Cult Flops - Small Town Girl

MGM, 1953
Starring Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller, and Bobby Van
Directed by Laszlo Kardos
Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Leo Robin

Summer Stock wasn't the only small-town, country-fied musical MGM made in the 1950's. This one takes us off the farm and onto Main Street, where wealthy New Yorker cynicism clashes with old-fashioned country values. How does this fish-out-of-water story look today? Let's start with Cindy Kimbell (Powell) and her family as they head off to church and find out...

The Story: Church services are disrupted by a car speeding through the tiny town of Duck Creek. Playboy Rick Livingston (Granger) was trying to get back to New York in time for his Broadway star girlfriend Lisa's (Miller) birthday. The town judge (Robert Keith) sentences him to 28 days in jail and community service. He's disdainful of the tiny hamlet and its straightforward residents, until he meets the judge's pretty and talented daughter Cindy. He persuades her to let him go for a night to celebrate his "dear mother's" (Billie Burke) birthday." In the course of the evening, they end up falling for each other. Not only does that scandalize the small town, but it sends local department store owner Mr. Schlemmer (S.K Sakall) into a panic. He wants to push his son Ludwig (Van) into marrying Cindy, but Ludwig has an eye on a career on the stage, not marriage.

The Song and Dance: It's all about the classic numbers here. Van and Miller are having the most fun as the talented kid with stars in his eyes and the me-first star who sees Rick as her ticket to easy street. Powell makes a funny and charming small-town sweetheart, almost making us believe she can be both smart and naive enough to let a jailed man out on a whim, and SK Sakall has a great time as Ludvig's pushy father.

Favorite Number: Powell sings the opening number in church "The Lullaby of the Lord" that's disrupted by Rick's speeding. "My Flaming Heart," the lovely ballad performed by Nat King Cole at a club in New York, was nominated for an Oscar. Ludwig, Cindy, and the girls' chorus spoof old-fashioned small-town courtship in "Fine, Fine, Fine" at the box social. Van dances in a tuxedo for passers-by at his father's store, hoping that Rick will "Take Me to Broadway."

The movie is best-known today for two genuinely nifty numbers. Busby Berkeley created the very original "I've Got to Hear That Beat" for Ann Miller, who taps her way around hands in the floor playing instruments. Listen to the song; every time Miller dances around an instrument, it takes the lead. Van's "Jumping Song" has him so happy he doesn't have to marry Cindy, he hops all over everything and everyone in town.

Trivia: Country star Hank Williams was originally going to play the sheriff, but died before filming began.

What I Don't Like: The country mouse-city mouse story is as old as the hills. The small-town setting feels less real and more like a Hollywood idea of a small country town, with the box socials and local department stores that were just starting to go out of fashion in the suburban 50's. Powell's solo "Small Towns are Smile Towns," sung to show Rick why she loves her home, is corny to the point of being ridiculous. Granger's less charming than smarmy; you almost wish Cindy had just let him rot in jail, no matter who's birthday it is.

The Big Finale: Cliched plot aside, it still deserved a lot better than it got at the box office in 1953. If' you're a fan of Powell, Van, Miller, or the MGM musicals of the 1940's and 50's, you're going to want to slow down for this one.

Home Media: On streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

DVD
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