Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

TheLittleSongbird Love Gene Kelly and musicals, but 'Living in a Big Way' is somewhat of a lesser film in Kelly's filmography and while there are definitely far worse film musicals out there while watchable there are far better as well.There are pleasures here. The best thing about 'Living in a Big Way' is the dancing, which is memorable and a sheer delight. The sequence on the construction site sends up an absolute storm, and it is difficult to resist the adorable one with the dog. Kelly is charismatic in the lead and dances a dream as always, he's never put a foot wrong when it comes to dancing and has dazzled more often than not as a choreographer. Jean Adair and Spring Byington are breaths of fresh air in support, and Phyllis Thaxter charms even with a limited character and a subplot that is not developed that well.You can't talk about a musical without mentioning the music/songs, and while only "It Had to Be You" is a classic all of them are very pleasant to listen to with nothing coming over as a dud. Gregory La Cava does reliably direction-wise with what there is, and the production values are lovingly done if not spectacular.On the other hand, Clinton Sundberg falls completely flat and is not funny at all, what was intended as sardonic comes over as mean-spirited and Sundberg just grates to maximum effect. Outside of the musical numbers and the dance sequences, the story is nowhere near as memorable and can drag, suffering also from a lack of chemistry between Kelly and Marie McDonald, who is very sympathetic and cold with little charm or range.Coming off worst is the script, which tonally is very confused, inept at worst, and doesn't seem to be able to decide what it wanted to be. It tries to be comedy, drama, a musical and social message film, and only really succeeds at the musical. The comedy has fleeting good moments, mainly with Adair, but frequently grates and lacks wit particularly with Sundberg. The drama lays it heavy with the sentimentality and the over-maudlin quality is hard to stomach on occasions, while the social message element was forced and unnecessary.On the whole, an obscure with pleasures, like the memorable dancing, but because the script is as poor as it is, is worth it for curiosity value and for Kelly completests but not much else. 5/10 Bethany Cox

bkoganbing The wartime housing shortage for returning veterans gets an amusing and telling look from one of Gene Kelly's lesser known pictures, Living In A Big Way. Kelly plays a GI who marries Marie McDonald on impulse before going overseas. They don't even have time to get down to business. They're not even that well acquainted.This film is directed by Gregory LaCava who gave us two screen comedy classics, Stage Door and My Man Godfrey. This film bares more than a passing resemblance to the latter. Living In A Big Way turned out to be LaCava's last completed film.The big shock that Kelly gets when he returns home to claim his bride with pal Bill Phipps is to discover she's rich. And she's got a stuffy fiancé in John Warburton whom she hasn't bothered to tell about that unconsummated marriage. Being married to 'The Body' that's the part most unbelievable about Living In A Big Way.In fact it is the main weakness of Living In A Big Way. Had someone like Lana Turner or Carole Lombard been cast in the role of the unfulfilled wife some of the comedy aspects in her character would have been handled a lot better. Living In A Big Way might have become a classic. It might not have needed the musical numbers Kelly did which were creative and fun, but kind of forced into the film. The wife's role truly was one made for Carole Lombard who was beyond casting.Charles Winninger and Spring Byington as the parents are carbon copies of Eugene Palette and Alice Brady from My Man Godfrey. There's also a nice performance by Jean Adair as McDonald's grandmother.And one role to note, that of Phyllis Thaxter as a war widow who joins Kelly's and Phipps's community of veterans. She's the kind of girl that every GI would love to have come home to.Living In A Big Way is an amusing enough film, but hardly one of the great films of Gene Kelly or Gregory LaCava.

edwagreen What a wonderful movie we have here. It had heart and in a musical way.Jean Adair, as the wise grandmother, steals the film with her keen mind and knowing what's good for all. Ms. Adair, who was quite a hoot 3 years before as the crazed Brewster sister in "Arsenic and Old Lace," was terrific here. Ironically, in a small role, the guy who played Teddy Roosevelt running up the stairs, who thought he was in San Juan Hill in the same picture, briefly is in this wonderful film as well.The film is an excellent one because it has a great plot and attempts to deal with these war-time sudden marriages and aftermath once peace came in 1945.Gene Kelly,as always making the dancing look easy, is absolutely wonderful here. Gene also had a wonderful knack dancing with children or with animation as we saw two years before in "Anchor's Aweigh." He gets great support by Marie MacDonald, who unfortunately died so young, as the spoiled rich brat who married him and then wants to dump him on his return.You wonder through the entire film if Kelly will reunite with MacDonald or instead go to Phyllis Thaxter, so appealing as a war widow with 3 children. The idea of the wealthy family comprising of a comical Charlie Winninger and Spring Byington,(she's terrific at the pool scene and in court as well)and Adair helping the homeless veterans by providing adequate housing for them, greatly adds to the film.You know this is a great film because you'll be sorry that it ends, but with a proper ending.

lzf0 No, this is not "Singin in the Rain" or "On the Town" or "Cover Girl" or "Anchors Away"! It's a simple black and white comedy with a handful of musical numbers thrown in. Kelly does an eye popping dance number on a construction site and does another cute number with a dog. These are as inventive as his numbers in more expensive films, but the "B quality" of the film does not do them any justice. He also sings "It Had to Be You". The plot is totally forgettable comedy fodder and since Kelly was never really known for his comedy playing, it falls a little flat. However, the dance numbers are terrific.