Hit the Deck DVD (1955) Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds

Let me say that the dvd version of the film is pristine, as the day it hit the theatre. The film is in the Cinamascope format, larger than life, the color excellent. I wonder if it was initially intended as a 3-d film, or partially filmed as such. I do not have a 3-d television. At times it seemed as if objects or bodies were coming towards me. "Kiss Me Kate" was intended for 3-d, also; Ann Miller. For one dance number it seemed as if poor Debbie Reynolds might just come right through the t.v. screen! I would encourage people to order the dvd, version. The sound is excellent. Had to turn the volume down a bit. Some dvd's; I have to turn the volume all the way up,,, not in this case. Color, sound, format are perfect. Please update this information so that viewers won't be discouraged to buy the DVD version. Ann Miller was a riot of fun. From "Stage Door" 1936-37, until the 1956 M.G.M. Remake ot the classic 1939; "The Women"; titled; "The Opposite Sex", She worked in Hollywood. When Miller had a chance with a good line, she proved her mouth and wit could move as fast as her feet. The thing to do at the time the film was made was to take off the shoes and dance barefoot, as Rita Hayworth had done in the film "Affair in Trinidad" as well as the picture; "Solome". Ann Miller without her taps, or her shoes? Let the viewer decide. Jane Powell has said that she wanted to leave M.G.M. Easy to see why she wanted out. Star billed, she doesn't shine. The only time she seems to be not there, or, there, and doing nothing. She seems to be over-powered and at times I don't hear her. I hear other people. No wait! Debbie Reynolds is the star of the film. She is made to sing, and here is an example of a wonderful voice, seldom used. Debbie goes through a series of pratfalls in this film, she is swung high, and low, held up, ,,, and up, higher,,,thrust out at the viewer, she seldom stops moving, and hardly has ten lines strung together without some distracting movement, that she must jump or be swung about. At the end they all somehow end up, on deck for the finale. Louis B. Mayer had been removed as the head of M.G.M. in 1951. Dore Schary took over as head of the studio until 1956.It follows logic that some films were in pre-production when Schary took over. It is said that the lead in "The Women" remake was offered to Esther Williams, she turned the part down, and Schary refused to renew her contract, in fact, fired her! June Allyson took the role instead. To this viewer, Williams would have been just right for the part. It is said; Dory Schary didn't want to deal with his "stars". Ava Gardner left the country and worked out her contract with the studio in Europe. The studio did not pick up Lana Turners last two years of the seven year contract and she beat Dore Schary out the door of M.G.M. at thirty five! Grace Kelly had been under contract during the 1950's, and only Hitchcock knew what to do with her; how very odd. Kelley's best films including her oskar winning performance were all filmed on "loan to other studio's" ie. Paramount Studio's. Would that anyone could have come up with a plan to develop Powell? It could have happened,,, but it did not. Jane Powell was twenty five when "Hit the Deck" was filmed. Powell wanted out of the studio. Her contract was up. Her role in "Hit the Deck" is there when you can find her. The studio's were dumping their contract stars. Freelancing was the idea. It did not work very well. Jane Powell made a few films more or less the young Jane. None were very successful, and I suppose it was easy to do television still young and pretty 1957, "The Ruggles of Red Gap". In her thirties doing a t.v. version of "Meet me in St. Louis". I have seen her performing "Have yourself a merry little Christmas". It is findable via the net. To watch Powell sing the song to this little girl,,,,, oh,it will break your heart. As a Powell fan I would say skip the movie. As a Reynolds fan skip it. For good Ann Miller, I would say look to "Easter Parade" or "Kiss me Kate". For me,Reynolds peak as an actress was the woman in, "The Rat Race". 1960. Debbie didn't sing or dance, a jewel of a performance; with Tony Curtis. Dark and gritty and real, with an Elmer Berstein score. Would that be available to see and savor again? on dvd??................ one can hope. Not yet, but soon!I have no favorite Jane Powell, I love them all, but, you can skip, "Hit the Deck. Find "A Date with Judy", "Three Daring Daughters",,,, "Luxury Liner". "Nancy goes to Rio". "Two weeks with Love". Lucky these films can be ordered through Amazon, or other sources. Powell is available. She seemed to always be going somewhere,,, or the people were leaving for exotic places, and Janie was left alone. Often through the help of Carmen Miranda,,,, everything turned out ,,,with a little wiggle here,,, and wiggle there,,,,oK !!

