On the Town
Short description
Three sailors arrive in New York City with just twenty-four hours of shore leave, and they set out to see the sights and meet young women. A subway poster catches the eye of Gabey, who becomes determined to find Ivy Smith, the model named Miss Turnstiles for the month. His friends Chip and Ozzie join the search, and along the way the trio crosses paths with Brunhilde, a taxi driver, and Claire, who studies anthropology. The three women become caught up in the chase as the sailors try to track Ivy down and make it back to their ship in time.
Stanley Donen directed, in the first of the sixteen films listed for him, and Gene Kelly shared directing duties; Adolph Green and Betty Comden wrote the screenplay, with Arthur Freed producing. Kelly, who had also served as director on On the Town and went on to direct Singin' in the Rain, A Guide for the Married Man and Hello, Dolly!, plays Gabey. He is joined by Frank Sinatra as Chip, Betty Garrett as Brunhilde, Ann Miller as Claire, Jules Munshin as Ozzie and Vera-Ellen as Ivy.
Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for about two million dollars, the film returned roughly four million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.3 rating from around twenty thousand votes, and on TMDB a 7 from about three hundred. A critics' score of 8 out of 10 from thirty-one reviews places it above both audience figures. The credited cast runs to sixty-three names.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming in New York took 5 days. The only two factors that interfered with the filming process were the weather (it rained almost constantly) and the fame of Frank Sinatra (1915-1998). According to Gene Kelly (1912-1996), the film was shot during the height of Sinatra's popularity, and he was instantly recognized on the street. For the transportation of the actors involved in the film, they had to hire regular taxis instead of limousines, and the camera had to be hidden in a van; otherwise, crowds of people would immediately gather around the film crew. During the performance of the dance to the song "New York, New York" in the final shot, you can notice the heads of onlookers watching the filming process.
- At least one take of Ann Miller’s (1923-2004) dance to “Prehistoric Man” was ruined by her costume. She was dancing near a dinosaur skeleton, and during one of her turns, her dress’s hem brushed against the bones, and the entire display simply collapsed and fell to the floor. Filming had to be interrupted until the set was restored.
- Frank Sinatra was very thin, and he wore special padding under his sailor suit to appear more filled out.
- Jules Munshin (1915-1970) was afraid of heights. During the filming of the dance on the roof to “New York, New York”, he was tied up with a rope under his sailor suit, and the end of the rope was held by director Stanley Donen (1924-2019) himself. Even so, it is noticeable that in this scene, Munshin almost constantly touches a wall, props, or another actor for extra reassurance.
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