HIT THE DECK [1955 / 2014] [Blu-ray] [Warner Archive Collection] [USA Release]
The Liveliest Musical of the Year! Hallelujah, What a Show!
‘Anchors Aweigh,’ ‘On the Town’ and ‘HIT THE DECK.’ Here with these Hollywood Musicals has always known what to do with sailors on leave: Give 'em some pretty girls, some great songs and watch the fans line up to enlist!
‘HIT THE DECK’ hits all the right notes as three sailors Tony Martin, Vic Damone and Russ Tamblyn and three cuties Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds and Ann Miller flirt, squabble, run afoul of shore patrol and of course, fall in love to a hit parade of Vincent Youmans' tunes. Highlights include Ann Miller's polishing the floor as "The Lady from the Bayou," Tony Martin's romantic mastery of "More Than You Know" and the stage-filling rouser "Hallelujah." Music, romance, fun and please don't miss the boat!
FILM FACT: Although the names of George Murphy, Bobby Van, Jack E. Leonard, Vera-Ellen, and Ann Crowley appeared in early publicity for the film, they did not appear in it. Because of a scandalous love affair between Jane Powell and actor Gene Nelson, it was widely rumoured that Jane Powell would be replaced for the film. Jane Powell, Vic Damone and Ann Miller were all at or near the end of their contracts with M-G-M when they made ‘HIT THE DECK.’
Cast: Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Pidgeon, Vic Damone, Gene Raymond, Ann Miller, Russ Tamblyn, J. Carrol Naish, Kay Armen, Richard Anderson, Jane Darwell, Alan King, Henry Slate, The Jubilaires [Navy Kitchen Vocal Quartet], Buddy Bryan (uncredited), Robert Burton (uncredited), Dick Cherney (uncredited), John Close (uncredited), James Conaty (uncredited), Bing Conley (uncredited), John Damler (uncredited), Jack Deery (uncredited), Harry Denny (uncredited), Burnell Dietch (uncredited), Robert Dix (uncredited), Ernie Flatt (uncredited), Charles Fogel (uncredited), Dick Gordon (uncredited), Herschel Graham (uncredited), Alvin Greenman (uncredited), Dabbs Greer (uncredited), Stuart Holmes (uncredited), Dickie Humphreys (uncredited), Kenner G. Kemp (uncredited), Peter Leeds (uncredited), Robert Locke Lorraine (uncredited), Hank Mann (uncredited), Fred Perce (uncredited), Fred Rapport (uncredited), Frank Reynolds (uncredited), Alex Romero (uncredited), Loretta Russell (uncredited), Scott Seaton (uncredited), Leslie Sketchley (uncredited), Jimmy Thompson (uncredited), Chalky Williams (uncredited), Frances E. Williams (uncredited), Robert B. Williams (uncredited) and Wilson Wood (uncredited)
Director: Roy Rowland
Producer: Joe Pasternak
Screenplay: Herbert Fields (based on: the musical play "Hit the Deck"), Hubert Osborne (from: "Shore Leave"), Sonya Levien (screenplay), Vincent Youmans (presented on the stage) and William Ludwig (screenplay)
Composers: Conrad Salinger (uncredited), George Stoll (uncredited) and Robert Van Eps (uncredited)
Cinematography: George Joseph Folsey, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p [Eastman Color]
Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 112 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Archive Collection
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘HIT THE DECK’ is a 1955 musical extravaganza, probably would have been a bigger hit had it been released just five years earlier. With its previously filmed and often imitated, about a tale of sailors on shore leave who end up putting on a show and falling in love it was very much a thing of Hollywood's past. ‘HIT THE DECK’ is also one of a fairly small number of M-G-M musicals which I'd never caught up with over the years. Watching this colourful CinemaScope film via the Warner Archive Collection’s great-looking new Blu-ray was a real treat. But by that time, the film's cast would have moved on to non-musical roles or stage and nightclub work as the traditional Hollywood musical came to an end.
‘HIT THE DECK’ follows in the tradition of M-G-M's ‘Anchors Aweigh’ [1945] and ‘On The Town’ [1949], as three sailors on shore leave looking for romance and manages to get into a lot of trouble. Chief Mate Bill Clark [Tony Martin] is anxious to see his girlfriend Ginger [Ann Miller], but he's marriage-shy and Ginger's tired of waiting for him to settle down. Danny Smith [Russ Tamblyn], who is secretly the son of Rear Adm. Daniel Xavier Smith [Walter Pidgeon], gets into trouble defending his sister Susan [Jane Powell] from the advances of lecherous married man Wendell Craig [Gene Raymond], with whom she has an "audition." Danny Smith falls for Carol [Debbie Reynolds], a dancer, and Susan falls for Danny Smith's pal Rico Ferrari [Vic Damone]. The shore patrol goes looking for the men after they brawl with Wendell Craig, with comical results.
The plot, loosely inspired by a Broadway musical, really isn't much, but it really doesn't matter. The film's a feast for the eyes and ears. When Jane Powell, Ann Miller and Debbie Reynolds line up to sing "Why, Oh Why?" in their gorgeous black, green, and red dresses by the great Helen Rose, well, all I can say is "That's Entertainment!" Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn are adorable together and have a great acrobatics-filled number in a fun house. Tony Martin croons "More Than You Know," Jane Powell sings "Sometimes I'm Happy," and most of the cast gathers for "Ciribiribin."
