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ON THE TOWN [1949] [Blu-ray] M-G-M’s Big Color By Technicolor Musical! The Freshest, Most Invigorating and Innovative Screen Musical of Its Decade!
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town, especially when sailors Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin have a 24-hour shore leave to see the sights . . . and when those sights include Ann Miller, Betty Garrett and Vera-Ellen.
Co-directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, based on the Broadway hit and set to an Academy Award® winning adaptation score, ‘On the Town’ changed the landscape of movie musicals, opening filmmakers' eyes to what could be done on location. And when brilliant location and studio production numbers are blended, it could be as here and ebullient, up-and-at-'em perfection. The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, but no one can be down after going ‘On the Town.’
FILM FACT: The film was an instant success and won the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography (Color). Screenwriters Adolph Green and Betty Comden won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical. Judy Holliday was uncredited as the voice of Daisy Simkins. The musical numbers staged on location in New York were the first time a major studio had accomplished this. The location shots in New York took nine days.
Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen, Florence Bates, Alice Pearce, George Meader, Bette Arlen, Dorinda Clifton, Jeanne Coyne, Gloria Marlen, Hans Conried, Peter Chong, Bern Hoffman (Shipyard Singer uncredited) and James A. FitzPatrick (Trailer Narrator uncredited)
Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen and Jack Gertsman [Assistant Director]
Producers: Arthur Freed and Roger Edens
Screenplay: Adolph Green, Betty Comden and Jerome Robbins (idea)
Composers: Leonard Bernstein, Roger Edens, Adolph Green, Betty Comden and Conrad Salinger (uncredited)
Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Video Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor]
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish [Castilian]: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono and Spanish [Latin]: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish [Castilian] and Spanish [Latin]
Running Time: 98 minutes
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Warner Home Video
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘On the Town’ may not be the greatest Hollywood musical ever produced; compared to the likes of Singin' in the Rain,’ ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ The Band Wagon’ and several others would all garner consideration with ‘Singin' in the Rain’ probably receiving the most attention. But ‘On the Town’ is so unconventional for its time, is separate from the rest for several very special reasons, Most significantly, the film was partially shot outdoors; it instigated the use of increased on-location shooting for films of that genre. ‘On the Town’ is one of the few features in which the talents of two filmmakers are so happily blended; Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, the co-directors, later went on to make ‘Singin' in the Rain’ and ‘It's Always Fair Weather.’
‘On the Town’ [1949] is undoubtedly one of the key works in the development of the Hollywood musical. Up to that time, musicals were entirely studio-bound, with rare exceptions such as the Brooklyn Bridge sequence in It Happened in Brooklyn (1947). Directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen wanted to use extensive locations, but the studio allowed only one week of shooting in New York. It proceeded at breathless pace, often using hidden cameras to avoid crowd problems. Another innovative feature, also part of the Broadway stage production, is their use of modern dance to advance the plot in sequences such as "Miss Turnstiles" and "A Day in New York." Gene Kelly's interest in using modern dance would develop further in the climactic ballet of ‘An American in Paris’ [1951] and ‘Invitation to the Dance’ [1956].
Gabey, Chip and Ozzie have exactly 24 hours' shore leave in New York and are determined to see all the sights and find some romance along the way. Chip is pursued by Brunhilde "Hildy" Esterhazy, an aggressive taxi-driver. Ozzie hits it off with Claire, an anthropologist, while visiting the Museum of Natural History. Gabey, on the other hand, has his hopes pinned on a seemingly impossible dream: "Miss Turnstiles," whose poster he sees on the subway. However, this is New York and a lot can happen in one day. Frank Sinatra, in one of his first starring roles, gets his chance to croon, Gene Kelly to dance, and Jules Munshin to pull in the yuks, while the rest of the cast, particularly Vera-Ellen and Ann Miller, shine brightly in their own set pieces, with ballet and tap dancing showstoppers, respectively.
Characterisations are established not only by dialogue and performance but in terms of song and dance: "Prehistoric Man," set in the Museum of Natural History and tap-danced by anthropology student Ann Miller displays her character's aggressiveness in pursuing Jules Munshin; in "Come Up to My Place," shy Frank Sinatra finally succumbs to the charms of taxi driver Betty Garrett. These two women are certainly no standard, passive heroines, and are unusually liberated for their day by the manner in which they relate to, and compete with, men.
