Diagonaldi Very well executed

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Rpgcatech Disapointment

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

JohnHowardReid Attractive songs plus super-vivacious Ann Miller and well-voiced newcomer Kay Armen, just manage to surmount an impossibly old-hat, totally unbelievable screenplay, plus dull as a dry dock direction, plus listless and mostly indifferent staging (except when Miss Miller is on hand) and, worst of all, dreary acting from Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn and even, alas, Debbie Reynolds! However, In defense of Tony Martin and Debbie Reynolds, it must be said that their ridiculous and impoverished roles were simply impossible to play at all, let alone well! On the other hand, however, Vic Damone seems be irritatingly content to be just naturally dull. And as for Russ Tamblyn, as usual, he gives the impression of trying too hard. (True, you're supposed to try hard, but you've got to make it look real easy. That, Russ and Vic, is the number one essence of movie acting). Producer Pasternak has given the film some lush, but creatively empty, production values. In at least 90% of cases, it's no use spending money on costumes, sets and scenery, if your script, your director and your players are all three, well below par.

dglink 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.

joseph952001 When this movie first came out, we had just been exposed to Cinamascope, Cinerama, VistaVision, SuperScope, and Todd-A-O. People where in their living rooms watching television and movies were not making any money, so they had to think of a way to get everyone from in front of the television and back into the theaters, and the WideScreens, 3-D, and Stereophonic Sound did the trick! But, here's the problem, years later, with watching films like "Hit The Deck": We were all fans of actress' like Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds because most of us watched them grow up from children to adult players in films. Tony Martin was a very popular singer. Russ Tamblyn had the look of a Mormon making movies because Russ Tamblyn was/is an Mormon. Ann Miller took over as the Queen of the Taps when Elinor Powell retired, and Kay Armand was a very popular singer at the time. So, we enjoyed these performers and loved seeing them on that immense screen with the 3 channel stereophonic sound which was the Miracle of that Century, and, once again, if you have never experienced these movies like "Hit The Deck" on the large screen with its 3 channel stereophonic sound, then I can see why others in the later generations to come would not appreciate them. Especially when you have song writers like Vincent Youmans, who wrote the score for Hit the Deck, and other composers like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. Thank God, we can still enjoy these composers music today because it's been saved, and if you grew up in this age of the wonderful M.G.M. musicals, yes, even you, would admit that todays music, as the kids say, "Sucks"! This movie is just good old fashioned entertainment. Who needs a story line to get in the way of all this great music and dance numbers! Of course, sometimes things were predictable, such as when Tony Martin is singing "More Than You Know" to Ann Miller, and the look on her face is the same look she had when Fred Astair sang "It Only Happnens When I Dance With You" in the movie "Easter Parade", but who cared? So, we knew the formula: Give meets Boy, Girl and Boy Fight: Gir and Boy Get Back Together; Boy and Girl Find Out That All Along They Were in Love and Didn't Know It, and then the Extravagant Musical Finale with everyone in the audience feeling good that they saw the movie! The finale to this film with the whole cast singing "Halleluah" and Ann Miller tapping her feet off; the general energy you get from the last scene, made you want to dance out of the theater and on to the streets. Hell! Who needed anti-depressants in those days? Our anti-depressants were the energy that these wonderful musicals gave us! It's just a shame that they don't make musicals like this anymore! But, of course, I can see why! Who are you going to put in a song and dance movie musical? Leonardo Di Caprio?

drednm2004 .,, except for the underrated Ann Miller who breathes a little life into this leaden musical. Miller's "bayou woman" number is fun, but Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Pidgeon, Vic Damone, and the god-awful Tony Martin and Russ Tamblyn just lie there like dead fish. The Fun House number with Reynolds and Tamblyn is a pale copy of the one in A Damsel in Distress, which featured Fred Astaire, Gracie Allen, and George Burns. Powell is at her sugary worst; Damone looks embarrassed throughout. Even dependable Gene Raymond, Jane Darwell, and J. Carrol Naish don't add much zip. Lousy production numbers abound, and the set decoration looks like a yard sale. Stinker!