Adam and Nate start their tour of musical parodies on The Simpsons with On the Town (1949), known for being the first movie musical shot on location and better known as the inspiration for Bart and Milhouse’s Broadway-style Squishee bender in “Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood” (S5E8). Join Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and a third guy as they take New York City by storm!
Also in this episode:
• An ode to New York on screen, including “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” (S9E1)
• Gene Kelly’s on-set pranks on Frank Sinatra
• How old is Sinatra in this, anyway? (Or, why did they make that one Muppet out of leather?)
• Some refreshingly simple cinematography and editing that puts dancing first
• Find out why Louis B. Mayer called this musical “smutty and communistic”
Next time, Adam and Nate check out My Fair Lady (1964) with Simpsons writer and co-executive producer Michael Price!
Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Twitter and Instagram. Find bonus content at SpringfieldGoogolplex.com.
Further Reading & Viewing
Catalog Entry: “On the Town (1949),“ AFI Catalog.
Video: Mostlydaydreaming, “Gene Kelly talks On the Town,” YouTube, Mar 4, 2019.
Video: “Busby Berkeley - Kaleidoscopic Dance”, YouTube, Apr 23, 2018.
Article: Charlie Smith, “Gene Kelly played ‘nasty tricks’ on Frank Sinatra: ‘He was a pain in the neck!‘” Express, May 16, 2022.
Article: “Was ‘On the Town’ the First Film Musical Shot on Location?” PopMatters, Oct. 6, 2016.
Article: Kelli Marshall, “Monsters, Skirts, and Eastern Sequences in MGM's ‘On the Town’,” Gene Kelly Fans, Nov. 12, 2018.
Article: “The Sinatra Centennial Blogathon: Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly,” Back to Golden Days, Dec. 12, 2015.