The two aforementioned dance numbers, along with the songs "New York, New York" and "Come Up to My Place," were the only musical numbers retained for Leonard Bernstein's original score. Betty Comden and Adolph Green, were hired by M-G-M to write new lyrics. Roger Edens composed six new songs, receiving an Academy Award® along with Musical Director Lennie Hayton in the process.
‘On the Town’ is an energetic, effervescent combination of reality and fantasy, especially compared to ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Funny Girl’ and so many other subsequent musicals owe their very existence to the creativity and vision of Gene Kelly and company. If modern audiences are able to keep an open mind to the prevalent views of the times the film had been made in, there is more than enough in ‘On the Town’ to recommend for lovers of musicals, particularly those who enjoy the dancing of Gene Kelly and co., and the singing of Frank Sinatra. It's charming, humorous, effervescent, and a perfect postcard to all that exemplifies the infinite paths and possibilities of New York City at its 'Big Apple' finest.
Blu-ray Video Quality – ‘On the Town’ was shot in three-strip Technicolor by Harold Rossen, and Warner Home Video’s 1080p encoded image on this Blu-ray was clearly not beneficiary of the patented "Ultra Resolution" process recently featured on Warner Home Video release of ‘The Band Wagon.’
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono is in fine shape and, within the limitations of the era, does justice to the musical numbers and vocal performances, which were studio-recorded. The dynamic range is limited, but the highs aren't harsh and the lows aren't bad. Both dialogue and lyrics are clearly rendered. ‘On the Town’ has always sounded a bit like this and I am not entirely certain as per the reasons why. But, Warner Home Video has done the utmost to preserve and remaster where possible. You will surely not be disappointed with the results. I know I wasn’t. Finally, what a shame Warner Home Video have provided and audio commentary and isolated score too.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Vintage Feature: John Nesbitt’s Passing Parade: Mr. Whitney Had a Notion [1949 M-G-M B/W Short] [1949] [1080i] [4:3] [10:46] This Passing Parade entry tells of a little-known story in American history. Eli Whitney, famous for inventing the cotton gin, was given a US government contract to produce a large number of rifles over a two-year period. In order to fulfil the contract, he developed the concept of mass production. Instead of one person crafting a whole rifle, several persons make individual parts that are assembled later. Cast (in credits order) Lloyd Bridges, Erville Alderson, Howard Negley, Harry Hayden, Mitchell Lewis and John Nesbitt. Screenplay and Narrated by John Nesbitt.
Vintage Cartoon: Doggone Tired [1949 M-G-M Cartoon] [1949] [480i] [4:3] [7:36] First great variation on the topic of the noise, rather obsessional in Tex Avery's work. An energetic dog needs a night's rest if he's going to be ready for rabbit hunting at dawn. A crafty rabbit overhears a hunter tell his dog that he'll have to get plenty of sleep if he wants to catch the rabbit in the morning. In the interests of self-preservation, the rabbit devotes his entire night to keeping the dog awake in a variety of creative ways.
Trailer: On the Town with James A. FitxPatrick – The Voice of the Globe [1949] [480i] [4:3] [3:00] This a Special Theatrical Trailer for the M-G-M ‘On the Town.’ One unfortunate thing with this particular trailer, especially for its time, is the wording at the end of the trailer, where is states, “Twice as gay as ‘Anchors Aweigh.’ American documentary film director. After completing training in the dramatic arts, he worked for a while as a journalist. In 1925 he entered films and specialized throughout his career in travel documentaries. Besides directing, he also wrote, produced, and narrated many of his films. M-G-M distributed a series of his travel films under the umbrella titles "Fitzpatrick Traveltalks" and "The Voice of the Globe," as did Paramount as "VistaVision Visits." The hallmarks of James A. Fitzpatrick's films were Technicolor photography and stolidity.
Finally, some people consider ‘On the Town’ to be more Gene Kelly's film than Frank Sinatra's, and it's true that Gabey is considered the lead role on Broadway. Still, the show remains a brilliant quintessential ensemble piece, that has been an all-time favourite Hollywood Musical film of mine, and especially with the strong performances by all six actors and actresses playing the sailors and their whirlwind romantic partners. As directors, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen found the right chemistry, which is why the film worked so well despite a watered-down script. Since Warner Home Video is unlikely to re-master the Blu-ray, this is the best we will ever probably get, but despite this, I am so happy to have it in my Warner Home Video Collection, as it is far superior to anything that was previously released on the inferior NTSC DVD format. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Fan
Le Cinema Paradiso
WARE, United Kingdom
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