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''It's Always Fair Weather'' is a 1955 American
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film directed by
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
and
Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer. He received the Honorary Academy Award in 70th Academy Awards, 1998, and the Golden Lion#Golden Lion – Honorary Award, Career Golden Lion ...
. The film was scripted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, 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 ...
. It stars Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse,
Dolores Gray Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life Both her mother ...
, and dancer/choreographer Michael Kidd in his first film acting role. The film, co-directed by Kelly and Donen, was shot in
CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, 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 cr ...
and Eastmancolor. Although well-received critically at the time, it was not a commercial success, and is one of the last major dance-oriented
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
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, unusual for a musical, 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. In October 1945, they meet at their favorite New York City bar, Tim's Bar & Grill, before their release from the service. When Ted receives a Dear John letter 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 ("10-Year Montage"). Ted had wanted to become an idealistic lawyer, but instead has become a fight promoter and gambler, associating with shady underworld characters. Doug, who had planned to become a painter in Europe, has gone into a high-stress job in advertising in Chicago, and his marriage is crumbling. Angie, who had aspired to become a gourmet chef, is now running a hamburger stand in
Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
, 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. Following the initial excitement, they quickly realize that they now have nothing in common and dislike each other. Doug and Ted view Angie as a "hick", while Ted and Angie think Doug is a "snob", and Doug and Angie consider Ted a "punk". Sitting together in an expensive restaurant as Doug'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 Doug's advertising agency, including Jackie Leighton, an attractive and brainy advertising executive. Jackie comes up with the idea of reuniting the three men later that evening on a TV show hosted by Madeline Bradville. She and Ted gradually become involved, though at first Jackie seems motivated by wanting to get Ted on her show. She joins Ted 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". Ted 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"). Doug, meanwhile, has misgivings about the corporate life ("Situation-Wise"). The three men are reluctantly coaxed into the TV reunion, while the gangsters track Ted 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. They make their way to Tim's Bar & Grill again, where Doug calls his wife and reconciles with her. They remember the occasion where they left the dollar bill ten years before and use that to pay for their last drinks. After Jackie walks in and kisses Ted, the three friends go their separate ways without making plans for another reunion ("The Time for Parting").


Cast

*
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
as Ted Riley * Dan Dailey as Doug Hallerton * Cyd Charisse as Jackie Leighton *
Dolores Gray Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life Both her mother ...
as Madeline Bradville * Michael Kidd 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 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 as Mr. Grigman * Herb Vigran 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 a film and TV actor. Career Indrisano was born in Boston. ...
as Henchman * Frank Nelson as the Emcee * June Foray as the voice of Molly Mop


