On the Town Overview:

On the Town (1949) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly and produced by Arthur Freed and Roger Edens.

SYNOPSIS

Bernstein's (with Comden and Green) great musical comedy gets the full Technicolor treatment with fine singing and dancing. Three sailors (Kelly, Munshin, and Sinatra) with 24 hours of shore leave seek excitement and romance in New York City, an excitement conjured especially in the famous "New York, New York" number. They team with Garrett, Miller, and Vera-Ellen, and they are off gallivanting around N.Y.C. Doubly directed by Kelly and Donen (their first directorial pairing), this fast-moving musical is not only contagious fun, but also a splendid look at New York City ("a helluva town") in the 1940s.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Academy Awards 1949 --- Ceremony Number 22 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Music - ScoringRoger Edens, Lennie HaytonWon
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BlogHub Articles:

Review: On The Town (1949): MGM’s New York Musical

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jun 8, 2020 From 4 Star Films

There is an immediate understanding that goes with the opening image of a construction worker arriving at the docks, still sleepy, as the world wakes up with him. And he does something that while still theatrical has roots in a very human urge, to bring in the new day with song. If we look at the MG... Read full article


Musical Monday: On the Town (1949)

on Feb 3, 2020 From Comet Over Hollywood

It?s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week?s musical: On the Town (1949) ? Musical... Read full article


"On the Town," In Celebration of Leonard Bernstein's Centenary

By The Lady Eve on Aug 25, 2018 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer/conductor/pianist Leonard Bernstein. In celebration, movie houses around the country are showcasing films scored by the legendary maestro. My local theater, the Smith Rafael Film Center (aka/the Rafael) put together a three-film tribute to ... Read full article


1001 Classic Movies: On the Town

By Amanda Garrett on Aug 5, 2017 From Old Hollywood Films

On the Town (1949) is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. The musical stars Frank Sinatra (left), Jules Munshin, and Gene Kelly as three sailors who are on shore leave in New York City. Each week, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 se... Read full article


On the Town

By Amanda Garrett on Dec 12, 2015 From Old Hollywood Films

Today, I'm celebrating Frank Sinatra's 100th birthday with a look at one of his best MGM musicals, On the Town (1949). Here's Ol' Blue Eyes on the Brooklyn Bridge with costars Jules Munshin (center), and Gene Kelly (right). This article is part of the Sinatra Centennial Blogathon hosted by Movie... Read full article


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Quotes from

Claire Huddesen: How'd you feel if someone broke your dinosaur?
Ozzie: Never had one. We were too poor.


Claire Huddesen: [singing] Some guys care a lot for me. But my excitement they can't fan. Because I still await my primitive mate. We have a date... since the world began, my prehistoric man...!
[dancing with Ozzie]


Officer Tracy, Car 44: [to his patrol car partner, after hearing about the dinosaur collapsing] Collapse? That's terrible. She's my favorite singing star, that Dinah Shore!
[the other officer rolls his eyes]


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Facts about

When the film premiered at the Radio City Music Hall there was then the largest line to get in, in that theater's history. After the film's initial success, Arthur Freed, the producer of this film, recalled that his unit was in the MGM commissary passing the Joe Pasternak unit (which made less expensive musicals), the Pasternak unit said, "There goes the royal family." Indeed, this picture was at the time the second largest-grossing in MGM history, next to Meet Me in St. Louis.
When Gene Kelly dismisses the beauty of a passing New York girl, Jules Munshin asks, "Who you got waiting for you in New York, Ava Gardner?" Frank Sinatra was having an affair with Gardner at the time.
This was the first musical feature film to be shot on location. In a TCM interview, Ann Miller took the credit for pleading and persuading Louis B. Mayer to do the shoot on location as she had "never seen New York".
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Best Music - Scoring Oscar 1949







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Also directed by Stanley Donen




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Also produced by Arthur Freed




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Also released in 1949




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