Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

No need to echo consensus points or recap the plot. To me, the movie's not so much a musical as it is a post-war explosion of sheer energy. So who needs a power company to light up a city. Just plug in the first 20-minutes of the 3-sailors romping through NY, and there's enough energy to electrify a dozen metropolises. I was on the floor wiping sweat just watching them. No, this is not a musical in the conventional sense—the songs are mostly forgettable, big production numbers are limited, and there's even less plot than usual. Instead, it's a celebration of life, love, and community. In short, it's the good life that dances before audiences, and good-riddance to a war and a Depression that are at last truly over. It's that affirmation, I think, that connects movie generations.For a non-New Yorker, it's fun seeing the high-spot realities behind those well-known names. In fact, the many landmark shots are expertly blended with the flying feet. Plus, I'm still marveling at that nighttime cityscape from the skyscraper top. It's a memorable background, unlike any other I've seen. Production-wise, I don't know what they paid our 6-stalwart performers, but MGM should be re-initialed as KSM with our 3-highstepping ladies as talent scouts. Anyway, it's taken me 50-years to finally share the movie experience. So at last I see what all the fuss has been about. No doubt about it— Better late than never.

Over 60 years since this film was made, but still better than most pictures produced today.3 sailors on an over night shore leave go to sight-see New York, day and night. They sing, dance and laugh their way through various adventures including romantically.Super songs, great dance routines, and a marvelous funny script. Good insight into the culture of a different generation. Lots of style and elegance and in the nicest possible way a good dose of "camp".The only reason I cannot give the top vote is that in my opinion some of the dream sequences seem forced and out of place.Alice Pearce as Lucy Schmeeler gives a hilarious performance and steals the whole film.New York, New York: what a wonderful town!8/10.

Three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin) arrive in New York and have a day of shore leave. Oddly, they spend the beginning of the movie running wildly about town seeing all the popular sites. Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think THAT would be the agenda for most sailors! Later, in an odd twist, they meet up with three girls--and mostly (especially in the case of Betty Garrett) they do the pursuing! And what do these frisky sailors want to do now that they've got dates--yes, hang out in night clubs! "On the Town" is a highly regarded musical. Because of this, I feel a bit odd because I was not particularly impressed by it. The film started very well with the "New York, New York" sequence and maintained its momentum for some time, but after a while it started to drag and the quality of the musical numbers seemed to flag as well. To me, the low-light was Gene Kelly's LONG dance routine--it just seemed interminably long. The over film wasn't terrible...it just wasn't very good later in the film. Uneven but worth seeing.By the way, nearly every MGM film from the golden era includes several shorts (including a cartoon) to make it feel like an afternoon at the movies in the old days. Well, oddly, "On the Town" did NOT include this--for shame Turner Entertainment, we want these shorts!!

On the Town (1949)There is so much going right with this movie--from the photography (yes) by Harold Rossen and the music (famously) by Leonard Bernstein, from the leading actors (Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly) to the directors (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly)--it's hard to realize how dated or almost bad some moments have become. This is delightful, fantastic, and inspired stuff, total fun top to bottom. But it also has moments that are cringe inducing.And I like musicals.If you don't like musicals in particular, you should start with specimens with wider appeal, and higher standards: "Singin' in the Rain" and "West Side Story" would work for me, if we're talking classics. Throw in "Swing Time" or "Top Hat" if you want an Astaire classic, too. Or a Garland singing musical.This one is from the amazing run of polished hits by producer Arthur Freed. The choreography varies from excellent to wonderful. If it's choreographed dancing you like, check this out. Some of the format it is from the standard style of the Golden Age, where the characters break into song or dance in the middle of their normal doings--in this case, three sailors racing through Manhattan on 24 hour leave.Other parts have choreography, probably by Gene Kelly, that becomes abstract and cinematic, a Hollywood innovation (also seen, famously, in "Singin' in the Rain" and "An American in Paris"). The scenes, whether stylized or realistic, are fabulous. The standards are high--space, light, and control of color (Technicolor, of course) inside and out.What drags the movie down is some awful writing, both in the dialog and even in some of the songs. I know lots of musical lovers who don't give a hoot if the lyrics make sense or are especially good--they become secondary to the rest of it, and the artifice is part of the game. But I know others who, like me, prefer the clever, the lyric, the original. And there are some real wincing moments.And in fact, the movie as a whole is awkward, a series of vignettes that do eventually string together into a chronology, but they hardly have to. They survive, or struggle, independently. Some of the acting is forced and you may or may not like the sidekicks like the third sailor, who's just too comic and goofy for my taste. Even the lead actresses, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen, are no match for Debbie Reynolds, let alone Judy Garland.Now, let's finally add--the best of the songs, and the dancing and photography, are top notch. For all musical lovers. The great final pieces at about 1:17 into the movie is amazing stuff.Note: Bernstein's music originated in a ballet, "Fancy Free," which turned into the Broadway play "On the Town" in 1944. But when this film was made, most of Bernstein's music was replaced with new stuff--some of which is the mediocre music that brings the production down a notch.At times the biggest star in the show is New York itself. Love it.