On the Town (film)

• Release Date: 1949
• Director(s): Stanley Donen; Gene Kelly
• Writer(s): Betty Comden ; Adolph Green
• Principal Actors and Roles: Gene Kelly (Gabey); Frank Sinatra (Chip); Florence Bates (Mme. Dilyovska); Betty Garrett (Brunhilde Esterhazy); Ann Miller (Claire Huddesen); Jules Munshin (Ozzie); Alice Pearce (Lucy Schmeeler); Vera-Ellen (Ivy Smith)

On the Town is an American musical in which Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly appeared for the third time together, making it a big hit at the box office. The film was directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly (who also choreographed it). The 98-minute color film was based on a Broadway play that premiered in 1944. After the film opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in December 1949, it became a landmark musical.

Adolph Green and Betty Comden wrote the screenplay for On the Town for which they won the Writers Guild of America award for best American musical. Some of the original music from the Broadway production composed by Leonard Bernstein was used, but much of it was new, created by Roger Edens and for which he and Lennie Hayton won the Academy Award for best score in a musical picture.

Plot

The story takes place takes place in the 1940s, during World War II. Three sailors—Chip, Gabey, and Ozzie—land in New York City, where they have a twenty-four hour leave. The trio begin to visit major sites in the big city until they realize that they would rather charm the city’s women.

After seeing a poster of Ivy, a beautiful model on the subway, the three sailors imagine that she comes to life. To their surprise, they see her at a photo shoot after leaving the subway. They try to meet her but miss the opportunity. They hop into a taxi with hopes of finding Ivy. With a poster of her in their hand, they try to track her down. Meanwhile, the taxi cab driver, Brunhilde (Hildy) Esterhazy, tries to entice Chip, and Ozzie meets Claire Huddeson at the natural history museum. Ozzie and Claire share a moment dancing together in the museum but knock over a dinosaur exhibit by mistake and are chased by police.

Now the three sailors with Brunhilde and Claire continue on their hunt for Ivy. They realize that if they split up they can cover more ground so make a plan to meet at the Empire State Building at 8:30. Gabey is delighted to find Ivy at a dance studio and persuades her to go out with him. She tells her strict dance instructor that she will return on time for her performance at Coney Island later that night. Now that the sailors each have a girl on their arm, they are ready to paint the town red and visit the key landmarks that the city has to offer. Out "on the town," they have a grand time but when the clock strikes 11:30, Ivy is missing. Gabey is devastated. Chip and Ozzie try to make him forget about Ivy by pairing him with Brunhilde’s roommate Lucy. But Gabey is distraught and drinks heavily to deal with his loss of love. All he can think of is Ivy.

The tide turns as Gabey learns Ivy’s whereabouts from her dance instructor. The group hits Coney Island where Ivy is performing. Gabey and Ivy reunite, but they realize that Gabey’s twenty-four hours of leave have almost run out. The time comes for the sailors to leave, and they are forced to say good-bye to their ladies.

Significance

Post-World War II America was still celebrating the Allied victory and healing from as the loss of thousands of soldiers in the war effort. On the Town capitalizes on these sentiments and patriotism in the opening scene. In it, three sailors are singing at Brooklyn Navy Yard, just off the ship, and ready to start a day’s adventure in the Big Apple. Yet it also expressed a change in social norms. In post-World War II America, women’s roles had been altered as a result of their work effort in the war. The film showed the change in roles and even the empowerment of women in relationships through the role of Hildy. Hildy is employed as a taxi driver. She is loud and exuberant and pursues Chip without any hesitation. She goes further, pushing American society’s notions of appropriate public sexual behavior (on and off screen) when she sings with Chip how she wants him to "Come up to My Place." Social norms had been altered by the war, and with a setting in a big city, Hildy’s straightforwardness about what she wants from Chip fit into a society that was forever changed. In addition, Ivy is portrayed as a successful and professional dancer even though she is also a calendar girl (Miss Turnstiles). She owes her instructor money and is committed to fulfilling her obligations by doing the performance in Coney Island. The film also illustrates the increase in female education in post-World War II America. Claire is a bright, beautiful anthropology student. She and Ozzie dance together and even run away from the law after the dinosaur exhibit incident.

On the Town was the directing debut for Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Even though the musical genre was nothing new to Hollywood, the film was particularly popular because of its cast, dancing, and brightness but also because it was filmed partly on location. Up to this point, most musicals were filmed solely in the studio. After the film’s success, Gene Kelly created other successful and even more popular musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain. On the Town brought new energy and life to musicals, which paved the way for the success of so many others that followed it in the 1950s.

The film received some criticism that Bernstein’s score only had a minor role in the film. His big hit from the Broadway play, "New York, New York" became very popular and a symbol of New York City. Yet the movie’s score added many of the dance numbers that audiences adored.

Awards and nominations

Won

• Academy Award (1949) Best Score

Nominated

• Golden Globe (1949) Best Cinematography (Color)

Bibliography

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Dixon, Wheeler W., ed. American Cinema of the 1940s: Themes and Variations. Piscataway: Rutgers, 2006. Print.

Hillier, Jim, and Doug Pye. 100 Film Musicals. London: Palgrave, 2011. Print.

Hischak, Thomas S. The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.

Knight, Timothy. Sinatra: Hollywood His Way. Philadelphia: Running, 2011. Print.

Naden, Corinne J. The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre, 1943–1965. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2010. Print.

Oja, Carla J. Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War.

Robinson, Mark A. World of Musicals: An Encyclopedia of Stage, Screen, and Song. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2014. Print.