On the Town (1949). Photofest.
(Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, US 1949, 98 min., 35mm)
Senior Matinee—Free for 55+. After Anchors Aweigh four years earlier, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra are once again sailors on the make, this time in New York City for a 24-hour leave. And here, they add singer-dancer Jules Munshin, whom Sinatra had just worked with on Take Me Out to the Ball Game. On their romantic whirlwind tour of the sites in the city, they pair up with Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, and Ann Miller, respectively, making for a musical extravaganza only the likes of MGM can create. Produced by Arthur Freed and with music from Leonard Bernstein, Roger Edens, and Comden and Green, the film remains one of the most colorful, best-remembered musicals from the Hollywood studio system.