User reviews

Danny Xavier Smith (Russ Tamblyn), Rico Ferrari (Vic Damone), and William F. Clark (Tony Martin) are Navy buddies going from one bad assignment to another. The three sailors get a two day shore leave in San Francisco. Bill checks up on his fiancée Ginger (Ann Miller) who is angry with waiting six years stuck in engagement. Rico visits his widowed mother who has a new boyfriend. Danny meets up with his father (Walter Pidgeon) who is an admiral from a long line of admirals. His older sister Susie (Jane Powell) is dating a playboy. He falls for theater dancer Carol Pace (Debbie Reynolds) and joins her rehearsal without even an invitation.

Jane Powell dances with a toy penguin. Debbie Reynolds dances adorably. Ann Miller dances up a storm. I do recognize Russ Tamblyn. With so many characters, the movie tends to jump around and give each story short-shrift aside from the musical numbers. It's a lot of characters to keep track. It has its fun but it's too rambling. It's a very 50's musical and feels a bit old fashion.

If three sailors on shore leave in New York made "On the Town" a hit, then three sailors ashore in San Francisco should make "Hit the Deck" an equal success. Not quite, but not for lack of effort. MGM cast three top female musical stars, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, and Ann Miller; hired choreographer Hermes Pan to stage the dance numbers; added veteran support from Walter Pidgeon, Jane Darwell, and Gene Raymond; used George Foley to crisply photograph the lavish sets and production numbers; and included some tuneful songs like "Hallelujah" and "Join the Navy." So, why is "Hit the Deck" only intermittently entertaining and a prime example of a film that is less than the sum of its parts?

Principally, "Hit the Deck" was torpedoed by a silly script; the boy-girl situations are childish, fluffy, and ridiculous even for a light-weight musical. Rather than hire a Vincente Minnelli, MGM employed director Roy Rowland, who was a novice at musicals and whose prior work was a string of largely forgotten movies. The male casting did not help either. While Russ Tamblyn is a terrific dancer and has a bright boyish presence, he alone cannot carry a movie. His two male co-stars, Tony Martin and Vic Damone have great voices, but their bland good looks and colorless screen personalities cannot compare with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Even Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds are not at their best, which leaves Ann Miller to carry the show, and she gives it her all. Miller is at her tap-dancing best, and her performance as the eager-to-wed Ginger is quite good. When Miller is on screen, the film takes off, even when the musical numbers are less than sterling.

But even the best musical sequences often seem forced and tacked on, rather than connecting with the story, although Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn have an amusing, if irrelevant routine in a fun house. The rousing finale, which features legions of sailors in their dress whites, serves only as an all-singing all-dancing curtain call for the cast. Lacking the touch of producer Arthur Freed or director Stanley Donen or star Gene Kelly, "Hit the Deck" is an MGM musical from the years after the Golden Age had passed. While the film is harmless and fitfully entertaining, only Ann Miller at her best makes "Hit the Deck" worth seeking out.

It's not hard to imagine why this picture bombed in 1955: the "sailors on leave" theme must have seemed incredibly tired 10 years after the end of WWII, especially since the premise is similar to several earlier and better films. On the plus side, if you have a good quality television, the film looks terrific, with vibrant, sharp color. There are plenty of songs and dance sequences to keep us from dwelling on the lackluster plot. There is also an unfortunate lack of comic relief. The female leads do a credible job, though they are not matched with male stars of equal stature (with the possible exception of Vic Damone.) Walter Pigeon doesn't show up until late until late in the picture, so I don't count him. Not a great musical, but not terrible either.