{"id":48164,"date":"2016-11-18T10:30:06","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T15:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=48164"},"modified":"2016-11-18T10:54:26","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T15:54:26","slug":"jane-powells-just-a-small-town-girl-1953","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=48164","title":{"rendered":"Jane Powell’s Just a “Small Town Girl”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SMALL<\/a>This week\u2019s musical: Small Town Girl<\/a> <\/em>(1953)<\/p>\n

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer<\/p>\n

Director: L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Kardos<\/p>\n

Starring:<\/p>\n

Jane Powell<\/a>, Farley Granger<\/a>, Ann Miller<\/a>, Bobby Van<\/a>, Fay Wray, Billie Burke, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Keith, Robert Hyatt, Chill Wills (uncredited), Nat King Cole (as himself)<\/p>\n

Plot:<\/p>\n

Judge Gordon Kimbell (Keith) throws big city hot shot Rick Livingston (Granger) in jail for going 80 miles per mile in a small town with his Broadway dancer girlfriend, Lisa Bellmount (Miller). While he’s under lock and key, the judge\u2019s daughter, Cindy (Powell), ends up falling for Rick.<\/p>\n

Trivia:<\/p>\n

–Nicholas Brodszky and Leo Robin were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song for the song \u201cMy Flaming Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

–Dances choreographed by Busby Berkeley.<\/p>\n

— Ann Miller\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ve Gotta Hear That Beat\u201d performance has 86 instruments coming up through the floor with the musicians hidden beneath, according to The Rough Guide to Film Musicals by David Parkinson.<\/p>\n

— Musical director is Andr\u00e9 Previn.<\/p>\n

— Costumes by Helen Rose.<\/p>\n

— Country music legend Hank Williams would have made his screen acting debut as the town sheriff but died before shooting started.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/p>\n

— Nat King Cole\u2019s appearance and performance<\/p>\n

— Ann Miller\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ve Gotta Hear That Beat\u201d number<\/p>\n

— Bobby Van\u2019s exhausting three-minute jump through town.<\/p>\n

Notable Songs:<\/p>\n

— \u201cI\u2019ve Gotta Hear That Beat,\u201d performed by Ann Miller tap dancing and hands coming out of the floor playing drums and holding saxophones, clarinets and violins.<\/p>\n

— \u201cMy Flaming Heart,\u201d performed by Nat King Cole<\/p>\n

\"SMALL<\/a>My review:
\nSmall Town Girl<\/em> is a fun, colorful musical with an outstanding cast. However, of Jane Powell\u2019s MGM films, this is not her best. The storyline isn\u2019t a bad one and it has some cute, humorous moments, but I prefer other Powell films such as Luxury Liner<\/em> and Holiday in Mexico<\/em>. Farley Granger plays the arrogant, rich playboy well but is a poor romantic match for Powell.<\/p>\n

While Jane Powell is known for her beautiful, operatic voice, she doesn\u2019t have many notable songs or musical numbers. The real stand-out musical numbers come from the supporting cast of Ann Miller, Bobby Van and an appearance from singer Nat King Cole<\/a> as himself.<\/p>\n

Ann Miller\u2019s Busby Berkeley choreographed \u201cI’ve Gotta Hear That Beat\u201d is a visually amazing piece. The number is complete with Miller\u2019s high speed tap dancing feet and instruments being played by bodiless hands. A second impressive, though exhausting, number is Bobby Van’s “Take Me to Broadway,” featuring him\u00a0jumping through his small town. While this is quite a feat, it also makes my knees hurt just watching him bound down the street, shaking hands and jumping across hedges. Also, while Van\u2019s jumping is interesting, his character is fairly annoying.<\/p>\n

For Nat King Cole fans, you also have the opportunity to see the velvet-voiced singer during a nightclub scene, which is a real treat.<\/p>\n

The film has a terrific supporting supporting cast with Robert Keith<\/a> and Fay Wray<\/a> as Powell\u2019s parents, Billie Burke<\/a> as Farley Granger\u2019s mother, and\u00a0S.Z. \u201cCuddles\u201d Sakall<\/a> as Van\u2019s father. You also get the comical Chill Wills as the jailer. Once big stars of the 1930s, Burke and Wray seem wasted in this film as they both have less than 10 or 15 minutes of screen time.<\/p>\n

For me, Robert Keith and Cuddles Sakall provided the most comedic entertainment and were honestly my favorite part of this film.<\/p>\n

While I enjoy Small Town Girl,<\/em> but I wouldn\u2019t suggest it as a \u201cmust see,\u201d unless you are a huge fan of any of the stars in this movie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, the movie’s in color, but we thought this photo was too adorable to resist. Guest writer Jessica Pickens reviews the 1953 MGM musical Small Town Girl, starring Jane Powell, Farley Granger and Bobby Van. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9701,"featured_media":48149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1358,1566,1460,5588],"coauthors":[5370],"class_list":["post-48164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-articles","tag-1950s-movies","tag-jane-powell","tag-movie-musicals","tag-movie-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\nJane Powell's Just a Small Town Girl (1953)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The classic MGM musical Small Town Girl (1953), starring Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller and Bobby Van, is reviewed on MovieFanFare.\" 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