It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 800. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical:
All Ashore (1953) – Musical #862
Studio:
Columbia Pictures
Director:
Richard Quine
Starring:
Mickey Rooney, Dick Haymes, Ray McDonald, Peggy Ryan, Barbara Bates, Jody Lawrance, Fay Roope, Jean Willes, Rice Owen, Patricia Edwards (billed as Patricia Walker), Eddie Parker, Dick Crockett, Frank Krieg, Ben Welden, Gloria Pall, Joan Shawlee
Plot:
Moby Dickerson (Rooney), Joe Carter (Haymes) and Skip Edwards (McDonald) are sailors on leave. Joe and Skip are perpetually broke and use Moby to get by financially. When the three end up on Catalina Island, Skip meets dancer Gay Night (Ryan) and Joe meets Nancy Flynn (Lawrence), Moby is left out as they use him.
Trivia:
• Final feature film for actors Ray McDonald and Peggy Ryan, who were also married at the time this movie was released. This was also their third film where they appeared together.
• Director Richard Quine and future director Blake Edwards collaborated on the screenplay.
• Portions of the film were filmed on location at the Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California.
• Jody Lawrence requested to be recast, because she was uncomfortable in a musical role.
Highlights:
• Peggy Ryan and Ray McDonald singing and dancing together
Notable Songs:
• “Heave Ho, My Hearties” performed by Dick Haymes, Ray McDonald and the chorus
• “You’re My Buddy, Buddy Boy’ performed by Dick Haymes, Ray McDonald and Mickey Rooney
• “I Love No One But You” performed by Peggy Ryan, Ray McDonald, Mickey Rooney and Dick Haymes
• “Who Are We to Say” performed by Dick Haymes
• “I’m So Unlucky” performed by Mickey Rooney
My review:
It’s not often that you feel sorry for Mickey Rooney in a film. Often times, his characters are boisterous and boastful. But in this week’s Musical Monday, ALL ASHORE (1953), he’s the butt of the joke and pushed around.
In the film, Moby Dickerson (Rooney), Joe Carter (Haymes) and Skip Edwards (McDonald) are sailors on leave. Joe and Skip are perpetually broke and use Moby to get by financially. When the three end up on Catalina Island, Skip meets dancer Gay Night (Ryan) and Joe meets Nancy Flynn (Lawrence), Moby is left out as they use him.
In a way, I felt this could be compared to ON THE TOWN (1958), as broke sailors get into trouble, meet girls and dance. Admittedly, it drove me crazy how much the guys are jerks to Mickey Rooney. They are always using him, leaving him behind, while Rooney is always out of luck and pathetic. It was interesting though, to see Rooney playing this type of character and he does it well.
Quite frankly, I was shocked that Ray McDonald was a bit of a sleaze in this, because he usually plays very sweet characters. Quite frankly, it was a bit difficult to believe him like this. However, it is fun to see McDonald and Peggy Ryan together, as they were married in real life. There’s a humorous scene where McDonald says she’s not his type, since they were married in real life.
Dick Haymes is in good voice. I previously wasn’t familiar with actress, Jody Lawrence, who plays his love interest. In a way, she reminds me of Diana Lynn.
Barbara Bates doesn’t have much to do in the film and is strangely a blonde.
You will also have the opportunity to see the early work of Blake Edwards, as he wrote this script.
While the movie is frustrating with how Rooney is treated and the songs aren’t great, it’s also very colorful.
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