''It's Always Fair Weather'' is a 1955 MGM musical satire scripted by

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...

and

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...

, who also wrote the show's lyrics, with music by

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

and starring

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Dan Dailey Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as '' Mother Wore Tights'' (1947). Biography Early life D ...

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

, Dolores Gray, and dancer/choreographer

Michael Kidd Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, stron ...

in his first film acting role. The film, co-directed by Kelly and

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

, was made in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

and

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

. Although well-received critically at the time, it was not a commercial success, and is widely regarded as the last of the major MGM dance-oriented musicals. In recent years, it has been recognized as a seminal film because of the inventiveness of its dance routines. ''It's Always Fair Weather'' is noted for its downbeat theme, which may have hurt it at the box office, and has been called a rare "cynical musical".

Plot

Three ex- G.I.s, Ted Riley, Doug Hallerton and Angie Valentine have served in World War II together and become best friends. At the beginning of the film, set in October 1945, they meet at their favorite New York bar, Tim's Bar and Grill before their release from the service. When Riley receives a

Dear John letter A Dear John letter is a letter written to a man by his wife or romantic partner to inform him that their relationship is over, usually because his partner has found another lover. The man is often a member of the military stationed overseas, alth ...

from his girlfriend telling him she has married another man, his friends comfort him and join him hitting every other bar in town. They dance drunkenly through the street together ("The Binge") before returning to Tim's. Barman Tim is dubious about their vows of eternal friendshiphaving heard similar claims made by many other discharged servicemenand wagers them they will forget about each other. The trio protest that they will be different and promise to reunite exactly ten years later at the same spot, tearing a dollar bill in three parts and writing the date of October 11, 1955 on each piece. In the years after the war, the three men take entirely different paths, as shown through the "10-Year Montage". Riley had wanted to become an idealistic lawyer, but instead has become a fight promoter and gambler, associating with shady underworld characters. Hallerton, who had planned to become a painter, has gone into a high-stress job in advertising, and his marriage is crumbling. Valentine, who had planned to become a gourmet chef, is now running a hamburger stand in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Yo ...

that he calls "The Cordon Bleu." He has a wife and several children. The three men keep their promise to meet at the bar ten years later, and quickly realize that they now have nothing in common and dislike each other. Hallerton and Riley view Valentine as a "hick", while Riley and Valentine think Hallerton is a "snob", and Hallerton and Valentine think Riley is a "punk". Sitting together in an expensive restaurant as Hallerton's guest, munching celery, they silently express their regrets in "I Shouldn't Have Come", sung to the tune of " The Blue Danube". At the restaurant, they encounter some people from Hallerton's advertising agency, including Jackie Leighton, an attractive and brainy advertising executive. Jackie gets the idea of reuniting the three men later that evening on a TV show hosted by Madeline Bradville. She and Riley gradually become involved, though at first Jackie seems motivated by wanting to get Riley on her show. She joins Riley at Stillman's gym, where Jackie demonstrates a deep knowledge of boxing while cavorting with beefy boxers to the tune of "Baby You Knock Me Out". Riley gets into trouble with mobsters because he refuses to fix a fight. Evading the gangsters by dashing inside a roller skating ring, he skates out on the streets of Manhattan, where he realizes that Jackie's affection for him has built up his self-esteem, and he dances exuberantly on roller skates ("I Like Myself"). Hallerton, meanwhile, has misgivings about the corporate life ("Situation-Wise"). The three men are reluctantly coaxed into the TV reunion, while the gangsters track Riley inside the studio. The three ex-service buddies fight and defeat the gangsterstricking the head mobster into confessing on live television. The brawl brings the trio back together and they escape from the studio when the police arrive. At the end, they are friends again, but go their separate ways without making plans for another reunion ("The Time for Parting").

Cast

as Ted Riley *

as Doug Hallerton *

as Jackie Leighton * Dolores Gray as Madeline Bradville *

as Angie Valentine * David Burns as Tim * Jay C. Flippen as Charles Z. Culloran Uncredited *Steve Mitchell as Kid Mariacchi *

Hal March Hal March (born Harold Mendelson; April 22, 1920 – January 19, 1970) was an American comedian, actor, and television quiz show emcee. Early career March entered show business as a straight man in the vaudeville act the Hollywood Rioteers, b ...

as Rocky Heldon *

Paul Maxey Paul Regan Maxey (March 15, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American actor. Born in Wheaton, Illinois, the rotund Maxey played character roles in films from 1937, notably as the composer Victor Herbert in ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' (1946) ...

as Mr. Fielding * Peter Leeds as Mr. Trasker *Alex Gerry as Mr. Stamper * Madge Blake as Mrs. Stamper * Wilson Wood as Roy, television director *

Richard Simmons Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is an American fitness personality and public figure, known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. He has promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his ''Swe ...

as Mr. Grigman *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as Nashby *Lou Lubin as Lefty * Saul Gorss as Henchman * Terry Wilson as Henchman *

John Indrisano Johnny Indrisano (November 1, 1905 — July 6, 1968) was an American welterweight boxer whose career spanned the period from 1923 to 1934. He later became a film stunt performer and bit-part film and TV actor. Career Indrisano was born in Bo ...

as Henchman * Frank Nelson as the Emcee *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

voice of Molly Mop

Production history

and

originally conceived this film as a sequel to '' On the Town''; to reunite

with his ''On the Town '' co-stars

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

and Jules Munshin; it was to be produced as a Broadway show. At Kelly's insistence, however, they made it into an MGM musical. Kelly, at this point in his life, had been making films in Europe, such as '' Invitation to the Dance'', to take advantage of a tax law for resident Americans. But the films in Europe failed and the tax law was revoked, forcing Kelly to return to America. MGM, under new production chief

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...

