Having watched this recently on TCM and not being familiar with the film beforehand, I was drawn in by the quick pace and competent acting, not to mention the pretty leading gals Reynolds and Miller.. quite satisfying eye candy. But then.. came the "fun-house" musical number towards the end and that just blew me away: I mean 'psychedelic' before the word existed, perhaps surreal in contemporaneous nomenclature. That segment stood out as the perhaps the very best part, it was a thrill to watch the choreographed-to-the-second, wild and unpredictable ride of a dance routine! That film was a lot of fun to watch on a lonely night home. So reviewer whoever-you-are that hates every movie unless it has something blowing up every twelve seconds, perhaps stick to writing up Popeye cartoons where the plots and characters aren't too complex for your limited imagination. I recommend movie this as essential viewing for every musical fan.. it won't disappoint.

Attractive songs plus super-vivacious Ann Miller and well-voiced newcomer Kay Armen, just manage to surmount an impossibly old-hat, totally unbelievable screenplay, plus dull as a dry dock direction, plus listless and mostly indifferent staging (except when Miss Miller is on hand) and, worst of all, dreary acting from Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn and even, alas, Debbie Reynolds! However, In defense of Tony Martin and Debbie Reynolds, it must be said that their ridiculous and impoverished roles were simply impossible to play at all, let alone well! On the other hand, however, Vic Damone seems be irritatingly content to be just naturally dull. And as for Russ Tamblyn, as usual, he gives the impression of trying too hard. (True, you're supposed to try hard, but you've got to make it look real easy. That, Russ and Vic, is the number one essence of movie acting). Producer Pasternak has given the film some lush, but creatively empty, production values. In at least 90% of cases, it's no use spending money on costumes, sets and scenery, if your script, your director and your players are all three, well below par.

Some observations. Dancers I love. Ann Miller. Russ Tamblyn. Debbie Reynolds. Jane Powell. Singers I love. Tony Martin. Vic Damone. Naish a hoot as always. Damone's mother very nice and good singer. Raymond long in the tooth.Shades of On the Town. Annie again. Amusement park again. Three sailors again. Three women again. Sailor looking at picture of woman again. No female taxi driver here? Great to see Russ Tamblyn soon after Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and before Tom Thumb. Good to see Debbie Reynolds after Singin' in the Rain. Same for Jane Powell some years after Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire. Annie of course had earlier been in Kiss Me Kate. Walter Pidgeon was not with his classic co-star Greer Garson. Martin signing reminding me of Till the Clouds Roll By.Military critique: after Korean War. Way after WW II. Sailors are trained to get trained to defend their country and possibly get killed aboard ship or in the waters in some foreign land, but here they are happy and non-stop singing and dancing on stage, and chasing the dames ashore. They are worried about being grabbed by the shore patrol. War and military movies about WW II kept on for decades after that war ended in 1945 -- even up to and during after the Vietnam War. Army soldiers are not the only military personnel killed in wars, however. I see more singing, dancing sailors in the musicals, however, such as Anchors Aweigh, On the Town, Hit the Deck, etc. one singing, dancing Army guy movie was the one in which Army veterans are dancing with trash can lids.10/10

HIT THE DECK is MGM's 1955 remake of a 1930 musical about sailors on leave and the girls they romance, which despite the accustomed MGM gloss and some nice songs by Vincent Youmans, still fails to make the impact of a SINGIN IN THE RAIN or THE BAND WAGON. The paper-thin story finds Vic Damone romancing Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn chasing Debbie Reynolds and an energetic Ann Miller finds herself involved with the forever wooden Tony Martin. The score includes "Sometimes I'm Happy" a dreamy ballad crooned by Damone, "I Know that You Know" a cute duet with Damone and Powell and the rousing "Hallelujah!" led by the effervescent Kay Armen. My favorite number in the film is a 3-way duet sung by the six leads called "Why Oh WHy?", but none of this makes up for the fact that this is one of the weakest products from the MGM dream factory.