Overlooked Musical: It's Always Fair Weather

Did you ever watch On the Town and find yourself wondering what might have happened to those three guys when the war was over? In a way, It's Always Fair Weather is the answer.

Originally conceived as sequel to On the Town, the sailors have morphed into soldiers with only Gene Kelly returning as a main character. He's joined by Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd to make up a trio of army buddies whose war experiences have made them the closest of friends. When the war is over and the three prepare to go their separate ways, they make a pact to meet again in ten years.

While you might think that three such very good friends would try to keep in touch during the intervening years, the story is about them coming back together and realizing they now have nothing in common, except for perhaps their disillusionment with life. Cyd Charisse enters the picture as a TV producer ready to use the reunion as fodder for a sappy reality show which ends up bringing the guys together in an unexpected way.

The cynical perspective that pervades makes for a darker movie than most MGM musicals. Television is satirized in the movie's Midnight With Madeline program, with Delores Gray playing the show's star as an over-the-top, insincere diva. The corporate world is also a target, with ad-man Dailey's character song "Saturation-Wise" making fun of business jargon (five years before The Apartment did it).

But there's also moments of sheer fun and joy, like the three friends dancing with garbage can lids on their feet and Gene Kelly's "I Like Myself" solo on roller skates. The film is also interesting to look at as it makes full use of CinemaScope, filling up the widescreen format and using split screens and montages to tell the story.


A major theme of the movie is how people change over time and what happens to friendships. One of my favorite scenes is when the reunited pals go to lunch. The same trio that once sang about being friends until death now sing about their disappointment at being back together. To the tune of the Strauss waltz "The Blue Danube", each friend in turn asks "why am I here?" and labels the other two with names like hick, square, snob and punk. This funny bit gets right to the heart of the matter: each friend, in recognizing how the other two are not what he expected, also realizes he is not the person he once wanted to be, either. While it's a less-than-rosy look at life and friendship, there is an underlying truth here about how dreams and relationships shift over time. And there's a hopeful undercurrent of finding a way to change or accept the person you've become.

While it's no Singin' in the Rain, if you're looking to expand your range of musicals and you like Gene Kelly, add It's Always Fair Weather to your list.

Overlooked Oldies: Holiday

Giving the label "overlooked" to some movies seems to me a risky thing to do. It begs for people to pounce on the choice, saying "That's not an overlooked movie! Everyone has seen that! What are you talking about?" My purpose in making a list of Overlooked Oldies is to highlight some movies that are worthy of watching even though they haven't gotten as much attention as some other classics. They might not be the most obscure films ever, but they're not the movies on the top of everyone's classic must-see lists, either. If you haven't seen the movies that always seem to make these lists (like Citizen Kane and Casablanca) by all means do so. My selections are meant to supplement and round out such lists.

Now I'll stop being defensive and share my next Overlooked Oldies pick: Holiday. Not The Holiday or Roman Holiday, just Holiday.

This 1938 George Cukor movie stars Cary Grant as Johnny Case, a self-made man recently engaged to the beautiful Julia Seton (Doris Nolan). Since their courtship has been brief, he knows very little about her, and is thus shocked when he goes to meet her family and finds out how rich they are.

The other Seton children are Linda (Katharine Hepburn) and Ned (Lew Ayres). The sibling relationships can be summed up in this bit of dialogue:

Linda: "Well, I know you wouldn't expect it of a man in father's position, but the fact is, money is our god here."

Julia: "Johnny, it isn't true at all."

Ned: "No? What is then?"

Julia is the most like her father and shares his reverence for riches while Linda is fed up and looking for something else to do with her life. She is thus known as the black sheep of the family. Ned tends to agree with Linda although he appears to have given up on his dreams, spending his time drinking instead of fighting his father. It's quite heartbreaking to watch him, actually.

The movie is not named for any holiday celebrations (although there are two very different New Year's Eve parties in the film). The title instead refers to Johnny's goal of taking some time off to enjoy life. He's been working since he was ten and is now ready for a break to find out why he's doing it. His plan is this: "Retire young, work old. Come back and work when I know what I'm working for."

Julia and her father have other ideas for Johnny and try to pressure him into a new job and way of thinking. More understanding of Johnny's plan is sister Linda. You can probably guess how things will turn out, but it is still fun to go along with these characters for the ride.

Other things that make the movie enjoyable: the moments that showcase Cary Grant's acrobatic skills ("Can you do a back-flip-flop, can you really?") and Johnny's down to earth friends Nick and Susan Potter, played by Jean Dixon and wonderful character actor Edward Everett Horton.

If you've seen and enjoyed The Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby, don't miss Holiday, another great pairing of Grant and Hepburn.

All I am saying is give classic movies a chance

In case I haven't made it clear here yet: I like movies. I especially like old movies. And while I'm sure the argument can be made that what is old is not always classic and what is classic doesn't always have to be so old, I tend to use old and classic interchangeably when it comes to certain movies. Please bear with me on that.

I think more people should watch classic movies. I like to introduce people to my old favorites. And so I've decided to start a series of posts on what I'm calling Overlooked Oldies. Here I'll highlight some lesser-known titles which, despite having been skipped on AFI's top movie lists, still deserve some attention.

(By the way, I don't claim that my classic movie knowledge is exhaustive. If you have an old favorite worthy of some more movie love, let me know; I'm always happy to see an old classic I've missed. Along those lines, I am making ClassicFlix my new best (movie) friend. It's a rental site devoted to classic (pre-1970) films and tv shows, including many hard to find titles. What a great idea!)

First Up: The Major and the Minor

This 1942 movie marks the Hollywood directorial debut of the great writer/director Billy Wilder (Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard).

The premise: Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers) has decided, after one year and 25 jobs in New York, that she's ready to return to her sleepy Iowa hometown. Unable to afford the train ticket home, she poses as a 12-year-old so she only has to pay half-fare. On the train she meets Philip Kirby, (Ray Milland) a Major returning from a trip to Washington where he was attempting to get into more active service.

Because of bad weather and a misunderstanding, little "Su-Su" agrees to go with her "Uncle" Philip to the military academy where he is currently teaching. There she will have to continue her masquerade while dealing with 300 eager cadets and her growing attraction to the engaged Major Kirby.

There's some great moments in the movie, like Su-Su being invited to stay for the school dance. When Fred Astaire's most famous dancing partner is asked if she can dance, what is her modest reply? "A little."

Ray Milland is at his most charming here as Philip Kirby. Watch him squirm during his talk with Su-Su as he tries to protect his "niece" from the cadets who have been applying their lessons on military tactics to putting the moves on Susan. Philip's concern is touching and funny: "You don't want to be a light bulb, do you?" "It's never been a particular ambition of mine." Ray Milland manages to portray Philip's growing affection for Susan without it ever feeling creepy.

It also helps that the 31-year-old Ginger Rogers is not really believable as a 12-year-old. While she does a nice job softening her voice and expressions when she is being Su-Su as opposed to Susan, it's still pretty ridiculous that anyone would buy it. This is not a fault of the movie, instead it makes for some interesting twists on ideas of innocence. Who's the first to see through Susan's act at the academy? The 12-year-old sister of Kirby's fiancee. "You may bluff the grown-ups; you can't bluff me." The cadets ("junior wolves") are just as predatory as the crumbs Susan was always fighting off in the city. Those who should be innocent aren't, and those who should know better don't, or pretend not to. It all works in the framework of the story, making for some delightfully funny situations.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out this cute comedy, just one of many Billy Wilder gems.