It's Always Fair Weather (1955)

Three soldiers meet ten years after their last meeting in New York, and find out that they have little in common now.

Directors:

Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

Writers:

Betty Comden (story), Adolph Green (story)

Stars:

Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Kelly	...	Ted Riley
Dan Dailey	...	Doug Hallerton
Cyd Charisse	...	Jackie Leighton
Dolores Gray	...	Madeline Bradville
Michael Kidd	...	Angie Valentine
David Burns	...	Tim
Jay C. Flippen	...	Charles Z. Culloran

Storyline

Ted, Doug, and Angie are three ex-G.I.s who vow to meet again at a New York bar on October 11, 1955. They all show up on the appointed day, but quickly find that their friendship isn't what it used to be. However, a program coordinator wants to bring the three men together again on a live TV show. Circumstances are further complicated by a group of gangsters who are after Ted.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | bar | friendship | trap door | plunger detonator | 

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Taglines:

M-G-M's Gigantic and Joyous Musical

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

2 September 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fair Weather

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,062,256 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (35 mm optical prints) 4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) (35 mm magnetic prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Heavily promoted in the first episode of "MGM Parade" in 1955 with a clip and interview featuring star Cyd Charisse.

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Goofs

When Ted runs out of Tim's Bar after reading the "Dear John" letter from his girlfriend, at least one of the cars on the street (a taxi) is an early 1950s model, although the scene is set in 1945. The taxis most prominently featured are 1946 DeSoto models, a popular post-war style, but which were not yet in use on the streets as early as October 1945.

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Quotes

Ted Riley: What kind of a screwball are you?
Jackie Leighton: To save you the strain of trying to understand me, I'll give you the salient facts: graduate of Barnard, summa cume laude; career girl; I'm fairly pretty - which is a nuisance; I attract a lot of men at first - but, I can always find a way of getting rid of them and then everybodies happy all around. In short, I can always scare them off.

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Connections

Referenced in American Masters: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002)

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Soundtracks

Stillman's Gym
(1955) (uncredited)
Music by André Previn
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Performed by Lou Lubin, Harry Wilson and chorus

User Reviews

overlooked,dark musical

Just to add to the previous comments who all noted how good this bittersweet mature musical is- I think it just missed being a classic , in spite of all of its fine attributes, because its score is on the ordinary side. That said-Gene Kelly's rollerskate number is as good as his famed soggy solo in Singing in the Rain-it is absolutely breathtaking. And the 3 friends dance with garbage cans on their feet is great. The most surprising is the heartbreaking solo of Dan Dailey. What a performance! He is supposed to be a self loathing ad exec who proceeds to get very drunk at a party and even dances with a cliched lampshade on his head. He never loses his dignity, as he dances with grace and agility ,all the while , convicing us that he's quite drunk. One thing I noticed in the plot. The old war buddies can only bond again after a huge brawl in which they relive their war days and beat up the gangsters. Then they can drink together and let their sensitive sides show and sing about old friendships. At the movies end, Dan Dailey is able to reunite with his unseen wife. He phones her and tells her that he loves her. Kelly is able to go off with Cyd Charisse and Michael Kidd goes back to the "sticks" and his big Italian family and his hamburger joint. The movie ends on a bittersweet note-the three pals go their separate ways. We don't hear them make any plans to meet again.Yet, we don't feel they need to-they still don't have anything in common in the real world. However, in the magical musical world they took from each other what they needed and are now able to accept their somewhat disapointing yet very human realities. They each have grown up and have found more mature relationships with their wives and with themselves. The movie's title is ironic- It isn't always fair weather and real life can be disappointing but we can still find contentment.