storylines keep everything going at a brisk pace, there's still plenty of time for singing, dancing, and falling in love.

I was unfamiliar with Ann Miller and Tony Martin before I saw this, but I was by no means disappointed by their performances in this film. As the oldest of the three pals, Martin adds a lot to the story (and the score,) while Miller, his long-suffering girlfriend, showcases her great comedic talent and enviable tap dancing skills. The delightful Jane Powell catches the eye of an older man, which has her brother (Russ Tamblin) on the alert. Aided by a cute showgirl (Debbie Reynolds), Tamblin gets in trouble when he tries to rescue his sister from the schmoozer. Meanwhile, Vic Damone tries to reunite his mother and her new gentleman friend, who gets his nose out of joint because she lied to him about her son's age!

Full of memorable songs, charismatic stars, an amusing story and wonderful dancing, this is a musical to lift your spirits and put a smile on your face! Apparently I'm in the minority here, but I like Hit the Deck better than On the Town. This is now one of my favorite MGM musicals. If you're a fan of old-fashioned musicals, you'll like this one!