Amore provinciale

I think this musical is highly underrated. Yes the plot is not particularly original, but how many are original. The plot and acting are not a strong point, but it's a musical. To me this is better than half the Astaire Rogers musicals which I do love. The singing by Nat King Cole and Jane Powell are superb. Plus there are so many wonderful character actors in this like SZ Sakal, Billie Burke and Chill Wills. Their comedy is really great. The dances are by Busby Berkeley and music by Andre Previn. How can you ask for more? It should be remastered and get higher reviews by the critics. I was overwhelmed by the Take me to Broadway number by Bobby Van. This is the best Ann Miller I have seen. She did at least two fabulous tap dancing numbers including a splashy flamenco dance near the end.

Small Town Girl is cute, fluffy and moderately entertaining. It tells the story of a handsome rich young man (Farley Granger) and the titular daughter of the small town judge who sentences him to 30 days in jail for speeding. Antics ensue.

There is much singing and dancing and Bobby Van has a long scene where he hops through town -- even with two or three cuts, it's still a whole lot of hopping!

What made me sit up and take notice, though, was Nat "King" Cole's number, set in a New York nightclub. It makes the film definitely worth watching, even worth buying.

The tagline I quote above was prominently featured on the posters outside the Bay Theater in Pacific Palisades, California, where I saw this film in mid-summer of the year of its release. I hadn't yet entered my teens and, up to that point, had only seen "Singin' in the Rain" from among the treasure trove of M-G-M's greatest musicals. So with my admittedly undeveloped critical tastes, this amiable pastiche seemed pretty good. And Busby Berkeley's showstopping inventions - Ann Miller's tap dance among all those disembodied instrumentalists and Bobby Van's seemingly endless pogo dance through the small town of M-G-M's backlot (One can only imagine Berkeley slave-driving Mr. Van to achieve that amazing feat of energy and agility!) - are still moments I can distinctly remember from that first viewing.

Even when M-G-M wasn't adding a Midas touch to one of their musicals, the studio assembled some talented professionals both before and behind the cameras, and this one has its share. And for fans of Nat King Cole, one of the all-time greats, there's even a brief song in a nightclub (the sort of thing that M-G-M could easily excise to spare the sensitivities of white Southerners, as they did with Lena Horne's solos in previous Technicolor memories, although by the mid-Fifties, Mr. Cole's appearance was probably not removed for bookings below the Mason-Dixon line.)

'Small Town Girl' is a pleasant and entertaining film, but it is a case of some parts faring much better than others.

One shouldn't expect too much from the story, which makes even the thinnest of ice seem thick in comparison and is so old-fashioned with very little variation that in the non-singing and dancing moments one can hear the creaks. Or the script, which does have some light-hearted moments and some sweet and amusing comedy but the more romantic parts lack warmth and momentum, and don't go looking for depth (know this is not the kind of film, but even for a comedy/musical/romance there is a lot of fluff and pleasant moments but not much more than that.

The supporting cast do fare much better than the leads. Bobby Van is an energetic charmer and Ann Miller is a sheer delight. Hearing Nat King Cole sing is always a pleasure, and S.Z. Sakall and Billie Burke sparkle. To be honest Van and Miller would have made better leads perhaps than Jane Powell and Farley Granger, whose performances or scenes are nowhere near as good or as memorable.

The problem by all means does not lie with Powell, who is cute as a button and radiates in charm, her voice bell-like in its clarity. The problems are her lack of chemistry with Granger, one gets the sense that they either didn't have much rehearsal or didn't get on, and with Granger, who is handsome but is a complete blank and looks like he took part in a bet, lost it and is regretting it on screen or something because he doesn't look as though he is enjoying himself one bit and it's draining to watch.

It is Van and Miller that bag 'Small Town Girl's' best scenes. For me, Miller's ingenious routine in "I've Gotta Hear that Beat" (one of my favourite dance numbers from her, and this is from such a talented performer whose dancing and routines were highlights in films she appeared in) is the highlight. Will admit to have not always liked Van's hopping routine in "Take Me to Broadway", on first viewing (which actually wasn't from this film, it was when it was featured in 'That's Entertainment II') it seemed bizarre and too silly a scene but on repeat viewing it is actually a lot of fun and the energy is astounding, whatever opinion one has of the number that it won't be easily forgotten is undeniable.

Cole's soulfully beautiful rendition of "My Flaming Heart", with Cole sounding as dreamlike as always, is another highlight. The scene does feel thrown in somewhat but when it features such a lovely song so beautifully performed that is forgiven very quickly. 'Small Time Town' looks great with the cinematography and costumes being especially pleasing, and while the songs themselves are not exactly timeless (as good as "My Flaming Heart" is, it's not one of Cole's greatest hits in a list that includes "When I Fall in Love" and "Unforgettable") they are very easy on the ear and they along with the dances accompanying them provide the energy, momentum and emotional impact lacking elsewhere in the film.

All in all, a decent film that is worth seeing for the supporting cast and the dance sequences but anybody wanting a good story, depth good lead performances and chemistry between the leads will find themselves short-changed. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Van's "hippity hop" dance number was done on the MGM back lot, not a sound stage. The movie version has at least 3 cuts, so it wasn't filmed in one long take. Busby Berkeley choreographed the number, with 8,523 hops, on both feet for 3 minutes, TRT. (It's not the same as "Take Me to Broadway" which is danced inside his father's store.

In recent years, the "Jumping Song" performed by Bobby Van has been referenced in commercials and music videos, including one for Goldfrapps song "Happiness", in which a happy man jumps through the streets, shaking hands with people and playing with garbage can lids.

Rick Belrow Livingston (Farley Granger), in love with self-obsessed Broadway star Lisa, (Ann Miller), is sentenced to 30 days in jail for speeding through a small town. Quite by accident, he meets the daughter of the judge, Cindy Kimbell (Jane Powell). He persuades her to let him out for one night, so that he can visit Lisa on the premise he is seeing his "poor sick mother" (Billie Burke) on her birthday. After tracking him down and bringing him back to town, Cindy starts to fall for Livingston, but Dr. Schemmer (S.Z. Sakall) wants her to marry his son (Bobby Van) even though he desperately wants a career on Broadway.