Hit the Deck (1955)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Roy Rowland

Writers:

Herbert Fields (writer)
Clifford Grey (musical play "Hit the Deck")
(more)

Release Date:

4 March 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Broadway's hit musical hits the screen splashed with COLOR and sensational CINEMASCOPE

Plot:

Sailor Danny Xavier Smith and two other gobs try to save his sister Susan's virtue. She wants to get a role in the show "Hit the Deck"...

Plot Keywords:

Sailor | US Navy | Revue | Navy | Based On Play

Cast

Jane Powell	...	Susan Smith
Tony Martin	...	Chief Boatswain's Mate William F. Clark
Debbie Reynolds	...	Carol Pace
Walter Pidgeon	...	Rear Adm. Daniel Xavier Smith
Vic Damone	...	Rico Ferrari
Gene Raymond	...	Wendell Craig
Ann Miller	...	Ginger
Russ Tamblyn	...	Danny Xavier Smith
J. Carrol Naish	...	Mr. Peroni
Kay Armen	...	Mrs. Ottavio Ferrari
Richard Anderson	...	Lt. Jackson
Jane Darwell	...	Jenny
Alan King	...	Shore Patrolman
Henry Slate	...	Shore Patrolman
The Jubilaires	...	Vocal Ensemble
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Burton	...	The Commander (uncredited)
John Close	...	Petty Officer (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Audience Extra (uncredited)
John Damler	...	Marine Orderly (uncredited)
Burnell Dietch	...	Sailor / Dancer (uncredited)
Robert Dix	...	Naval Officer (uncredited)
Alvin Greenman	...	Machinist Mate 3rd Class (uncredited)
Dabbs Greer	...	Eddie - Stage Manager (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Audience Extra (uncredited)
Peter Leeds	...	Lieutenant, Operaton Mud Pie (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Frank Reynolds	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Jimmy Thompson	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Frances E. Williams	...	Maid (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Policeman in Park (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Singer (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Rowland

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Herbert Fields		writer
Clifford Grey		musical play "Hit the Deck"
Sonya Levien		writer
William Ludwig		writer
Hubert Osborne		play "Shore Leave"
Leo Robin		musical play "Hit the Deck"

Produced by
Joe Pasternak	....	producer

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey

Film Editing by
John McSweeney Jr.

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Paul Groesse

Set Decoration by
Fred M. MacLean
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Rhein	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording director

Editorial Department
Alvord Eiseman	....	color consultant

Music Department
Jeff Alexander	....	vocal supervisor
Will Beitel	....	orchestrator
George Stoll	....	conductor
George Stoll	....	music supervisor
Robert Van Eps	....	music arranger: orchestra

Other crew
Angela Blue	....	assistant choreographer
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (original master sound track) | Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Ann Miller's character is named after Ginger Rogers who appeared with Fred Astaire in Follow the Fleet (1936), the film on which this movie is loosely based.

Quotes:

Chief Boatswain's Mate William F. Clark: Ginger, baby, I worship the ground you walk on!
Ginger: Now he's talking real estate!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Cheri Oteri (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Lady from Bayou

Hit The Deck and Let's Have Fun

When this movie first came out, we had just been exposed to Cinamascope, Cinerama, VistaVision, SuperScope, and Todd-A-O. People where in their living rooms watching television and movies were not making any money, so they had to think of a way to get everyone from in front of the television and back into the theaters, and the WideScreens, 3-D, and Stereophonic Sound did the trick! But, here's the problem, years later, with watching films like "Hit The Deck": We were all fans of actress' like Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds because most of us watched them grow up from children to adult players in films. Tony Martin was a very popular singer. Russ Tamblyn had the look of a Mormon making movies because Russ Tamblyn was/is an Mormon. Ann Miller took over as the Queen of the Taps when Elinor Powell retired, and Kay Armand was a very popular singer at the time. So, we enjoyed these performers and loved seeing them on that immense screen with the 3 channel stereophonic sound which was the Miracle of that Century, and, once again, if you have never experienced these movies like "Hit The Deck" on the large screen with its 3 channel stereophonic sound, then I can see why others in the later generations to come would not appreciate them. Especially when you have song writers like Vincent Youmans, who wrote the score for Hit the Deck, and other composers like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. Thank God, we can still enjoy these composers music today because it's been saved, and if you grew up in this age of the wonderful M.G.M. musicals, yes, even you, would admit that todays music, as the kids say, "Sucks"! This movie is just good old fashioned entertainment. Who needs a story line to get in the way of all this great music and dance numbers! Of course, sometimes things were predictable, such as when Tony Martin is singing "More Than You Know" to Ann Miller, and the look on her face is the same look she had when Fred Astair sang "It Only Happnens When I Dance With You" in the movie "Easter Parade", but who cared? So, we knew the formula: Give meets Boy, Girl and Boy Fight: Gir and Boy Get Back Together; Boy and Girl Find Out That All Along They Were in Love and Didn't Know It, and then the Extravagant Musical Finale with everyone in the audience feeling good that they saw the movie! The finale to this film with the whole cast singing "Halleluah" and Ann Miller tapping her feet off; the general energy you get from the last scene, made you want to dance out of the theater and on to the streets. Hell! Who needed anti-depressants in those days? Our anti-depressants were the energy that these wonderful musicals gave us! It's just a shame that they don't make musicals like this anymore! But, of course, I can see why! Who are you going to put in a song and dance movie musical? Leonardo Di Caprio?