NR | 1 hr, 32 min | Musical, Romance | 1953
A movie doesn’t have to be epic and dramatic to have a meaningful message, just as a person doesn’t have to take drastic action to make a profound impact on someone else’s life.
Many films from the 1930s–50s are great examples of this concept. At first glance, they might seem like light little frolics, but they shouldn’t be dismissed as silly or shallow. Almost every movie from the Golden Era of Hollywood has a poignant message if you look below its surface.
A Small-Town Story
One Sunday morning, the peaceful town of Duck Creek, Connecticut, is disturbed by a loud car speeding through town. Its owner is a wealthy playboy, Rick Belrow Livingston (Farley Granger), who is eloping with Broadway star Lisa Bellmount (Ann Miller). The handsome but spoiled young man is so disrespectful to Judge Gordon Kimbell (Robert Keith) that his punishment quickly escalates to 30 days in the town jail.
Rick realizes that he can’t buy his way out of this mess. He can’t believe the homespun simplicity of this community—from the sentimental jailer, Happy (Chill Wills), to the town festival he witnesses through his jail cell window. The judge has a pretty young daughter named Cindy (Jane Powell) who has been informally engaged to Ludwig Schlemmer (Bobby Van), the son of the local storekeeper (S.Z. Sakall), since childhood. However, the two young people don’t have any feelings for each other besides friendship, and Ludwig dreams of being a Broadway star.
Song and Dance Galore
“Small Town Girl” doesn’t have many grandiose musical numbers with throngs of performers, but it has a wealth of talent. Jane Powell was one of the most popular semiclassical singers at MGM in the late 1940s and early ‘50s, with a bright soprano voice.
Ann Miller, who plays Lisa in this story, was a very technical tap dancer and accomplished singer who was perfect as a slightly over-the-top character. Bobby Van was never a dancing star like Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, but he had amazing talent, rhythm, and athletic prowess, as well as a pleasing voice and cute personality. In addition, singing star Nat King Cole makes a guest appearance as himself, singing “My Flaming Heart” with his trio in a nightclub scene.
The score consists of eight original songs with music by Nicholas Brodszky and lyrics by Leo Robin. Jane Powell sings a couple of charming solos and performs a great song and dance routine with Bobby Van at the box social, accompanied by some other local girls played by MGM’s best chorus girls.
The most unusual number is “I’ve Gotta Hear That Beat,” the most elaborate routine because it’s part of Lisa’s Broadway show. Busby Berkeley created the unique concept of Miller dancing around instruments sprouting out of the floor.
Two of the most memorable numbers are Bobby Van’s solos. He dances all around his father’s store one night while singing “Take Me to Broadway” and imagining his future career. The most famous musical moment from this film, though, is the reprise, during which he hops nonstop through the town.
A Subtle Message
Farley Granger is the only nonmusical performer of the four main characters, although he does sing a cute little birthday song to his mother (Billie Burke). He was an intense dramatic actor by this point in his career, having already starred in two Alfred Hitchcock films. In this movie, he shows a more playful side, but that dramatic intensity is there and it adds a lot to this movie.“Small Town Girl” isn’t just a fun musical with a lot of great songs. It’s a touching story about a shallow young man who discovers a deeper meaning to life when he meets the down-to-earth, decent people of a truly American community. Of course, the love of a good woman doesn’t hurt, either.
