Movie fans are sure to recognize “On the Town” (1949) as a great musical. It was a successful 1944 Broadway musical before being made into a hit MGM movie. Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin starred as three sailors, and Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, and Ann Miller as the ladies they meet. This wasn’t the only movie, however, which featured these three fellows as colleagues and friends.
“Take Me Out the Ball Game” (1949) also starred Kelly, Sinatra, and Munshin, with Garrett, and swimming star Esther Williams instead of Vera-Ellen. Since “On the Town” is the better-known film, one might think that “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was a follow-up attempt to recapture the magic of the male trio. However, it was released nationwide on April 13, 1949, while “On the Town” was released on Dec. 8 of the same year.
Baseball and the Navy
Eddie O’Brien (Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (Sinatra) are professional baseball players in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” They enjoy a successful vaudeville act when their team, the Wolves, is out of season. While Eddie is a cocky ladies’ man, Dennis is his shy sidekick who envies his friend’s confidence with women. They have a great double-play with a third player on the team, Nat Goldberg (Munshin).During spring training in Florida, they meet the team’s new owner, beautiful but strict K.C. Higgins (Williams). Dennis falls for her immediately, but she and Eddie clash because of their strong personalities, each refusing to admit how attracted they are to each other. However, Dennis is being pursued by a persistent female fan, Shirley Delwyn (Garrett). Meanwhile, gambler Joe Lorgan (Edward Arnold) hires Eddie to star in a musical revue.
In “On the Town,” three sailors, Gabey (Kelly), Chip (Sinatra), and Ozzie (Munshin), have a 24-hour leave in New York City. While Chip wants to follow a structured schedule according to his guidebook, Gabey becomes obsessed with finding Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen), Miss Turnstiles of the month, after he sees her picture on a poster in the subway.
Two Friends Plus One
Although the three men are colleagues in both movies, Jules Munshin is much less important in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” That film focuses on the two pals played by Kelly, the wolf who can charm any girl, and Sinatra, his sensitive sidekick. Although Arthur Freed produced the movie, the musical follows a similar formula to the successful Joe Pasternak-produced “Anchors Aweigh” (1945).
In both movies, Sinatra is the youthful sidekick to Kelly’s suave ladies’ man, who helps his timid friend pursue a glamorous lady, Vera-Ellen in the first film and Williams in the second. In both cases, Kelly’s character ends up falling in love with the Vera-Ellen/Williams character.
In “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Munshin plays a minor character. He’s one of the only featured baseball players, and he doesn’t figure in most of the action with the two leading men. He doesn’t even have a love interest. He still is the third most important player in the story, though, because he is part of the triple play with Eddie and Dennis. That’s not bad, considering it was only his second film after doing a specialty routine as a hilarious French maître d’ in “Easter Parade” (1948). Besides some incidental moments of clowning, Munshin’s biggest moment in this film is the number, “O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg.” This song and dance number describing their baseball double-play is the only time the trio goes on stage together.
The three actors are equally prominent in “On the Town.” Kelly is still the star, but Munshin is just about equal to Sinatra. He gets glamorous dancing star Ann Miller as his leading lady and participates in several group song-and-dance numbers. While he doesn’t have a solo, he is prominently featured in Miller’s introductory number, “Give Me a Prehistoric Man,” as the prehistoric man. He never was a dancing star like Kelly or a singing heartthrob like Sinatra, but he does a great job of keeping up with them as a comical third wheel, whether they are baseball players or sailors.
Each features a charming blend of music, dancing, romance, comedy, and friendship, plus some interesting specialty elements. In “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” you’ll see movie stars (including Esther Williams) playing baseball. In “On the Town,” you’ll see Vera-Ellen dancing in pointe shoes.
Both MGM musicals are fun movies which people of any age can enjoy. They provide great examples of the wholesome camaraderie which can exist between traditional men in friendship and fraternity.