, did not want to hire either Sinatra or Munshin; the former due to his difficult working reputation, the latter because he was not popular with audiences anymore. Ultimately, Kelly chose fellow dancers

, who was under contract to MGM, and

, who had more choreographic than acting experience (he choreographed the Broadway and film versions of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'', as well as ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...

''). Kelly was also forced to shoot the movie in

Cinemascope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

, which he felt did not suit screen dancing. Many of the numbers in the film, such as "The Binge" and "Once Upon a Time" show Kelly's efforts to make use of Cinemascope. Comden and Green wrote the songs with

providing the music as well as the accompanying score; it was his second major assignment on an MGM film, after ''

Bad Day at Black Rock ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' is a 1955 American neo-Western film directed by John Sturges with screenplay by Millard Kaufman. It stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan with support from Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest ...

''. Kelly asked his old friend and collaborator

to co-direct with him. Donen, who had just scored a major success with ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'' (with Kidd as choreographer), did not want to go back to collaborating with Kelly, but reluctantly agreed. Kelly and Donen clashed over creative issues in the film, with Donen tending to side with Kidd against Kelly. After this film, Donen and Kelly never worked together again, and their friendship ended permanently, as Donen later confirmed.

Reception

''It's Always Fair Weather'' received good reviews when it came out, ''Variety'' calling it a "delightful musical satire", while

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote it was a "bright film" that spoofed "the whiskers off TV". It was also voted one of the year's 10 best films by the New York Film Critics. However, the studio did not open it with the fanfare it had given previous musicals. Instead, it was released as part of a drive-in double bill with ''

'', and the studio did not make its money back. The film's bleakness may have had something to do with it (audiences at the time were not accustomed to unhappy musicals); but also, more Americans were staying at home with television than going to the movies at this time. André Previn claims the film's failure had to do with its being a musical; he felt that it would have been a good film had it not had any songs. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an aggregate score of 88% based on 7 positive and 1 negative critic review. In her book ''

5001 Nights at the Movies ''5001 Nights at the Movies: A Guide from A to Z'', first published in 1982, is a book compiling passages of film critic Pauline Kael's reviews from the silent era to the early 1980s. They were originally written for ''The New Yorker''’s 'Goings ...

'', critic

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

called the film a "delayed hangover", and wrote that its "mixture of parody, cynicism and song and dance is perhaps a little sour". She had praise for Dailey's "Situationwise" number and wrote that "to a great extent this is Dailey's movie". The film was nominated in 1955 for Academy Awards for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture and for Best Story and Screenplay. In recent years, the film's reputation has grown among fans of musicals and of Gene Kelly, whose dance on roller skates to "I Like Myself" is seen as the last great dance solo of his career. Scenes from the film were included in MGM's 1976 film '' That's Entertainment, Part II'', in a segment hosted by Kelly and

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

. The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

in these lists: * 2006:

AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals is a list of the top musicals in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute at the Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Holl ...

– Nominated

Awards and nominations

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,380,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $994,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $1,675,000.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack recordings have been issued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

and in 1991 by Sony Music. Track listing: Lyrics by

and

; music score by

. All pieces played by MGM Studio Orchestra conducted by André Previn. Between brackets the singers. # "Overture" 1:04 # "March, March" (

) 1:21 # "The Binge" 5:07 # "The Time for Parting" (Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd) 2:01 # "10-Year Montage" 2:18 # "The Blue Danube (I Shouldn't Have Come)" (Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd) 2:30 # "Music Is Better Than Words" ( Dolores Gray) 2:10 # "Stillman's Gym" (Lou Lubin) 2:10 # "Baby You Knock Me Out" ( Carol Richards inging for Cyd Charisse Lou Lubin) 2:40 # "The Ad Men" (Dan Dailey, Paul Maxey) 0:48 # "Once Upon a Time" (Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd) 3:33 # "Situation-Wise" (Dan Dailey) 2:49 # "The Chase" 1:04 # "I Like Myself" (Gene Kelly) 4:10 # "Klenzrite" (Dolores Gray) 1:34 # "Thanks a Lot, but No, Thanks" (Dolores Gray) 3:47 # "The Time for Parting (Finale)" ( David Burns and chorus) 1:46

References

Citations

Additional sources

*'' Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer'' *Hugh Fordin: ''The World of Entertainment'',

External links

* * * * * {{Comden and Green 1950s satirical films 1955 films 1955 musical comedy films 1955 romantic comedy films American boxing films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American satirical films André Previn albums CinemaScope films Films about advertising Films about television Films about veterans Films directed by Gene Kelly Films directed by Stanley Donen Films produced by Arthur Freed Films scored by André Previn Films set in 1945 Films set in 1955 Films set in New York City Films with screenplays by Betty Comden and Adolph Green Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films