Top 50 Actors, #41 - Gene Kelly: "On the Town" (1949)

Movie Stats:
Released 1949 (USA)
American, in English
Directors - Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Stars - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller

Plot Summary:
In the 1940s, three sailors on 24-hour leave in NYC - Gabe (Kelly), Chip (Sinatra), and Ozzie (Munshin) - meet and fall for three women, respectively - Ivy (Vera-Ellen), Hildy (Garrett), and Claire (Miller).

Warnings:
None.

Bad Stuff:
There’s one song/dance routine that I found to be pretty racist (“Prehistoric Man”) & a couple of other, milder, racist bits.

I didn’t care for the dinosaur bones plot line. It felt superfluous.

Hildy comes off really quite rape-y in the beginning. Like, no means no, lady.

Good Stuff:
With an exception or two (including the one mentioned above), all of the song/dance routines are amazing & so much fun.

I love, love, loved the women’s costuming.

I liked how it played with tropes, making Hildy & Claire much more “manly” in that they were both forward, forceful, and savvy in a way that none of the men were.

About the Performance:
I feel the same way about Gene Kelly as I do other performers of his ilk/genre, such as Fred Astaire or Bing Crosby. I enjoy him immensely, I think he was very talented, and I completely understand his importance within the history of film. However, I would never add him to my own personal list of “great actors” because what he does doesn’t fall within the range of what’s important to me for great acting. I’ve never seen him play any character that was truly different from the rest. That said, I loved him in this.

Other performances of Kelly’s I’ve reviewed: Xanadu; What a Way to Go!; Singin’ in the Rain; An American in Paris.

The Verdict:
It’s certainly a movie of its time, so one has to overlook a bit of racism, misogyny, and antiquated ideals of romance to enjoy it. However, I was able to do so. It’s fun and breezy. From the opening number (“New York, New York”), I thought to myself, “Oh, this is going to be a blast!” I thought it was very clever to open with that; I could easily see how it hyped the audience up for the rest of the show because that’s how it made me feel. This isn’t the kind of film that’s going to make you think. My husband, who watched most of it with me, thought it was cheesy, but I didn’t mind that. Sometimes you just need to have a good time. A film like this can help you in that endeavor.

I give it 4 stars.