Three soldiers on shore in New York City have a 24-hour romp in the city. That's it. There is nothing else to the plot of this fantastic musical, but that doesn't hurt ON THE TOWN one bit.
New York has been the focus of film since the beginning of film itself when a 10 minute short about the New York City subway system was made. Here, although not all scenes were actually filmed in New York (and according to Betty Garrett, she and the other girls never saw the city except for the final scene on the harbour, the subject and main character of the film is New York itself: bustling energy, its loud, screeching subway system complete with adverts and pin-up posters (one of Ms Turnstiles which catches Gene Kelly's attention), its (then) tallest building the Empire State Building, its urban landmarks.
As I said in the beginning, there is not much plot. What plot there is consists mainly of the three soldiers pairing off with three women: Jules Munshin with Ann Miller, Frank Sinatra with Betty Garrett, and Gene Kelly with Vera-Ellen, the only one with a back-story and a secret, one that has her slipping from Kelly's arms and leading to a remarkable chase against the clock to find her. The musical numbers are outstanding (especially Garrett's and Sinatra's frantic duet "My Place" which, if this weren't a musical-comedy, would send men running to the hills at the sight of an aggressive man-hungry cab driver) and all women dance admirably, but the only one who one remembers is Miller in the museum sequence, twirling like a Tasmanian devil and looking fabulous while doing so. Not a great actress, she could move like not many dancers-turned-actresses could, and it's a pity she decided to basically retire from movies so early and only came back for her small role in MULLHOLLAND DR. As a matter of fact, all except Kelly and Sinatra virtually stopped acting in the late 50s, possibly due to MGM-styled musicals coming to an end at that time.
As a curious note, there's a cute appearance as well by Alice Pearce who would later be remembered as the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravits in the TV series "BEWITCHED." According to facts, she is the only one from the theatrical version to reprise her role here and this role made her career move ahead as well as it gave her a chance to walk away with the movie as well.
ON THE TOWN is one of the best musicals of all time, up there with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and WEST SIDE STORY.
New York has been the focus of film since the beginning of film itself when a 10 minute short about the New York City subway system was made. Here, although not all scenes were actually filmed in New York (and according to Betty Garrett, she and the other girls never saw the city except for the final scene on the harbour, the subject and main character of the film is New York itself: bustling energy, its loud, screeching subway system complete with adverts and pin-up posters (one of Ms Turnstiles which catches Gene Kelly's attention), its (then) tallest building the Empire State Building, its urban landmarks.
As I said in the beginning, there is not much plot. What plot there is consists mainly of the three soldiers pairing off with three women: Jules Munshin with Ann Miller, Frank Sinatra with Betty Garrett, and Gene Kelly with Vera-Ellen, the only one with a back-story and a secret, one that has her slipping from Kelly's arms and leading to a remarkable chase against the clock to find her. The musical numbers are outstanding (especially Garrett's and Sinatra's frantic duet "My Place" which, if this weren't a musical-comedy, would send men running to the hills at the sight of an aggressive man-hungry cab driver) and all women dance admirably, but the only one who one remembers is Miller in the museum sequence, twirling like a Tasmanian devil and looking fabulous while doing so. Not a great actress, she could move like not many dancers-turned-actresses could, and it's a pity she decided to basically retire from movies so early and only came back for her small role in MULLHOLLAND DR. As a matter of fact, all except Kelly and Sinatra virtually stopped acting in the late 50s, possibly due to MGM-styled musicals coming to an end at that time.
As a curious note, there's a cute appearance as well by Alice Pearce who would later be remembered as the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravits in the TV series "BEWITCHED." According to facts, she is the only one from the theatrical version to reprise her role here and this role made her career move ahead as well as it gave her a chance to walk away with the movie as well.
ON THE TOWN is one of the best musicals of all time, up there with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and WEST SIDE STORY.