Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Small town America (Duck Creek) battles big city New York in this generally entertaining musical. Big city boy Rick (Granger) discovers the virtues of small town living, especially when it includes winsome Cindy (Powell). While small town boy Ludwig (Van) yearns for career opportunities on the Broadway stage. Getting it all straightened out takes about 90-minutes.Nobody could idealize small town America like MGM. Here everyone in Duck Creek is neighborly, polite, and God-fearing— all in squeaky-clean candy-box Technicolor. Fortunately, the cast blends in nicely— a sparkly Powell, a dreamy Granger, and a perky Ann Miller tap-dancing her way as usual into everyone's heart. Also, mustn't overlook a gangly Bobby Van stealing the show with a 5-minute bunny hop through town-- I'm exhausted just thinking about that.Unfortunately, the vocals are pretty forgettable, with the exception of Handel's Messiah that closes the film. Too bad Nat King Cole didn't get to croon one of his signature tunes, like Mona Lisa. Nothing special here, just a lot of entertaining eye candy, courtesy that old dream machine, MGM.

Does anyone know any behind the scenes info about the dance number "Take Me to Broadway" as performed by Bobby Van in this movie? It is comprised of several minutes of hopping. For example, did he do it in one take? Did he have to have special shoes that had major cushioning inside? Whose idea was it to have him perform a dance that consisted only of hopping? As someone who has suffered from shin splints, I think this choreography would make him a prime candidate for that or some other kind of injury as a result of this dance. Did he do special warm-ups? This just struck me as I watching the film on May 21, TCM channel. Some people will think it odd to focus on this, when the major dance number is Ann Miller's, but I just got to thinking . . .

SMALL TOWN GIRL was a 1953 musical from the MGM stable about a rich playboy (Farley Granger) who gets arrested for driving too fast through a small town and falls for the sheriff's pretty young daughter (Jane Powell). Nothing really special here, Granger and Powell are charming enough, but this film will always standout in my mind because of two musical numbers performed by supporting players Ann Miller and Bobby Van. Both of these numbers would later be featured in different installments of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT. "You Gotta Hear that Beat" was a sizzling production number featuring Ann Miller dancing amongst a disembodied orchestra where you only see the arms/hands of the orchestra playing various instruments. The second number "Take Me To Broadway" featured Van as a human pogo stick, bouncing his way all over town, greeting people and interacting with people and places in town, but he never stops hopping. It's just an amazing number and because of these two musical highlights, SMALL TOWN GIRL is a film I will always remember.

It's just too bad more people didn't appreciate Bobby Van when he was around. I've never seen him before, but I certainly will remember his energy and incredible footwork. Where are they now? 50 years seemed to have taken away the fun of making a entertaining musical. Watching rappers and boy bands has diminished our appreciation of what dance was all about. Donald OConnor, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye all had desire that is lacking in movies now. Perhaps the cycle will return and will get away from Gangsta rappers and back to a style of entertainment that celebrated life rather than threaten it. Great work Bobby... Too bad I missed you. ......Wayne