Yes, this is a sort of second string On The Town (without navy whites) and no, Tony Curtis wasn't primarily and song and dance man. But early in his career at Universal, he was up for all kinds of roles from boxing noir (Flesh and Fury) to yeoman grade costume adventures (Black Shield of Falworth). Tony brought a fresh, free-spirited likability to just about every genre, and this light-hearted musical about three sailors on leave in Paris is no exception; he sings well, he dances with abandon, and he ingratiates the charm with a beginner's ease.
Co-star Gene Nelson was an expert dancer with years of experience, and gets several opportunities to charm the audience (and the girl) and Paul Gilbert saves the day during a final revue staged for a War Orphan benefit. Gloria De Haven, largely forgotten today, evokes a natural performance as a singer/dancer transplanted to postwar Paris, and Corinne Calvet and Mara Corday fill in the girlfriend gaps with looks and ease. All this in Glorious Technicolor and a well-paced 90 minutes makes a perfect popcorn movie for a Saturday afternoon.
As a side note: we often think as MGM and Fox as the primary purveyors of musicals, perhaps because the product has made itself readily available on DVD and TCM for so long, and certainly because MGM practically owned the genre at it's best. The disappointment is that this film, like so many from Universal, is not available to the general public, and never shows up on television (not unlike the boxing noir Flesh and Fury, with Tony and Jan Sterling). As so many companies like Turner and now Columbia are opening their archives for DVDS pressings, let's hope we soon get an opportunity to see these light-hearted treasures!
Co-star Gene Nelson was an expert dancer with years of experience, and gets several opportunities to charm the audience (and the girl) and Paul Gilbert saves the day during a final revue staged for a War Orphan benefit. Gloria De Haven, largely forgotten today, evokes a natural performance as a singer/dancer transplanted to postwar Paris, and Corinne Calvet and Mara Corday fill in the girlfriend gaps with looks and ease. All this in Glorious Technicolor and a well-paced 90 minutes makes a perfect popcorn movie for a Saturday afternoon.
As a side note: we often think as MGM and Fox as the primary purveyors of musicals, perhaps because the product has made itself readily available on DVD and TCM for so long, and certainly because MGM practically owned the genre at it's best. The disappointment is that this film, like so many from Universal, is not available to the general public, and never shows up on television (not unlike the boxing noir Flesh and Fury, with Tony and Jan Sterling). As so many companies like Turner and now Columbia are opening their archives for DVDS pressings, let's hope we soon get an opportunity to see these light-hearted treasures!