On the Town (1949)

My Review

“On the Town” is a musical film about three sailors on a whirlwind 24 hour shore leave in New York City. Directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen (“Singing in the Rain” 1952) put together a classic and memorable MGM musical with outstanding production values, good writing, and unforgettable musical numbers composed by Leonard Bernstein, Roger Edens, Lennie Hayton, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

The cast includes Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Jules Munshin as the three Navy guys, with Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen, Florence Bates, Hans Conried, Sid Melton, Bea Benaderet, and Alice Pearce. “On the Town” was very popular with the movie-going public for producer Arthur Freed and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

It was one of the first Hollywood musicals to feature on-location filming in New York City. This Technicolor motion picture was nominated for and won a single Academy Award for Best Original Musical (Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton). In 2018, “On the Town” was selected for preservation in the United States Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”