The plot is standard issue: three handsome sailors(Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn) are on the prowl and meet three beautiful ladies(Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller). Result: everyone finds true love and all of us watching have a good time. As always with musicals, it's the songs and dances that count and there are some great songs here. Powell and Damone do a spirited, "I Know That You Know". There are male and female versions of "Why Oh Why" and it's apples and oranges: both versions are terrific. Tony Martin lends his beautiful baritone to the meltingly romantic, "More Than You Know" and leads the pack in the rousing finale, "Hallelujah" -- it's an old-fashioned show stopper. But for a musical with two great dancers, Tamblyn and Miller, the dances are unmemorable. Probably because the choreography is uninspired."Hit the Deck" was filmed in 1955 when musicals running out of steam and there is a "last legs" feel about this one. Some of the sets look shabby and underlit and that most of the exteriors were filmed on soundstages is a bit too obvious. But the costumes by Helen Rose are wonderful and timeless. Rose had a real flair for designing for short women like Powell and Reynolds and tall curvy women like Miller. Everything they wear in this movie could still be worn today.Video quality is not the best and this may be because "Hit the Deck" was filmed in the Eastman Color process rather than the much more expensive Technicolor. Eastman looked great when new but over time the prints are notorious for fading and turning pink(Ever see that movie where big, macho John Wayne walks out into the pink desert?). Parts of the movie look faded and in some areas the sound is fuzzy. However none of this will ruin your watching pleasure."Hit the Deck" may just miss greatness(Because of the poor choreography) but it is still mighty enjoyable. It was one of MGM's last big musicals and a fitting wave goodbye to a much missed movie genre.

This is a pleasant musical of its period with excellently staged numbers, good songs and a talented cast. I've been looking forward to seeing it ever since I glimpsed that fabulous clip from it in "That's Entertainment" back in the 80s in which the cast did "Halleluja" (the finale). And who could fail to enjoy a movie with Ann Miller and Tony Martin in it? But, I have to say that one's enjoyment of it is badly impaired by the terrible quality of the video. It is appallingly framed from the Cinemascope original, cutting out characters and ruining the dance design - someone forgot to turn up the color, so that it's so pale it looks almost like black and white - and worst of all (for a musical in particular), it was obviously recorded on a dirty magnetic sound head, making the soundtrack hopelessly muffled and grating, like an old worn-out phonograph record. Subtle sounds are totally lost and only the loudest noises break through the fuzz. This is quite unacceptable and deeply disappointing to a collector. Whoever produces MGM home videos should be ashamed of doing such a disservice to one of the greatest archives in Cinema history (not to mention the customers). It seems as if the videos were copied without any monitor-control and packaged without being checked. Disgraceful. And it's not the only one! I'm still waiting for a decent copy of "An Ameriucan in Paris".

