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On the Town
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On the Town (1949) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   5,173 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 20% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Adolph Green (screenplay) and
Betty Comden (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for On the Town on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 December 1949 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Musical | Romance more
Tagline:
Come On, Everybody, Let's Go On the Town! more
Plot:
Three sailors on a day of shore leave in New York City look for fun and romance before their twenty-four hours are up. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Statham Hooked On Reality Dance Show
 (From WENN. 6 October 2008, 9:16 AM, PDT)

Broadway Lyricist Betty Comden Dies
 (From WENN. 27 November 2006)

User Comments:
"The Bronx Is Up and the Battery's Down--" more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
98 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (certificate #13929) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In On the Town (1949), Frank Sinatra co-sang "New York, New York". Years later, he used the song "Theme From New York, New York" (first performed by friend Liza Minnelli, and commonly referred to as simply "New York, New York") as a showstopper in his live performances. In his "Concert For The Americas" (1982) he combined the 2 songs using the first verse of the earlier song. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Early in the movie, Gene Kelly accidentally breaks the glass partition in the taxi between the sailors and the driver. He puts a crack in by hitting the glass in excitement. A few scenes later, the glass panel is restored. more
Quotes:
Ozzie: [after Claire took photo of him beside prehistoric man statue] Er, what are you doing tonight?
Claire Huddesen: Now just a minute! I want you to know that my interest in you is purely scientific. I'm just a cold-blooded scientist. And I'm writing an anthropological study for this musuem. It's called : "The Modern Man... And What It Is"
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Six Feet Under: That's My Dog (#4.5)" (2004) more
Soundtrack:
Miss Turnstiles more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
18 out of 18 people found the following comment useful:-
"The Bronx Is Up and the Battery's Down--", 5 December 2001
9/10
Author: jhclues from Salem, Oregon

Here's an idea: Get a group of exceptionally talented performers together, sketch in an outline of a story based on a successful Broadway show, then supply the score, songs and setting in which they can individually and collectively showcase their respective gifts, turn them loose and see what happens, see if it works. Of course, by the time this film was made in 1949, MGM knew it would work, as it had for them many times previously; there was no guess work involved. The result this time around was `On The Town,' a lively musical which marked the directorial debut of co-directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly starring and also doing the choreography. The plot is simple: Three sailors get twenty-four-hour shore leave in New York and set off to make the most of it. Chip (Frank Sinatra) wants to see the sights; Ozzie (Jules Munshin) wants to play; and Gabey (Kelly) immediately falls into an obsession over a girl he sees on a subway poster, `Miss Turnstiles' of the month, Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen), and vows to find her. Along the way they run into a quirky cab driver, Brunhilde (Betty Garrett), and a young woman, Claire (Ann Miller), doing some research at a museum. But what this movie is really all about is entertainment, and it delivers it by the songful.

Kelly and Donen bring it all to life through the words and music of Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Leonard Bernstein, and the score, which earned an Oscar for Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton. it kicks off with Sinatra, Munshin and Kelly doing `New York, New York,' in which they enlighten you to the fact that `The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, and people ride in a hole in the ground--' a dynamite opening that sets the stage for all that comes after. And it's pure entertainment that just sweeps you away with it while you hum along with the six stars of the show as they do what they do best, and it's a delight from beginning to end.

Without a doubt, Kelly emerges as the star among the stars, and his solo numbers and the ones he performs with Vera-Ellen are especially engaging; but this is one of those musicals in which one memorable number follows another, with each of the principals getting their own moment in the spotlight. Vera-Ellen has a great number early on in the film, in which Miss Turnstiles is introduced; Ann Miller taps her way through a rousing routine in the museum (in which she is joined by Sinatra, Munshin, Kelly and Garrett) that really gives her a chance to show her stuff; and Sinatra and Garrett engage in a memorable bit in song, as she attempts to get him to `Come Up To My Place.' Through it all, Sinatra exudes a certain boyish charm while Garrett and Munshin provide the comic relief. All of which makes for a fun and thoroughly entertaining movie experience.

The supporting cast includes Alice Pearce (Lucy), Sid Melton (Spud), Hans Conried (Francois) and Florence Bates (Madame Dilyovska). Some movies are made simply to transport you to another place for a couple of hours, put a smile on your face, a song on your lips and just make you feel good; and `On The Town' is certainly one of them. This is pure, uplifting and satisfying Entertainment, beautifully crafted and delivered and guaranteed to make your day a little brighter. The fact is, they just don't make ‘em like this anymore, and it's a shame. Because this is what the magic of the movies is all about. I rate this one 9/10.

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Destroyer at the Navy Yard peter-alissa
Betty Garretts Dress cjhuthmaker
some horny broads!! monkeytot
How old are you fans? Retro_Princess
No CD soundtrack? johnsuz
Yet another botched musical! gjampol
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