This goofier, slimmed-down version of Anchors Aweigh sees singing and dancing baseball players Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra woo the team's new manager, a stunning Esther Williams.
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The musical numbers are unmemorable and almost harmful in their non-conformity, proving after Damn Yankees that baseball musicals just aren't a good idea. [C]-
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"SUMMER STOCK" (1950)
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Judy Garland's last film at MGM is a surefire b-side, with the actress and singer's well-recorded behind-the-scenes issues coming to the forefront (most notably her fluctuating weight, which changes throughout the film). -
Gene Kelly plays a deadbeat stage producer who is brought in by Garland's aspiring sister to put on a show in the barn of the family farm.
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The film plays out like a vaudeville, hay barrel version of White Christmas, with Kelly's inventive tapping the only reprieve from what is essentially a musically-challenged, anti-climactic production. [C-]
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"BORN TO DANCE" (1936)-
Queen of tap Eleanor Powell shines in this endearing soldiers-on-leave musical-romance which sees Jimmy Stewart attempt to croon (and dance) his way through a few catchy Cole Porter songs.
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"Hey, Babe, Hey" and the nearly ten-minute finale "Swinin' the Jinx Away" are pure bliss, while Porter staples "You'd Be So Easy to Love" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" also make an appearance in this brash, high-energy MGM musical. [A-]
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