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      Small Town Girl

      Released Apr 10, 1953 1h 33m Musical Comedy List
      Reviews 13% Fewer than 50 Ratings Audience Score A judge's daughter (Jane Powell) keeps an eye on a playboy (Farley Granger) who gets 30 days in jail for speeding. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Jan 01 Buy Now

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      Critics Reviews

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      Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Dull feel-good romantic drama. Rated: C+ Aug 20, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member MGM had played their hand too fast and too often, with all their musicals looking alike. Now, the only difference is that there is a slight plot, and they threw in disparate entertainers. While all the entertainers were good -- Bobby Van, Nat King Cole -- there was no cohesion attempted. Gratingly, the women, in particular, were wearing the same snazzy outfits they wore in other MGM musicals, with a touch up here and there. The men couldn't get out of their tuxes and formal suits, which apparently was everyday wear in New York, even when mowing the grass. I'm sure every man in America dressed this way during this time period. This film is better than the silly and vastly overrated Singin' in the Rain, but does not compare to any of the Judy Garland musicals, which all had memorable songs in them. A good musical needs good songs with melodies that the audience will remember as they leave the theatre -- that is an important test of whether the movie was a success or not. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member MGM's uninspired musical remake of its 1936 hit contains three memorable song sequences: Nat King Cole introduces the Oscar-nominated ballad "My Flaming Heart," Bobby Van hips and hops to a Busby Berkeley-choreographed dance number, and - best of all - Ann Miller has her most memorable on-screen routine in the Berkeley-directed "Gotta Hear That Beat." Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member ★★1/2 (out of four) An energetic musical that offers a few well staged dance numbers, but is unable to deliver the goods when it comes to plot and character development. Jane Powell is pretty cute in the lead, however. Farley Granger plays a man picked up for speeding in a small town. Making an example of him, the judge sentences him to 30 days in the local jail. The judges daughter (Powell) is intrigued by him and tries to rehabilitate him. THe musical numbers overshadow everything else. Bobby Van is responsible for a dance sequence which is by far the highlight of the entire film. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Zeppo1/SmallTownGirl.jpg[/IMG] Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Not very exciting. Always nice to watch Ann Millers dancing though. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Way beyond corny. Doris Day made movies with more edge and less tulle. But Bobby Van is super talented and his human pogo stick number is sort of a must-see, and Ann Miller dancing while surrounded by disembodied limbs playing instruments isn't bad either. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member I liked the musical numbers, particularly Bobby Van's jumping routine, but the story was just average. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Small Town Girl

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A judge's daughter (Jane Powell) keeps an eye on a playboy (Farley Granger) who gets 30 days in jail for speeding.
      Director
      Leslie Kardos
      Distributor
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Production Co
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Genre
      Musical, Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Apr 10, 1953, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jan 1, 2009
      Runtime
      1h 33m
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