Production

Screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green conceived ''It's Always Fair Weather'' as a sequel to '' On the Town'' (1949). It was intended to reunite
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
with his ''On the Town '' co-stars
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
and Jules Munshin; it was to be produced as a Broadway show. Comden stated, "While we were trying out to think of another idea for Gene, by chance we told him this story. Gene liked it." Kelly instead persuaded them to re-envision their idea into a musical film. Comden and Green outlined the story to Arthur Freed, who also asked Roger Edens to attend the pitch meeting. Freed and Edens approved their idea, and Comden and Green began writing their script. Additionally, Comden and Green were permitted to write the lyrics. To compose the songs, Edens was not available he was preoccupied with '' Deep in My Heart'' (1954). Based on his work in '' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956), Freed hired
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 ...
as the film composer. However, Dore Schary, MGM's studio president, refused to hire either Sinatra or Munshin. By this point, Munshin's popularity had declined and he was relegated to comedic supporting roles. Multiple reasons have been given for Sinatra's absence. Apparently, Schary did not want to hire Sinatra due to his difficult working reputation. According to Kelly's biographer
Clive Hirschhorn Clive Hirschhorn (born February 20, 1940) is a South African writer and critic known for his long tenure as film and theater critic for the British ''Sunday Express'' newspaper and as the author of several books. Early life and journalism Born i ...
, Sinatra declined to return to wearing a sailor suit after he had recently won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for '' From Here to Eternity'' (1953). As a result, the three main leads were recharacterized as G.I. soldiers. Ultimately, Kelly chose fellow dancers Dan Dailey, who was under contract to MGM, and Michael Kidd, who had more experience as a choreographer (he choreographed the Broadway and film versions of '' Guys and Dolls'', as well as '' The Band Wagon'') than as an actor.
Dolores Gray Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life Both her mother ...
and Cyd Charisse were cast in the central female roles. Kelly asked his frequent collaborator
Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer. He received the Honorary Academy Award in 70th Academy Awards, 1998, and the Golden Lion#Golden Lion – Honorary Award, Career Golden Lion ...
to co-direct with him. Donen, who had just scored a major success with '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (with Kidd as choreographer), initially declined to direct. He explained, "I didn't want to co-direct another picture with Kelly at that point. We didn't get on very well, and for that matter, Gene didn't get on really well with anybody." Due to his previous experience during '' Brigadoon'' (1954), Kelly was reluctant to shoot in
CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, 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 cr ...
, which he did not find suitable for screen dancing. Regardless, one of Donen's ideas using the CinemaScope format was to use split screen into three parts to depict the separate careers of the main leads. To accomplish this effect, the three cameras had to move at precisely the same speed, so the actors would not appear to be jumping across the frame.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on October 13, 1954 and wrapped on March 15, 1955. Due to Dore Schary's attempts at austerity, ''It's Always Fair Weather'' was not as lavishly produced when compared to ''
An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced symphonic poem (or tone poem) for orchestra by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and en ...
'' (1951) and '' Singin' in the Rain'' (1952). Comden and Green sensed this as production numbers for prior MGM musicals had to be approved by Arthur Freed. However, as they wrote the script, production numbers instead had to have the final approval by Schary. Green explained, "It was made when the era of musicals was over, at least at MGM." Comden further added, "It ''was'' over. I don't think Gene was quite the star he was. He wasn't that popular anymore, and neither were musicals." Comden, Green, and Previn had written a song titled "Love is Nothing but a Racket" as a slow ballad duet between Kelly and Charisse. Kelly objected to the song, complaining to Previn that "nobody wants to sit still for a ballad." At his insistence, Kelly recorded the song at a quadruple of the original tempo, but the number was cut from the film. Another production number titled "Jack and the Space Giants" featured Kidd performing an elaborate ten-minute dance with a group of children. The number was recorded and filmed, but never previewed. Kelly explained "that number was cut; it didn't come across—it didn't work out. And I think it was cut rightfully so."


Reception


Box office

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


Critical response

Hy Hollinger of '' Variety'' wrote the film "takes on advertising agencies and tv commercials, and what emerges is a delightful musical satire that should help empty living rooms and fill up theatres". Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' wrote it was a "bright film" that spoofed "the whiskers off TV". Kate Cameron of the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' praised the film, writing, "Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who wrote the screenplay and composed the lyrics for the new Music Hall film, ''It's Always Fair Weather,'' have had some fun at the expense of TV. The picture is a lively, amusing lampoon on some types of video shows and of the sponsors and advertising agencies who back them." Edwin Schallert of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' felt that while "the premise of the story and screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green is an interesting one, the picture does not get off the ground quite as happily as the theme might promise." In December 1955, Crowther listed ''It's Always Fair Weather'' as one of the year's top ten films. In her book '' 5001 Nights at the Movies'', critic
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
called the film a "delayed hangover", and wrote that its "mixture of parody, cynicism and song and dance is perhaps a little sour". She did however praise Dailey's "Situationwise" number and wrote that "to a great extent this is Dailey's movie". 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 ''That's Entertainment, Part II'' is a 1976 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a sequel to ''That's Entertainment!'' (1974).''Variety Film Reviews, Variety'' film review; May 5, 1976, page 18. Like the previous film, '' ...
'', in a segment hosted by Kelly and
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...
. On the
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website
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, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10.


Accolades


Soundtrack

Soundtrack recordings have been issued by
Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
and in 1991 by Sony Music. Track listing: Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green; music score 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 ...
. All pieces played by MGM Studio Orchestra conducted by André Previn. Between brackets the singers. # "Overture" 1:04 # "March, March" (
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director 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, Michael Kidd) 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 Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life Both her mother ...
) 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


See also

* List of American films of 1955 *
List of boxing films This is a list of films about boxing featuring notable sports films where boxing plays a central role in the development of the plot. __TOC__ List See also * List of sports films * List of highest-grossing sports films References {{Spo ...


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

* * * * {{Comden and Green 1955 films 1955 musical comedy films 1955 romantic comedy films 1950s American films 1950s English-language films 1950s romantic musical films 1950s satirical films American boxing films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American satirical films André Previn albums CinemaScope films English-language musical comedy films English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic musical films Films about advertising Films about friendship 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 On the Town