HIT THE DECK [1955] [Blu-ray] [US Import] The Liveliest Musical of the Year! Hallelujah, What a Show!`Anchors Aweigh,' `On the Town' and `Hit the Deck.' Here with these Hollywood Musicasl has always known what to do with sailors on leave: Give 'em some pretty girls, some great songs and watch the fans line up to enlist!`Hit the Deck' hits all the right notes as three sailors Tony Martin, Vic Damone and Russ Tamblyn and three cuties Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds and Ann Miller flirt, squabble, run afoul of shore patrol and of course, fall in love to a hit parade of Vincent Youmans' tunes. Highlights include Ann Miller's polishing the floor as "The Lady from the Bayou," Tony Martin's romantic mastery of "More Than You Know" and the stage-filling rouser "Hallelujah." Music, romance, fun and please don't miss the boat!Cast: Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, Gene Raymond, Ann Miller, Walter Pidgeon, J. Carrol Naish, Kay Armen, Richard Anderson, Jane Darwell, Alan King, Henry Slate, The Jubilaires, Robert Burton (uncredited), John Close (uncredited), James Conaty (uncredited), John Damler (uncredited), Burnell Dietch (uncredited), Robert Dix (uncredited), Alvin Greenman (uncredited), Dabbs Greer (uncredited), Peter Leeds (uncredited), Hank Mann (uncredited) and Frank Reynolds (uncredited)Director: Roy RowlandProducer: Joe PasternakScreenplay: Sonya Levien and William LudwigComposers: Vincent Youmans (music), Leo Robin, Clifford Grey, Sidney Clare, Irving Caesar, Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu (lyrics), Conrad Salinger (uncredited), George Stoll (uncredited) and Robert Van Eps (uncredited)Cinematography: George J. FolseyVideo Resolution: 1080p [Eastman Color]Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1 [CinemaScope]Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master AudioSubtitles: English SDHRunning Time: 112 minutesRegion: Region A/1Number of discs: 1Studio: Warner Archive CollectionAndrew's Blu-ray Review: Hit the Deck, a 1955 musical extravaganza, probably would have been a bigger hit had it been released just five years earlier. With its previously filmed and often imitated, about a tale of sailors on shore leave who end up putting on a show and falling in love it was very much a thing of Hollywood's past. `Hit the Deck' is also one of a fairly small number of M-G-M musicals which I'd never caught up with over the years. Watching this colourful CinemaScope film via the Warner Archive Collection’s great-looking new Blu-ray was a real treat. But by that time, the film's cast would have moved on to non-musical roles or stage and nightclub work as the traditional Hollywood musical came to an end.`Hit the Deck' follows in the tradition of M-G-M's `Anchors Aweigh' [1945] and `On The Town' [1949], as three sailors on shore leave look for romance and manages to get into trouble. Chief Mate Bill Clark [Tony Martin] is anxious to see his girlfriend Ginger [Ann Miller], but he's marriage-shy and Ginger's tired of waiting for him to settle down. Danny Smith [Russ Tamblyn], who is secretly the son of an admiral [Walter Pidgeon], gets into trouble defending his sister Susan [Jane Powell] from the advances of lecherous married man Wendell Craig [Gene Raymond], with whom she has an "audition." Danny Smith falls for Carol [Debbie Reynolds], a dancer, and Susan falls for Danny's pal Rico [Vic Damone]. The shore patrol goes looking for the men after they brawl with Craig, with comical results. Naturally, all is neatly wrapped up by the end of the film's 112 minutes.The plot, loosely inspired by a Broadway musical, really isn't much, but it really doesn't matter. The film's a feast for the eyes and ears. When Jane Powell, Ann Miller and Debbie Reynolds line up to sing "Why Oh Why?" in their gorgeous black, green, and red dresses by the great Helen Rose, well, all I can say is "That's Entertainment!" Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn are adorable together and have a great acrobatics-filled number in a fun house. Martin croons "More Than You Know," Powell sings "Sometimes I'm Happy," and most of the cast gathers for "Ciribiribin."Ann Miller has a great steamy number, sans tap shoes! In "The Lady From the Bayou," and the rousing "Hallelujah" finale is absolutely stunning. The ladies all wear variations of gold and blue dresses to deliver the song, which builds to a fantastic sequence where Miller taps with the troops. Hermes Pan was the film's choreographer. The Blu-ray shows off the beautiful widescreen Eastman Color photography of George Folsey to great effect. One of my favourite moments was Martin's "More Than You Know," sung in Ann Miller's apartment decorated in shades of pink, purple and green it is pure eye candy. The always-welcome Walter Pidgeon adds some fun comic moments, as the shore police mistake the admiral for his son, who shares his name. The film was a reunion for Jane Powell and Walter Pidgeon, who had also played father and daughter in `Holiday in Mexico' [1946] nearly a decade before.Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds, who share a 1st of April Birthday, had previously played sisters in `Two Weeks With Love' [1950] and `Athena' [1954]. The film also reunited Jane Powell with past co-stars Vic Damone for `Rich, Young and Pretty' and `ATHENA,' and Russ Tamblyn for ‘Seven Brides For Seven Brothers’ [1954]. Musical fans will find `Hit the Deck' an upbeat, pleasing confection, and it surely never looked any better, than on its brand new Blu-ray release.But it was clearly the end-of-the-line for the M-G-M musical. Although Jane Powell had just scored a hit with ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ (1954), ‘Hit the Deck’ marked the end of her M-G-M career. With changing styles and budget cutbacks, the studio didn't have any more roles for her and let her go. Ann Miller and Vic Damone were at the end of their M-G-M tenure as well. Debbie Reynolds held on by developing her other talents. The same year ‘Hit the Deck’ came out Debbie Reynolds scored a comic hit in ‘The Tender Trap’ [1955] as the determined virgin who lands womanizing playwright Frank Sinatra. Although Russ Tamblyn would still have some shots at musical stardom, the musical fantasy ‘Tom Thumb’ [1958] and the OSCAR® winning ‘West Side Story’ [1961] and he, too, had to branch out into other roles, eventually moving into character work on the TV series ‘Twin Peaks’ [TV Series 1990 – 1991] and developing his talents as a poet and visual artist.Blu-ray Video Quality – This film might be cheese of the highest order, but at least it looks ravishing. Warner Bros. has secured a clean and beautifully saturated print for this disc's aspect ratio 2.55:1 and also for this 1080p encoded image presentation. The Eastman Color photography pops with fantastic detail and the kind of specks and dirt which normally show on film this age are mostly absent. The picture quality tends to get blurred and less saturated when scenes transition into each other; otherwise it's a splendid-looking disc.Blu-ray Video Quality – Hit the Deck's original stereophonic soundtrack has been mixed in 5.1 Surround, a carryover from the inferior NTSC DVD edition. The musical and non-musical segments have two distinct mixes, which can get jarring. Dialogue sounds a bit flat at times, while the musical numbers are so crystalline and lush it practically feels like being in the recording studio. An English SDH subtitle track is also provided.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:Theatrical Trailer [1955] [1080p] [2.55:1] [4:14] full-screen and yellowed with age, is the sole extra on this disc. A musical performance selection menu is provided in lieu of a scene-selection menu. Sadly, the Blu-ray is missing the extra audio outtake and bonus shorts from the NTSC DVD. It also has a song selection feature that is really nothing more than a chapter listing labelled by Song Title.Finally, the corny mid-level M-G-M musical Hit the Deck doesn't win any prizes for originality, yet the bright cast and eye-popping production numbers make it worthwhile. Warner Archives' spiffy Blu-ray presentation transforms this overstuffed marshmallow-whip pie of a movie into a great purchase for fans of glitzy, Hollywood musicals. I just wish they would release ALL the other M-G-M Hollywood Musicals, especially what I have mentioned above, that are at the moment is only available on the inferior NTSC DVDs, despite this, at least this is the start and hopefully someone out there will make us fans of Hollywood Musicals, that are the staple diet of these beautiful musicals and of course having them released on Blu-ray will make our dreams come true. But despite this, I am still proud to add this to my Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film FanLe Cinema ParadisoWARE, United Kingdom

great enjoyable musical about three sailors on leave meat three girls but gets in to trouble when one sailor Russ Tamblyn,gets in to a fight to helps his sister Jane Powell from a married man.but then they try to keep away from shore patrol who's after them.good songs great singers Tony Martin,Vic Damone,Kay Armen,and great dancing from Debbie Reynolds and Ann Miller and Russ Tamblyn. there's 11 songs,excellent picture quality and wonderful color and widescreen.extras a funny Pete Smith comedy short the Fall Guy,classic tex avery cartoon 'music audio,and trailer of the film.and will play on my region 2 player.

Sadly, my copy was defective and I received a full refund

What a wonderful film... This is pure joy and entertainment. The actors are great, the songs really nice... And the choregraphy by Hermès Pan just amazing. What a show !!!As for the blu-ray edition, much work has been done on the film and the quality of the restauration is very impressive.

The bluray disc is a full restored print both picture and sound are first class. Although not one of MGM's better musicals its well worth buying.This is also Region free as it will play on my Region B bluray player with no problem .(NOT region A locked as amazon states).Bar code 8 8331697886 3 .