Ann Miller has a great steamy number, sans tap shoes! In "The Lady From the Bayou," and the rousing "Hallelujah" finale is absolutely stunning. The ladies all wear variations of gold and blue dresses to deliver the song, which builds to a fantastic sequence where Ann Miller taps with the troops. Hermes Pan was the film's choreographer. The Blu-ray shows off the beautiful widescreen Eastman Color photography of George Folsey to great effect. One of my favourite moments was Martin's "More Than You Know," sung in Ann Miller's apartment decorated in shades of pink, purple and green it is pure eye candy. The always-welcome Walter Pidgeon adds some fun comic moments, as the shore police mistake the admiral for his son, who shares his name. The film was a reunion for Jane Powell and Walter Pidgeon, who had also played father and daughter in ‘Holiday in Mexico’ [1946] nearly a decade before.
Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds, who share a 1st of April Birthday, had previously played sisters in `Two Weeks With Love' [1950] and `Athena' [1954]. The film also reunited Jane Powell with past co-stars Vic Damone for ‘Rich, Young and Pretty’ and `ATHENA,' and Russ Tamblyn for ‘Seven Brides For Seven Brothers’ [1954]. Musical fans will find ‘HIT THE DECK’ an upbeat, pleasing confection, and it surely never looked any better, than on its brand new Blu-ray release.
But it was clearly the end-of-the-line for the M-G-M musicals. Although Jane Powell had just scored a hit with ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ [1954]. ‘HIT THE DECK’ marked the end of her M-G-M career and especially with changing styles and budget cutbacks. Ann Miller and Vic Damone were at the end of their M-G-M tenure as well. Debbie Reynolds held on by developing her other talents. The same year ‘HIT THE DECK’ came out Debbie Reynolds scored a comic hit in ‘The Tender Trap’ [1955] as the determined virgin who lands womanizing playwright Frank Sinatra. Although Russ Tamblyn would still have some shots at musical stardom, the musical fantasy ‘Tom Thumb’ [1958] and the OSCAR® winning ‘West Side Story’ [1961] and he too, had to branch out into other roles, eventually moving into character work on the TV series “Twin Peaks” [1990 – 1991] and developing his talents as a poet and visual artist.
HIT THE DECK MUSIC TRACK LIST
JOIN THE NAVY (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Played during the opening credits and sung by an unidentified chorus] [Played often in the score]
HALLELUHA (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Sung by Tony Martin, Russ Tamblyn, Vic Damone and The Jubalaires]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (1893) (uncredited) (Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill) [Performed by Tony Martin, Russ Tamblyn, Vic Damone and Chorus]
KEEPIN’ MYSELF FOR YOU (1930) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Sidney Clare) [Performed by Ann Miller, Tony Martin and Chorus]
LUCKY BIRD (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Performed by Jane Powell]
A KISS OR TWO (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Performed by Debbie Reynolds, Russ Tamblyn and Chorus]
WHY, OH WHY? (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Performed once by Tony Martin, Russ Tamblyn and Vic Damone, and separately by Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell and Ann Miller]
SOMETIMES I’M HAPPY (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Irving Caesar) [Performed by Jane Powell with Gene Raymond]
I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW (1926) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Anne Caldwell) [Performed by Vic Damone and Jane Powell]
THE LADY FROM BAYOU (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Performed by Ann Miller and chorus]
CIRBIRBIN (1898) (uncredited) (Music by Alberto Pestalozza) (Lyrics by Howard Johnson) (1932) [Performed by Kay Armen] [Accompanied by Tony Martin, Russ Tamblyn, Vic Damone, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell and Ann Miller]
MORE THAN YOU KNOW (1929) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu) [Performed by Tony Martin and Ann Miller]
JOIN THE NAVY (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Sailors in a show]
LOO-LOO (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Sailors in a show]
HALLELUHA (Finale) (1927) (uncredited) (Music by Vincent Youmans) (Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey) [Sung by Kay Armen, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Russ Tamblyn, Vic Damone and Chorus]
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – This film might be cheesy of the highest order, but at least it looks ravishing as Warner Archive Collection has secured a clean and beautifully saturated print for this disc's aspect ratio 2.55:1 and also for this 1080p encoded image presentation. The Eastman Color photography pops with fantastic image detail and the kind of specks and dirt which normally show on film this age are mostly absent. The picture quality tends to get blurred and less saturated when scenes transition into each other; otherwise it's a splendid-looking Blu-ray disc.
Blu-ray Video Quality – Hit the Deck's original stereophonic soundtrack has been mixed in 5.1 Surround, a carryover from the inferior DVD edition. The musical and non-musical segments have two distinct mixes, which can get jarring. Dialogue sounds a bit flat at times, while the musical numbers are so crystalline and lush it practically feels like being in the recording studio.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Song Title Selection: Here you can access each song title instantly as seen in the film, but when that finishes the film carries on so you have to go back to this particular menu to select another song title you want to view.
Theatrical Trailer [1955] [1080p] [2.55:1] [4:14] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘HIT THE DECK’ that unfortunately is totally yellowed with age. What a shame Warner Archive Collection could not make the effort to upgrade this trailer to a 1080p image presentation.
Finally, the corny mid-level M-G-M musical ‘HIT THE DECK’ doesn't win any prizes for originality, yet the bright cast and eye-popping production numbers make it all worthwhile. Warner Archive Collection's excellent Blu-ray presentation transforms this overstuffed marshmallow-whip cream pie of a Hollywood Musical into a great purchase for fans of glitzy, of this type of genre musicals. I just wish they would release more other M-G-M Hollywood Musicals, that are at the moment are sadly only available on inferior DVD releases, despite this, at least this is the start and hopefully someone out there will make us fans of Hollywood Musicals very happy with future release via Warner Archive Collection, that are the staple diet of these beautiful Hollywood Musicals and of course having them released on Blu-ray will make our dreams come true. But despite this, I am still proud to add this to my Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
