Plot: Joe Brady (Gene Kelly) and Clarence Doolittle (Frank Sinatra) have been granted four days’ leave in the wake of receiving the Silver Medal. Joe is wanting to find his portside girl Lola, and Clarence just wants to find any girl. They get delayed thanks to a six year-old who wants to join the Navy, and they meet Aunt Susie. Clarence is immediately enamored with Aunt Susie, while Joe is annoyed as he wants to see Lola. Who will Aunt Susie end up with? Will the two midshipmen ever stop calling her Aunt Susie? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Best Moment: Well, shoot, I think I have to say every time Gene Kelly dances. He’s just. so. good.
Worst Moment: Maybe the song Joe and Clarence sing about hooking up with girls that they didn’t actually hook up with? The song is a little bit yikes, but here’s where I really saw just how good a dancer Kelly is–Sinatra could not keep up, try as he might.
Fun Facts: If you’ve seen stills or clips of Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry Mouse, it’s from this film. There’s also a great scene at the Hollywood Bowl of a dozen pianists playing Franz Lizst’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2.
The film was released in between V-E day and V-J day, and as I watched, I couldn’t help but think this film was somewhat of a collective exhale of entertainment. There’s no ulterior war-supporting subtext, just singing and dancing and piano playing and falling in love.
Recommendation: It really is just nice fluffy escapist fare with some fantastic costuming (I want ALL of Aunt Susie’s dresses) and the sequence with Jerry Mouse is quite adorable. If you’re into that, see it.
Oh, and there’s Frank Sinatra singing this song, which is just a little on the nose for my life, tbh.
